Oz talks regulation, supply chain on tour of Zelie facility
ZELIENOPLE — Inflation, supply chain problems and regulation were hot topics for U.S. Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz during the Republican’s visit to the Robinson Fans manufacturing facility in Zelienople on Tuesday morning.
Accompanied by Rep. Mike Kelly, R-16th, and county Commissioner Kim Geyer, Oz toured the industrial air-moving company with Robinson Fans president Tricia Staible, met with employees and company leaders, and discussed his hopes for the upcoming November election.
Staible showed Oz and Kelly around the facility and described difficulties that the company was experiencing with accessing materials.
“We have so much trouble getting things on time that it causes us to not be able to produce it on time for our customers,” Stabile said. “Similarly, regulations keep coming in and adding to the burden of cost to produce what we are doing.”
Oz identified supply chain issues and "unnecessary” government regulation as major obstacles to manufacturing in Pennsylvania.
“We make things in Butler County,” he said “Prices have also skyrocketed for all of these raw materials, which really squeezes the manufacturing guys. They have to pay the salaries to the employees, the employees are getting squeezed, the companies themselves are having trouble making ends meet, so it’s a problem.”
Oz criticized “unelected leaders in bureaucratic positions in Washington” for interpreting laws in a manner that he described as “damaging.”
“Now you have rules that are nonsensical that don’t work in industries like this one, that cost a lot of money and incentivize the use of less-quality products to get around the regulations,” he said. “Or, they raise prices so much that you just can’t make ends meet. We have to stop that.”
Pennsylvania Lt. Governor John Fetterman also hit the U.S. Senate campaign trail Tuesday, stopping at a midterm elections event at United Steelworkers headquarters in Pittsburgh.
Oz said he was confident that he would win Butler County in the November election. During his remarks, he challenged Fetterman, the state’s lieutenant governor, to debate him or to give him an explanation for why he would not attend a debate.
“There’s a lot of people, including (in) the trades, that I’m talking to a lot, who realize that the most important thing is a job,” Oz said. “You can talk about all the other things in other areas, you can tweet all you want, but if you don’t have a job, if you’re not supporting the policies that allow people to make a living and provide for their families, and have a safe community around them, they’re not going to vote for you.”
Loss of opportunity poses a problem for small towns, Oz said.
“Our children don’t think there’s a bright future here, so they’re leaving, and we want our kids to stay home and build our communities, and keep this part of the country strong,” he said. “We’re hampering ourselves, allowing businesses to fly to Ohio and West Virginia, and we’re not being a leader in our nation. In the Senate, we have to have someone with a bold voice, who can articulate what I’m telling you right now. We have to have Pennsylvania values giving a dose of reality to Washington.”
Kelly emphasized the importance of remaining competitive in the market, and said Oz would bring “fresh air” into the Senate.
“The biggest challenge we have today is we tax ourselves too heavily, we over-regulate ourselves, and we make it impossible for us to compete in a global economy,” Kelly said. “That just doesn’t make sense.”
Oz’s messages resonated with Todd Spencer, Robinson Fans vice president of manufacturing.
“Everything he talked about with global supply chain problems and issues, getting things on time, getting material in, it’s been a real hassle,” he said. “We need somebody in our corner, and we need somebody looking out for Western Pennsylvania. Manufacturing is something we need to keep alive and well.”
County Commissioner Kim Geyer said Oz and Kelly “exemplified Republican values.”
“Robinson Fans is a prime example of a family-run business that has achieved the American dream through hard work, resourcefulness, and through family,” Geyer said. “I think a lot of what Dr. Oz talked about today was about the American Dream, the values that exemplify not only Butler County but those of Robinson Fans.”
