Pat LeBlanc, the chairman of EBW Electronics, is a Republican who voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election. Two years later, he
says he feels “betrayed” and that his factory may have to move to Mexico because of the president’s tariffs, which will likely slice his 2019 profits in half.
“It’s killing us,” he said. “I just feel so betrayed. If we fail because the company is being harmed by the government, that just makes me sick.”
These comments are a striking about-face from remarks LeBlanc made in 2013. At the time, EBW was ranked as one of the fastest growing companies in the Midwest.
“Yeah, we’re adding jobs and we’re growing faster than anyone else,”
told The Holland Sentinel at the time. “Getting into LEDs is what really propelled us. And we’re not moving to Mexico.”
Cory Steeby, EBW’s president,
says the tariffs on steel and aluminum imports were “a tax that comes right off the bottom line,” and that moving to Mexico appears to be the only way to avoid them.
“
It totally incentivizes you to move out of the United States and build either in Canada or Mexico,” Steeby said. “These are active conversations right now.”
