Al Popovich

“I’ve been doing this work my whole life. It used to be that you could get a job at Caterpillar and if you didn’t like it you could walk across the street and get another job. In other places that still happens. Not here.

“We’re lucky our little shop has found a niche. We do a lot of custom work, prototype work, emergency work, parts that are hard to find. To be honest, if you’re making standard parts you can’t compete with guys in Wisconsin and Indiana, let alone China.

“[Illinois] makes it really rough for small manufacturers – unemployment insurance, liability insurance, workers’ compensation. I almost couldn’t start this business because of insurance costs. Being a startup no one wanted to touch it. I was totally stuck. Thankfully it finally came together … but it amazes you. You look at your bank account one day and say ‘OK I’m doing pretty good.’ The next day you’re wondering if you’re going to be able to eat.

“We have bigger clients that won’t invest in Illinois because of those [costs]. No one’s making anything in this state. All you see is warehouses. Illinois’ one strength in my opinion is that we’re a shipping center, but you can’t raise a family on those jobs.

“Here I’m paying $20 to $30 an hour. We only have a couple of full-time employees and a couple part-time [employees], but I’d like to get 10 to 15 people in our shop someday. But that takes investing in new equipment and that’s money we don’t have.

“I don’t mind paying for things. It’s the cost of doing business. But it has to be a fair product for a fair price. I don’t get the same from the government.

“It’s like they think because you have your name on the side of your truck you’re a millionaire.”

Al Popovich
Owner, Accurate Design & Fabrication
Custer Park, Illinois