What did most vehicle lift producers do in 2009?  They either decided to move their production to the People's Republic of China (and thereby take jobs away from Americans) in an effort to reduce costs or they curtailed production.   It is estimated that total lift production fell by almost 30% in 2009 in the United States and Canada.

What did Stertil-Koni do in 2009? 

We increased production and investments  in the two factories from which we operate.

• a) In Streator, Illinois we increased production by 30% and this led to the hiring of more Americans in an area of the country that needs more jobs.
  
• b) In Holland we invested in the future by purchasing a state-of-the-art laser cutting machine, which is fully automated and can operate 24 hours per day.

This machine from Trumpf (the Mercedes of laser cutting technology)  is able to produce the chassis for a mobile lift every six minutes leading to higher output that is measured in both efficiency and accuracy.  

This bicycle is only 1/8 of an inch thick;

the part under it, on the other hand, is 6 + inches thick.

The laser beam cut both of them.

During a period of economic downturn, would most companies invest in a $1 million laser cutting machine?  Counter-intuitively not!  However, what is the sign of a true leader?  Ask Steve Jobs (he knows).  True leaders think differently.