Lipinski Aids Lifttruck Facility

Stressed ‘Buy American’ When Bedford Park Co. Was Bypassed

Cong. Dan Lipinski (D-3rd) and Hoist Lifttruck, 6499 W. 65th St., Bedford Park, have secured a ÒBuy American” victory for American manufacturing.

On Tuesday morning, Lipinski announced that Hoist Lifttruck had been awarded a $670,000 contract to build four 18-ton forklifts for the Department of Defense.{{more}}

After initially losing the bid to a company in South Korea, founder and President Marty Flaska, along with Director of Business Development Randy Jahn, approached Lipinski regarding what they thought had been a violation of the Buy American Act.

The act requires governmental entities to choose American products and services so that taxpayer dollars stay in the United States, explained Lipinski.

ÒAfter the bid was on and I found out Hoist Lift Truck should have won, I took action,” stated Lipinski.

When Lipinski first approached the Pentagon, he was told that the Buy American Act was followed. The mistake was quickly rectified when they found out that Hoist Lifttruck was not chosen.

ÒIf we had not taken action and had support from Cong. Lipinski, we would have lost a number of contracts that would have cost this company well over $1 million” said Jahn.

American manufacturing is something we need to fight for, Jahn declared.

Not only will the contract benefit workers and production at Hoist, but also at Hoist’s various American suppliers.

A true American success story, Flaska started his business in 1980. Working from his home in the western suburbs, his company grew immensely, and in 1994 it secured the rights to build cushion-tire forklifts from Silent Hoist and Crane, a New York-based company.

After a short stint in Addison, Hoist Lifttruck Manufacturing Inc. moved to its current location in Bedford Park.

It is one of only two remaining forklift manufacturers in the U.S., with the other company located in Mississippi, and it is currently hiring.

Like most American businesses, Hoist Lifttruck was hit hard by 2007’s economic downturn and was forced to cut half of its jobs, but as his mom and current employee Corinne Mientus has noted, ÒWhen rough times hit, he (Flaska) just continued to work harder.”

Flaska stated he hopes to reach pre-recession employment levels once business picks up.

While Lipinski helped right this particular wrong, too many such instances have gone unopposed.

Lipinski said that in recent years, the Defense Department has chosen to waive the Buy American Act 44,000 times. Even more surprising, more than 20 percent of Commerce Department purchases have come from outside of the U.S. while the Treasury Department could not find a single U.S. producer of domestic furniture.

ÒThis is a clearly a victory against the off-shoring of foreign jobs, and it’s inspiring to see,” said Lipinski.

A native of Chicago’s Southwest Side, Lipinski remembers what manufacturing used to be in the Bedford Park area and has fought for American production in recent years.

Lipinski voted against the Obama-supported South Korea Free Trade Agreement that was just passed by Congress because too many jobs are going to be lost because of it, he said.

ÒDespite political firestorms from OWS protesters or members of the Tea Party, Americans should really be focusing on acts such as these that directly affect their daily lives,” said Lipinski.

Lipinski is a proponent of the ÒBuy American Improvement Act,” which is purported to close some of the loopholes that the original Buy American Act left open. By increasing the threshold of what is considered an ÒAmerican-made” product from 50 percent to 75 percent, the act will make it more difficult for jobs to go to foreign competitors, thus creating thousands of jobs, the congressman said.

Lipinski underscored his confidence in the American worker. If given the chance on a level playing field, he said, he knows that American manufacturers are the most efficient at producing the best product.

ÒThis is a good story, and we need more of them,” said Lipinski.