US Congressman Brad Wenstrup, right, was in Manchester on Friday, Oct. 6 to visit the owners and employees of Artectis Technology. With Congressman Wenstrup in this photo are Artectis founders C.L. Wagner and Zane Mingee.

 

Artectis shows off its cutting edge approach to competing in global market – 

Story and photo by Patricia Beech – 

Employees at the Artectis technology company in Manchester welcomed United States Congressman Brad Wenstrup to their office on Friday, Oct. 6 to demonstrate how the start-up company is competing for work currently being outsourced to India and other countries.
After a private meeting with founders C.L. Skip Wagner and Zane Mingee, Wenstrup mingled with the employees, asking about their families and work histories.
“I used to drive over an hour to work and back every day,” Roy Littleton told the Congressman. “It’s great to be able to work so close to home doing a job that I’m really interested in.”
During their half-hour meeting, Wagner said he asked the Congressman why U.S. laws make it so difficult to hire people in America as opposed to people in India.
“If I hire someone today, I have to fill out 14 different forms, so you’re looking at a need for an HR position,” said Wagner. “For every $10,000 I pay that person, $3,700 goes to taxes, but if I hire someone in India I fill out zero papers and I pay zero taxes – it doesn’t make any sense.”
Wenstrup said he understood Wagner and Mingee’s frustrations and applauded their innovation.
“I think that our government has made it difficult for entities like this one,” he said, “This business is a template for the nation on how we can make something like this work in our small towns.”
“We couldn’t do this in Cincinnati because people would want too much money,” said Wagner. “That’s why we thought outside the box and instead of going to India we came to Manchester – a rural area that needs jobs – and the sky is the limit for our workers because these are not just jobs, these are careers.”
The business, located at 21 East 2nd Street in Manchester, has doubled the number of employees since it began operation in the spring, and is currently running 24/7 shifts.
“I hope the tax relief bill we’re considering in Congress will aid small businesses to be able to do these type of things with less bureaucracy and to bring more people in,” said Wenstrup. “If we can get types of businesses like this one, it would be a huge help for the country in general, and in our rural areas for those with the greatest need to find more opportunities.”