U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and three members of his staff visited the facilities of Palmetto Plating on Tuesday, February 22. The one-hour visit to the Easley, S.C., plant gave the prominent senator a rare opportunity to gain insightful knowledge and information about the surface finishing industry.
"Senator Graham asked a lot of questions as to the direction our industry is going, what effect offshore manufacturing had on our markets, what impact the new health care laws will have on us, the effectiveness of the technical education programs, and many other questions," said John Cutchin, Palmetto Plating president. During a tour of the facilities, Senator Graham showed genuine interest in the variety of Palmetto Plating's processes and its customer base. He then greeted each employee and briefly spoke with the group. "When introduced to Stacie Bradley, our new director of technical services, I mentioned that her husband Jason is a First Lieutenant in the U.S. Army and deployed to Afghanistan," Cutchin recalled. " When he finished his remarks, he turned to her and said, 'May God bless and be with your husbands and his comrades.' "
Also on hand for the tour were Mike Aleksinas, president of Metal Chem, Inc., and Andy Carr of the South Carolina Manufacturing Extension Program, or SCMEP. Cutchin explained how the SCMEP greatly helped Palmetto Plating achieve ISO:9001-2008 accreditation at a reduced cost and explained how this has aided in the company's marketing. "It is very difficult to get someone of Senator Graham’s stature to visit a plating shop, but I feel that he learned more on this visit than we could have ever told him in his office," Cutchin said. For more information on Palmetto Plating, please see the March 2011 edition of Metal Finishing.
