1/14/2009

By TIM UNRUH

Salina Journal

SOLOMON -- Cutting 16 jobs isn't huge when the payroll exceeds 500, Katie Platten said, but it's enormous if you're one of the 16 cut Monday at Solomon Corp.

"It was a very hard day, one of those days where it's not very fun to own a company. It is painful," said Platten, who owns Solomon Corp. with her four brothers, Tom, Matt, Phil and Joe Hemmer.

The company, which repairs, recycles and sells electrical transformers and other electrical equipment, cut 10 jobs in Solomon and three each from manufacturing plants in Decatur, Tenn., and Georgetown, Texas. There were no layoffs at the plant in Grand Junction, Colo.

Most of the company's job cuts came from the manufacturing area, Platten said.

"It seems like a small cut, but not for the people it happened to," she said.

After Monday's layoff, approximately 370 are employed in Solomon.

What prompted the company's first layoffs since 2000 is a multiple choice question at this point, said Tom Hemmer, who doubles as the company's sales manager.

The winter is typically a slow time in the business, he said, because not as many electrical projects are going on, especially among northern customers.

But the dismal "general economic conditions" also might be playing a major role in Solomon Corp's drop in sales. A true asses.sment may not be available until March or April when much of the electrical work will resume, Hemmer said.

"Our business is more recession-resistant than many because people are still buying and consuming power," he said.

Two-thirds of Solomon Corp.'s business is with large and small utilities -- municipal and cooperatives.

"There are certain projects and maintenance activities that can be put on hold if our customers are struggling to make their budget numbers," Hemmer said.

The firm also deals directly with industrial companies, such as large manufacturers, coal mines and agribusinesses, "and that's more likely where we will see a slowdown," he said.

The winter slowdown?

It used to be expected that hiring at Solomon Corp. would slow down in the winter, Platten said. "We would sort of not hire after October, wait for the winter season to pass."

But business for the past four years remained strong all 12 months.

"There hasn't been any dip in our business. We were kind of moving along in that model," Platten said. "It seemed like in November, the bottom fell out of our incoming orders."

Whether this is just a return to seasonal slowdowns remains to be seen, Platten said.

"I still feel like long-term growth prospects are good, but I just can't predict how long this slowdown lasts," Hemmer said. "Work plans will start to come together in March and April, and we'll just have to take a look at it and see where it's at."

Solomon Corp. has always prided itself in enduring slow times without layoffs, said Platten, whose expertise includes human resources. The firm was founded in 1971 by their father, Eugene Hemmer, who died in September.

"That's an important part of our philosophy," she said. "We ended up being a little overstaffed for the business level today."

For those who lost their jobs, Solomon Corp. paid their remaining vacation time and assisted in transferring benefits.

If conditions improve, Platten said, all of the employees who were laid off are eligible to be hired back.

"These kinds of things are just the last things you want to do," she said. "From the human resources department to the managers of those areas, nobody got a very good night's sleep the last few nights. We like to think of our people as part of the greater Solomon Corp. family."

n Reporter Tim Unruh can be reached at 822-1419 or by e-mail at tunruh@salina.com.

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