Over the past week, Crookston City Administrator Amy Finch and Crookston Housing and Economic Development Authority Executive Director Craig Hoiseth took tours of Crookston’s largest manufacturers – Eickhof Columbaria, American Crystal Sugar Company, SunOpta, DEE, Inc., and New Flyer of America – in recognition of manufacturers week.
Due to COVID-19, the traditional tours open to the public weren’t held, explained Hoiseth. “With this being manufacturing week, we like to put emphasis on our manufacturers,” said Hoiseth. “Normally we invite the media, public, Council, and CHEDA Board along with us but this year with the constraints with COVID – restrictions and criteria we have to meet – we thought it would be smarter to keep it low-key. But, certainly, wanted to recognize our manufacturers.”
For Finch, it was the first opportunity since she started in October to learn more about Crookston’s manufacturers. “Last week, I visited American Crystal and had a tour of the plant, which was really interesting,” said Finch. “We got to see the truck dumping (to the side), which I thought – I wonder how that went for the guy first pitching that idea. Really neat to see the boilers and see how they generate and use the electricity and all the steps that go into that. This week went out to SunOpta, and because of the pandemic, they aren’t allowing tours on the plant floor. But did get to see the pictures, learned a lot about their operations, and plan to go visit that once it’s opened back up. Especially interested to see the roasting facility.”
Finch said she was also intrigued by her visits to DEE and New Flyer. “Visited DEE and again, I ask a lot of questions – what do you do with the sand – and learned that was reused and recycled,” said Finch. “Got to see all the processes and different steps. So many people and hands go into creating the pieces and molds. That was a really interesting process. Today, visited New Flyer, which was also really interesting. We started at the front of the plant and got to see where they start with just the shell all the way down to I even got to sit in the driver’s seat of one, and they turned it on. When you’re driving by the buildings, you don’t necessarily know all that goes into those products and processes. And all the jobs that those manufacturers create for our community and all the people that are needed to keep those businesses viable.”
During the tours, each company was asked what the city can do for them, and Hoiseth said they received some good feedback. “We heard that this extra $600 a week for unemployment was certainly needed for some individuals, but it didn’t help our companies too much,” said Hoiseth. “It actually worsened some of their workforce issues. We took a look at what their challenges were. A lot of it had to do with employees, training of employees, some of the technical skillsets, and one thing that kept reoccurring was discussions regarding child care. We’re going to take a look at all of those again. They’re on our radar but again, hearing firsthand from these companies what their needs are was certainly helpful as well.”
Finch said that workforce has been a topic she’s spent some time talking about during her first few weeks, and a solution will require everyone to work together. “Each manufacturer and company need things a little bit different,” said Finch. “The pandemic has certainly affected their operation and demand. We’ve talked a little about workforce during my couple of weeks here. I think that is something we’ll continue to discuss. And how that looks through the pandemic and after is something we’re all going to have to work together on.”
