On a Tuesday evening in small town Brillion, Wisconsin; the sighs, disbelief, anger and even some tears were shed by many. No. No one passed away, a natural disaster didn't hit. No. It was something a little bit closer to home.
Every small town has that factory or company that has kept the town employed and proud for many years. Generations upon generations pass through their doors. In times where you only had your hands to the present day where it all turned digital.
In a town of three thousand, the Brillion Iron Works was known far and wide for their metal castings and farm implements. In small town Northeast Wisconsin, a foundry like this meant everything to the locals. Founded in 1890, it started as a manufacturer of hand and farm tools but soon after that in 1900, they added the foundry on, creating a booming business in a small town. In 1969 the Brillion Iron Works became a division of Beatrice Food Company; years later in 1985 they became part of The Robins Group while shortly after that the Iron Works became a subsidiary of Truck Components Inc. In 2005, the Brillion Iron Works became an Accuride company. But after multiple years of up and down progression and production, little seemed to have availed. After buying the company only a week ago, MPG, announced that they will be closing the Brillion Iron Works for good.
Little unbeknownst to the locals of Brillion. It hit many hard in the hearts. I have grown up in this town. Born and raised; as well as my grandmother, grandfather, my uncle and mother. Brillion is the only thing they knew, and one constant was always the Brillion Iron Works. Many of my family members worked at the Iron Works, my late Grandpa Jim was the grandparent that I remember at a young age knowing where he worked, what he smelled like when he got home from a hard day's work and what it meant to work for a great company like the Iron Works.
Yes, times have changed, the value of a hometown company has lost its meaning. But, living in a town that has a population of 3,100 or a little more, one high school, one too many bars downtown and recently a McDonalds (we were a pretty big deal), a company that brings money and people into a town like this, means a lot.
The loss of the Brillion Iron Works is much more than a loss of a million dollar plus company. It's more than the growth of our population with new workers and their families moving in.
The loss of the Brillion Iron Works hits home for many generations that have passed through Brillion. Many who have worked side by side for long hours or walked to work on those cold mornings or walked home in blistering heat. I'm sure if I were to talk to any employees of the Brillion Iron Works, past and present, they will say that fellow co-workers became family.
That's what a small town encompasses: Family.
The loss of the Brillion Iron Works is like losing a family member. All 3,169 members of the Brillion family will be mourning the loss of a great member of the community in November of this year.
