Only Business in Central Franklin Industrial Park Moving Out

The first and, so far the only, company in the Central Franklin Industrial Park in Carnesville is moving out.

Galko LLC moved into the park in 2018 but after four years, owner Pedro Galvan said he is shifting his operation back to his main manufacturing plant in Mexico.

The pandemic in 2020 followed by the worst inflation in over 40 years has made doing business in the U.S. too costly, according to Galvan.

“The price difference in our product, what we do in Mexico against what we do here have risen 25%,” he said. Labor costs are very high. We thought we would able to make our products here near the customers but the cost is too high. We have the plant in Mexico so we have a price in Mexico and our customers said, ‘send me the better price.'”

Galko LLC manufactured air cooling pads used in poultry farms, greenhouses, and shop floors all over America from their Carnesville plant.

The plant went operational in 2019 employing some 50 workers on two shifts.

Another problem Galvan said is higher wages that he now has to pay here compared to Mexico where his employees make nowhere near the current $20/hr. in the U.S.

Additionally, he said many of the American workers he’s hired over the past four years were not reliable.

“We had a lot of trouble with training people to work. All 2021 we spent months, weeks with people from Mexico training people here. Very difficult. American workers don’t want to work in the summer in hot spaces. They don’t want to work in that kind of job,” he said.

Beginning in 2021, Galvan began dismantling his machinery and quietly shipping it back to Mexico to his original plant.  Only some of the finishing equipment is left and a handful of workers are in the process of dismantling it for shipment.

Franklin County Industrial Building Authority Executive Director Tonya Powers says she’s sad to see Galko leave Carnesville and Franklin County but can’t argue with Galvan’s struggle to pay today’s higher wages along with finding reliable workers.

“When he first came in we were looking at average pay. We ran all the numbers. We ran all the reports like we always do. We worked with the Department of Labor. The average pay was $14.60/hr and the logistics were perfect for him. It was close to the consumer and although he was shipping to other states, this was the heartbeat of his business. So, between 2019-2022 he’s now competing with $18-$25/hr. That does not fit into his portfolio. That is not the wage that he can pay,” Powers said.

Galvan said Friday with those wages he lost most of his profit margin. Galvan said he plans to be completely moved out by next month.

Powers said they will put his building up for sale and they expect to have a new company there in the future.