Trending
We hear a lot about the lack of workers and difficulty filling jobs, particularly in manufacturing. But it's important to remember that the workers we do have, particularly when it comes to our metal workers, are among the finest in the country. The latest reminder of that fact was on our front page on Saturday.
Dawson Metal Company will deliver 55 custom-built thermally broken seamless exterior and interior doors made at its Jamestown plant to the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago.
Yet another honor for the local company, whose doors have been installed in the Statue of Liberty Museum on Ellis Island in New York CIty and in the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center in Washington, D.C. If you walk into the National Museum of American History, you're walking through a Dawson Metal-made door. If you buy a ticket for the National Museum of African American History, you'll walk through a Dawson Metal door to go inside. The Museum of the Bible and the Museum of the American Indian, you guessed it, feature doors made by Dawson Metal Co.
Dawson Metal has done a lot right over its more than 75 years in operation in Jamestown. That starts with company leadership, obviously, to be able to navigate the ebbs and flows of business that come with operating a family-owned manufacturing company. We're sure there were tough times for the Dawson family over the years, just as there have been times to celebrate - like the announcement of a contract with the Obama Presidential Center. They've also done a great job of hiring and training workers who can consistently turn out magnificent work for some truly beautiful and breathtaking buildings around the country.
We have to agree with David Dawson, company president and CEO, when he says he's "enthusiastic, not only about the contract for the Obama library, but for the essential contributions" local workers ultimately will make toward the historic project.
It's a fact that it can be difficult to find workers. It's also a fact that we have some truly gifted craftsmen and craftswomen working in many of our local companies – and Dawson Metal Co. is proving it once again.