Catherine often compares the corporate entities that blithely feed at the trough of federal subsidy (without disclosing the substantial benefits they derive from that subsidy) with the small businessmen who understand that “you have to sell it for more than it costs to make it.”

Galen Koeckeritz is one such small-scale entrepreneur. Subscribers are likely familiar with Koeckeritz from a segment about him on the October 1 episode of Money & Markets, or they may have come across one of the viral videos he has posted about the economic challenges facing his company, Minnesota Implement (originally founded as Koeckeritz Iron and Steel).

The company manufactures custom skid steer and utility tractor attachments designed to be “cost-effective offerings for daily use [by] homeowners, farmers and small companies, who [need] highly durable products at a fair price.” However, Trump administration actions that are helping create chaos in global supply chains are also wreaking havoc with Minnesota Implement’s ability to continue manufacturing and charging a “fair price.”

Koeckeritz is a “by the numbers” guy who likes to “talk truths,” and his math exposes the dramatic fallout of federal policies and war adventurism on local businesses:

• In March, barely a month into the Iran war, he explained that Minnesota Implement’s steel prices had “gone up between 30% and 60%.” He told a local news station that a plate of steel he previously could get for $600 was now costing him as much as $2200, while the cost of tubing had risen from $150 to $600.
• In August, Koeckeritz reported that his shop’s electric bill had gone up by roughly 30% even though there was 30% less labor on the floor than in previous years. In other words, while “actual time of pulling the trigger on a welding gun was 30% less and [there was] 30% less running of the saws,” the electric bills went up anyway. In addition, he described having to substantially drop his insurance coverage after he was quoted $34,000 for a year up from the $18,000 he had budgeted.
• By September, Koeckeritz was reporting a 40% increase in costs in just six days.

At the time of the March video, Koeckeritz sounded optimistic that Minnesota Implement could weather the storm, stating that the company was no stranger to economic challenges and business cycles: “It is a wave. You will hit a bottom; at some point, things will stop sliding, and then you can start your climb.” By the time of the September video, Koeckeritz—more pessimistic about his company’s chances for survival—was, with good reason, accusing the federal government of perpetrating murder on the small-business sector.

Apparently, his distress signals are resonating widely, because the September 15 video discussed on Money & Markets attracted over a million views within a few weeks. They are also a call to action for consumers who care about keeping high-integrity businesses like Minnesota Implement alive to redouble their efforts to buy small and local and shun the corporate vultures who are hoping to grab their market share. We are holding Koeckeritz and Minnesota Implement in our prayers and hope that you will do the same.