[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 131 (Monday, October 17, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2092-E2093]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     MEETING THE CHALLENGE OF CHINA

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JOE WILSON

                           of south carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, October 17, 2005

  Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, last month I visited 
Beijing and I saw again firsthand China's economic challenges as it 
continues to develop its free market economy.
  We should remain concerned about outsourcing, but there are positive 
examples in America that our businesses are meeting the challenges 
stemming from trade with China.
  Last week I attended the grand opening of Carolina Ceramics Brick 
Company, a success story which proves U.S. companies continue to 
improve productivity and energy efficiency. Richland County Council 
Vice Chairman Greg Pearce, Sen. Joel Lourie, advertising executive 
Elaine Gillespie, and company President Michael Borden spoke eloquently 
on the new achievements verified in the below article from The State of 
October 12, 2005.

                    [From the State, Oct. 12, 2005]

                     Growth Produces Double Rewards

                           (By Jim DuPlessis)

       After Investing $12 million this year at its Two Notch Road 
     plant, Carolina Ceramics Brick Co. not only can make more 
     bricks per worker, but also will avoid some of the pain this 
     fall from skyrocketing natural gas prices.
       The 66-year-old business in Northeast Richland can make a 
     brick with 30 percent less natural gas with new equipment 
     installed this year, president and majority owner Michael W. 
     Borden said.
       ``You really can't control the natural gas price. All you 
     can control is the amount you use. So we're trying to be as 
     efficient as we can,'' Borden said.
       While households are a few months away from their first 
     post-Katrina natural gas heating bills, manufacturers are 
     feeling the heat already. Manufacturers are paying $14 per 
     decatherm, double the price a year ago, and six times the 
     price they paid in 2000.
       Carolina Ceramics Brick today will celebrate completion of 
     its expansion, which will allow the company to sell more than 
     $20 million in bricks next year, double its sales in 2000.
       The improvements also expanded capacity 45 percent, 
     allowing two kilns to make as many as 80 million bricks per 
     year, up from 55 million in 2000.
       The company hired 15 more workers last summer and expects 
     to hire five more, bringing Its work force to 100 by year's 
     end. The plant had employed about 80 workers since a similar 
     upgrade on its other kiln in 2000.
       Even with more workers, productivity has risen 16 percent. 
     Each worker can make 800,000 bricks per year, up from 687,000 
     bricks per year previously.
       Some of the productivity improvements have filtered down to 
     the shop floor, with fewer lower-paying manual jobs.
       Entry-level production workers make $10 to $12 per hour, 
     while machine operators make $14 to $15 per hour. Average 
     wages, including management, are more than $20 per hour, 
     Borden said.
       The improvements also allow the company to absorb some of 
     the energy price increase, but prices for brick are likely to 
     rise at least 5 percent by early next year to compensate for 
     at least part of the higher energy cost, Borden said.
       Manufacturers of milk jugs, vinyl siding and other plastics 
     are also hard hit by the higher price of natural gas, said 
     Keith McCoy, vice president for energy and environmental 
     policy for the National Association of Manufacturers in 
     Washington, D.C.
       Part of the increase in natural gas prices is because of 
     short-term supply disruptions caused when hurricanes Katrina 
     and Rita hit the Gulf Coast. Prices might drop somewhat after 
     those drilling and pipeline facilities are back to full 
     speed, but are expected to remain high enough to cause some 
     companies to consider switching fuel sources, McCoy said.

[[Page E2093]]

       ``At nine to 10 dollars, it was very high for them, but It 
     was something they could deal with,'' he said. At $14, ``that 
     was the point companies would consider retrofitting their 
     facilities to switch,'' McCoy said.
       Carolina Ceramics switched to propane in the weeks after 
     Katrina when natural gas supplies were curtailed. The company 
     will continue to burn propane for a while because its price 
     Is now lower than natural gas.
       But long-term cost savings depend on efficiency. Without 
     the energy-saving improvements, Carolina Ceramics would be 
     paying $130,000 per month more for natural gas.
       Borden, who turned 40 this year, started in the brick 
     business working for his father, Frank Borden, 77, who ran a 
     Borden Brick in Durham, N.C. The business had been started by 
     Michael Borden's great-grandfather in 1911, but the family 
     sold it in 1989 to Cherokee-Sanford Brick of Raleigh.
       Frank Borden retired, but Michael Borden went to work for 
     Cherokee-Sanford. When the company bought Carolina Ceramics 
     in 1992, Borden moved to Columbia to manage it. A few years 
     later, the company decided to sell it, and Borden's family 
     bought it.
       Carolina Ceramics was founded in 1939. It has sold about 80 
     percent of its bricks to builders of offices, schools and 
     stores, but with its new capacity it is now going to supply 
     more bricks to home builders, Borden said.
       As the Gulf Coast recovers from hurricanes Katrina and 
     Rita, Borden expects brick demand will rise by early next 
     year as contractors begin rebuilding homes, offices, schools 
     and stores. ``We would expect to see a lot of opportunities 
     in that area when they get ready.''

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