Marlin Wire
Marlin Steel Wire Products LLC ("Marlin") is a USA-based (and owned) wire form manufacturer which produces baskets, racks, grates and other wire products. Clients of Marlin Wire include Toyota, Roche, Alcoa and Beretta and the aerospace, food, fashion and biotech industries.
History
In 1998, Drew Greenblatt took money he made from selling a small home security business and sought a company he thought had the potential for more growth. He found a 30-year-old Brooklyn, N.Y. company that made wire baskets and racks for retailers and the food service business and bought it for $285,000 in cash.
Greenblatt moved the business to Baltimore, Maryland where he lived, hoping to capitalize on lower costs, lower taxes and greater efficiencies through modernization. In 2000, large retailers, such as Target, started importing inexpensive wire products from China, undercutting Marlin's business.
Greenblatt reorganized the company's business model to focus on custom-made, high-quality, short turnaround wire products for other manufacturers. In 2002, such jobs made up less than 1 percent of Marlin sales. By 2007, they made up more than two-thirds of Marlin’s business, and the average wage for a Marlin employee had more than doubled. Robotics played a significant role in Marlin’s growth. As the company shifted from retails to clients in industries such as aviation, defense and biotechnology, the tolerances and dimensions of its baskets had to become ever more exacting to protect parts and to meld with precise manufacturing processes.
Testimony on Capitol Hill
On April 28, 2005, Greenblatt testified before the Regulatory Reform and Oversight Subcommittee of the House Committee on Small Business in Washington, D.C. He spoke on behalf of the National Association of Manufacturers, the nation’s largest industrial trade association, about the concerns of small business, arguing that Federal bookkeeping regulations are "government-caused obstacles" to the growth of small business: "Accountants do not help my company be more productive or run faster or make higher quality."
On February 28, 2008, Greenblatt testified before the Committee on Small Business of the United States House of Representatives on the Paperwork Reduction Act, again on behalf of the National Association of Manufacturers. At this hearing, he described a stack of paperwork "6 feet tall", produced by all of the Federally-mandated forms required for his business. Greenblatt argued that manufacturing is at a bookkeeping disadvantage to other industries because it "creates more environmental and safety issues than other businesses", and suggested that the increased cost of paperwork could "price [Marlin's] products out of existence."
Awards
Marlin Wire was given an award in September 2007 for utilizing a successful incentive and training program that led to a low turnover rate.
External links
- Company home page
- 8/23/09 USATODAY.com - In a sign of economic recovery: Factory output is growing.
- 8/12/09 USATODAY.com - Associated Press: June trade deficit rises, imports and exports up.
- 5/30/09 The Wall Street Journal: Manufacturers Get Top Talent for Hard-to-Fill Jobs.
- 5/19/09 The Baltimore Sun: Back to work - To grow U.S. manufacturing, focus on taxes, trade and red tape.
- 5/1/09 JHU's Daniels, USM's Kirwan among Md.'s new international business advisory board.
- 4/21/09 FOX Business News: The Diamond District - Time to Start Hiring.
- Feb.2009 FOX Business News: Stimulus & Steel.
- 4/16/09 Economist.com HIT or miss. A special report on health care and technology.
- 3/27/09 WJACTV.com Unions And Businesses Face Off Over EFCA.
- 3/10/09 Smart Money smallbiz: Starting Up: Factories Cut Small Businesses Some Slack.
- 2/17/09 BBC News: Stimulus package 'good for all'
- 1/15/09 Global Currents speaks with key executives from Main Street.
- 1/15/09 Global Currents: The View From Main Street: Drew Greenblatt.
- 1/8/09 The Washington Post: Currencies Trading All Over the Map.
- 1/7/09 Bloomberg News: House to Vote on Employment Bills; Business Says Costs to Rise.
- 11/25/08 NPR: Bad Economy Threatens Obama's Climate Fix.
- 11/1/08 Industry Week: Small and Mid-sized Manufacturers: Flexible and Focused.
- 10/15/08 Small Businesses Caught in Credit Crisis - interview starts at start at 7 minutes and 35 seconds.
- 10/6/08 FOX News Interview: Small Business is Growing.
- 10/3/08 WJZ Local News: Cummings Votes To Support Bailout Bill.
- 9/28/08 CNNMoney.com: Credit freeze and your paycheck.
- 9/12/08 ThomasNet Industrial NewsRoom: Small Business Owner urges Congress to pass health IT Bill.
- 8/19/08 Kaisernetwork.org: Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report Opinion | Congress Should Pass Health IT Legislation To Help Reduce Costs for U.S. Manufacturers, Opinion Piece States.
- 8/15/08 American Public Media Marketplace: Pros and cons of a stronger dollar.
- 7/28/08 UPI.com UPI NewsTrack Business.
- 5/9/08 Gazette.net: Executives ask panel for federal tax breaks.
- 5/7/08 The Washington Post: Buoyed by Foreign Money.
- 4/14/08 The Business Review: Washington Bureau: Bush touts investment incentives, but business use may be limited.
- 3/12/08 Financial Week: Shanghai surprise, as inflation dulls China’s export edge.
- 3/6/08 Business Intelligence: Federal Law Fails to Stem Small Business Red Tape.
- 1/31/08 The Baltimore Regional Employer Institute: Marlin Steel Wire Products.
- 8/22/07 Evolving Excellence - Kudos to Marlin Steel Wire.
- 8/19/07 The Washington Post: Making It.
- 8/1/07 Dickinson College News and Events.
- 5/15/07 CNNMoney.com With a little innovation, who needs outsourcing?
- 2008 1370AM Radio Interview.
- 2008 Baltimore Chronicle & Sentinel: Area Employers Celebrated for “Regionalism that Works”.
- 2008 Baltimore Regional Employer Award.
- 2008 Corporate Responsibility Institute: Why Sustainable Manufacturing Makes $ense.
- 2008 How Pigs Saved Our Bacon.
- 2008 Improving the Paperwork Reduction Act for Small Biz.
- 2008 ReliablePlant: Manufacturer's required paperwork stacked 6 feet high.
- 2008 Updating theTax Code to Help Small Businesses.
- March 2008 Popular Mechanics: Five American Manufacturers Doing It Right: Made in the USA.