Tax Reform Helps JLS Automation Grow and Give Back
JLS Automation, a maker of robotic packaging systems in York, Pennsylvania, is growing fast—adding workers, expanding its facility and looking toward a bright future. According to Craig Souser, the company’s president and CEO, this growth was enabled in part by the tax reform law passed in 2017. Souser spoke to us recently about the strides that JLS has been making ever since—and noted that any changes to those tax policies could endanger the company’s continuing success.
Ramping up hiring: According to Souser, JLS hired 20 people already this year, which represents 20% growth in its workforce. The company also expects to hire another 20 people, further expanding its talent bench of high-skilled workers.
Providing bonuses: It’s important to JLS that employees feel connected to the work they are doing, and that means ensuring they have a piece of the profits. That’s why the company has a profit-sharing program that gives bonuses to its team, explains Souser.
- In the past three years alone, JLS has given workers two to three weeks’ pay in profit-sharing bonuses, and this year employees received additional thousand-dollar bonuses across the board. The company also offers other merit-based bonuses to qualifying employees, ensuring that good work gets noticed and rewarded.
Expanding facilities: The company’s hiring spree means it must expand its facilities, doubling the area where employees work and adding space for new capital equipment like an on-site crane and machining capability. According to Souser, the company is likely to spend as much or more on the expansion as it took to buy their current facility in the first place.
Investing in training: Souser also cites tax reform as a factor in the company’s decision to invest aggressively in training efforts.
- “We can be more investment-driven, allocate more money to any individual training program and hire better people to do training because of tax reform,” said Souser. “We always need to train our people, but we can do it faster and better because of tax reform. There’s no doubt about it.”
Strengthening communities: JLS is focused on developing the workforce of the future, especially within its own community. The company supports local initiatives like Give Local York, which promotes nonprofit organizations that serve York County, and established a scholarship to help students of color attend York College’s engineering program.
The road ahead: All these efforts were made possible in large part by tax reform, Souser stresses. However, if JLS is saddled with a higher tax burden, the company might struggle to maintain this level of expansion. In particular, Souser worries about an increase in the corporate tax rate, harmful changes to the estate tax and the rollback of full expensing (which allows companies to deduct the costs of their equipment purchases in one year, an important tax benefit).
- “We’re concerned about what we’re hearing on the tax side,” said Souser. “The full expensing provision has been huge. On tax, we like to be able to hire and retain people, and we like to be generous, and if profits get whacked, we can’t invest in them and their futures nearly as much.”
- “The long-term concern is about pulling back on estate tax relief,” he added. “We are a closely-held company, and that could cause liquidation or asset sales or staffing reductions. It would be potentially devastating to the company. You put all three of these provisions together, and there’s not much to like.”
The last word: “Business is the process of managing risk—and when risk is an unknown, it becomes hard to manage,” said Souser. “It’s difficult enough to deal with a whole variety of issues out there and to remain competitive in an environment where the majority of our competitors are global. When you see something as great as tax reform, the threat of it going away gives you pause.”
Manufacturing Associations Launch Coalition to Curb Regulatory Onslaught in Washington
Sector Requests Senior-Level Adviser Designated to Coordinate Efforts Among Agencies Within the White House
Washington, D.C. – Today, the National Association of Manufacturers, members of the NAM’s Council of Manufacturing Associations and Conference of State Manufacturers Associations launched Manufacturers for Sensible Regulations, a coalition addressing the impact of the current regulatory onslaught coming from federal agencies.
According to the NAM’s Q2 2023 Manufacturers’ Outlook Survey, more than 63% of manufacturers report spending more than 2,000 hours per year complying with federal regulations, while more than 17% of manufacturers report spending more than 10,000 hours.
“President Biden and Congress have prioritized strengthening the manufacturing sector in America through historic legislation like the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the CHIPS and Science Act, initial permitting reform actions in the Fiscal Responsibility Act and even some energy provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act,” said NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons. “Unfortunately, the continued onslaught of regulations is having a chilling effect on investment, curtailing our ability to hire new workers and suppressing wage growth, especially for small and medium-sized manufacturers. The recently released regulatory agenda from the administration shows this barrage isn’t stopping.”
“Washington is creating tremendous doubt across our sector at a time when we’re still dealing with economic uncertainty. And the unbalanced regulations coming out of this administration threaten to undermine our ability to grow, compete and win on a global scale,” said American Cleaning Institute President and CEO, NAM board member and CMA Chair Melissa Hockstad. “We want President Biden’s manufacturing agenda to succeed. Unfortunately, we are seeing the signs that the regulatory agenda is jeopardizing the investments enacted over the past 18 months.”
“U.S. pulp and paper manufacturers recognize the need to address the challenges of our changing climate and share the administration’s goal to secure a more sustainable future,” said American Forest & Paper Association President and CEO Heidi Brock. “This can only be achieved by working with—not against—manufacturers to craft achievable and balanced regulations that address environmental challenges without threatening manufacturing jobs.”
“Manufacturers have proven to be extraordinarily resilient in recent years, leading Utah and the entire country coming out of the pandemic and through times of geopolitical turmoil,” said Utah Manufacturers Association President and CEO, NAM board member and COSMA Chair Todd Bingham. “But the regulatory agenda currently coming out of our nation’s capital has the potential to derail the gains we’ve made during this administration. We will work with our state partners and the White House to find solutions to help grow our sector in the most responsible way possible.”
The NAM survey also highlighted that only 67% of manufacturers are positive about their own company’s outlook, the lowest since Q3 2019. It shows the consequences of regulations: If the regulatory burden on manufacturers decreased, 65% of manufacturers would purchase more capital equipment, and more than 46% would increase compensation.
The group has been meeting with key members of the Biden administration and Congress to highlight the devastating impact of unbalanced regulations.
-NAM-
The National Association of Manufacturers is the largest manufacturing association in the United States, representing small and large manufacturers in every industrial sector and in all 50 states. Manufacturing employs nearly 13 million men and women, contributes $2.90 trillion to the U.S. economy annually and accounts for 55% of private-sector research and development. The NAM is the powerful voice of the manufacturing community and the leading advocate for a policy agenda that helps manufacturers compete in the global economy and create jobs across the United States. For more information about the NAM or to follow us on Twitter and Facebook, please visit www.nam.org.
-CMA-
With a membership including 260 national manufacturing trade associations representing 130,000 companies worldwide, the Council of Manufacturing Associations creates partnerships across the industry, amplifies manufacturers’ voices and connects members to experts and trade association executives. CMA members gain insights, share perspectives, form coalitions and ensure manufacturers have a strong voice in national policy.
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Members of the Conference of State Manufacturers Associations serve as the NAM’s official state partners and drive manufacturers’ priorities on state issues, mobilize local communities and help move federal policy from the ground up in all 50 states and Puerto Rico.
House Majority Whip Emmer, NAM Spotlight Cost of Regulations and Policies to Boost Manufacturing
Princeton, MN – The National Association of Manufacturers hosted House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) at Glenn Metalcraft for a facility tour on Monday to discuss the impact of the current regulatory burden manufacturers are facing across federal agencies.
Leaders also discussed manufacturers’ policy priorities as outlined in the latest version of “Competing to Win,” the NAM’s comprehensive blueprint to bolster manufacturers’ competitiveness.
“My visit to Glenn Metalcraft demonstrated the need to address the regulatory state overwhelming manufacturers in the heartland. Small and medium-sized manufacturers are working hard to grow their businesses and increase compensation for employees, but those efforts are undermined by new regulations and the lack of permanent, competitive tax policies to promote research and development and capital investment,” said House Majority Whip Tom Emmer. “I want to thank the National Association of Manufacturers and Glenn Metalcraft for providing insight that will guide my work in Congress.”
“Manufacturers across the country are fighting to thrive under the weight of an increasing number of unbalanced and often unfeasible regulations from agencies across the federal government—all amid an uncertain economic environment,” said Glenn Metalcraft President and CEO Joe Glenn. “Glenn Metalcraft would like to thank Whip Emmer and the National Association of Manufacturers for giving us a voice and calling attention to this issue.”
“Manufacturers are struggling to navigate substantial regulations from Washington on top of the deluge of new laws from St. Paul. We appreciate Whip Emmer for expanding our state-level efforts on the national stage,” said Minnesota Chamber President and CEO Doug Loon. “The National Association of Manufacturers is an excellent partner in championing policies for businesses to grow and compete globally. We appreciate their efforts with the Biden administration and Congress to hold agencies accountable and deliver sensible regulations.”
“The barrage of federal regulations from Washington has created serious concern across our industry, with manufacturers reporting that it’s standing in the way of job creation, investment and wage growth. Manufacturers have made it clear that the administration’s regulatory agenda could easily derail manufacturing’s recent success. Glenn Metalcraft and so many others are forced to make tough decisions as agencies issue unbalanced regulations that threaten our sector’s ability to grow and compete,” said NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons. “The positive effects of tax reform, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the CHIPS and Science Act are all being undermined by the growing regulatory burden, and I want to thank Whip Emmer for spotlighting this threat in his home state of Minnesota.”
Background: Recently, the NAM, members of the NAM’s Council of Manufacturing Associations and Conference of State Manufacturers Associations launched Manufacturers for Sensible Regulations, a coalition addressing the impact of the current regulatory onslaught coming from federal agencies.
According to the NAM’s Q2 2023 Manufacturers’ Outlook Survey, more than 63% of manufacturers report spending more than 2,000 hours per year complying with federal regulations, while more than 17% of manufacturers report spending more than 10,000 hours. The NAM survey also highlighted that only 67% of manufacturers are positive about their own company’s outlook, the lowest percentage since Q3 2019. It shows the consequences of regulations: If the regulatory burden on manufacturers decreased, 65% of manufacturers would purchase more capital equipment, and more than 46% would increase compensation.
-NAM-
The National Association of Manufacturers is the largest manufacturing association in the United States, representing small and large manufacturers in every industrial sector and in all 50 states. Manufacturing employs nearly 13 million men and women, contributes $2.90 trillion to the U.S. economy annually and accounts for 55% of private-sector research and development. The NAM is the powerful voice of the manufacturing community and the leading advocate for a policy agenda that helps manufacturers compete in the global economy and create jobs across the United States. For more information about the NAM or to follow us on Twitter and Facebook, please visit www.nam.org.