The following excerpt is from my interview with Michigan’s 1993 Women’s Entrepreneur of the Year and a decades-long small business owner [...] Her name is Nina Sylvester and sadly her story is similar to many other past—and current—Michigan manufacturing shop owners:

“Bank of America called and told me that they ‘No longer find that Automotive and Manufacturing are lucrative to their business and therefore will not renew my loan and I have 90 days to find new financing.’ Keep in mind that I was never late on a payment, nor am I to this day, 10 months later. I am at the office everyday collecting what little money is left in receivables which is a job in itself. No one is paying their bills, and I hear the same story from everyone. I had in excess of $100,000.00 in bankruptcies alone since the end of last year. I called and had packages put together and interviewed with 20 different banks. They all said the same thing. One bank in particular, Huntington National Bank, I asked them what they were doing with the money that was given to them by the government and she told me that they had it in an account collecting interest and were going to acquire other banks with it.

I also contacted the SBA and was told that they have programs for new businesses but nothing for existing businesses. Meanwhile the bank is on me to pay off my loans in their entirety. They forced me to stop manufacturing and taking orders, forced me to sell off equipment that was appraised in 2006 for $683,000.00. A boring mill that I paid $210,000.00 for, sold at auction for $15,000.00, and that is just one. Tooling that cost in excess of $20,000.00 went for $25.00. Now, I have a building that I paid $470,000.00 for in 1991, they are telling me I will be lucky to get $375,000.00 for. I still owe the bank $650,000.00 and don’t have a clue as to how I’m going to pay that back.

I have been in business 24 years, and have nothing but debt to show for it now. I have worked in this industry for 35 years, and never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that this would be happening in this country. Our government is quick to help foreign countries and will not help their own people. They continue to send work overseas when large corporations here are closing left and right.”

via Testimony on behalf of Michigan’s tool and die industry | Tool & Dieing.

Suppliers may go bankrupt because of the bankruptcy filings above. Suppliers may hold off on shipping parts without assurances they aren’t going to lose money in the bankruptcy. Either action idles assembly plants, cutting off the cash flow the car company needs to emerge from bankruptcy.

Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal wrote:

Troubled U.S. auto-parts suppliers were dealt a new blow Thursday when Chrysler LLC said it will temporarily idle most of its manufacturing during the bankruptcy process starting Monday.

Along with lost production, suppliers are at risk of having their payments from Chrysler disrupted as the auto maker’s finances are managed in bankruptcy court.

Two suppliers on Thursday refused to ship parts to Chrysler, forcing the auto maker to close a Warren, Mich., factory ahead of the planned shutdown, Vice Chairman Tom LaSorda said in a conference call with reporters.

Chrysler’s move threatens to push many suppliers closer to bankruptcy, and could ultimately lead to disruption in the flow of parts to healthier auto makers

I’m glad someone is paying attention to this danger.

Links: Chrysler Shutdown Could Push Parts Makers to the Brink – WSJ.com.