One of [Syracuse, New York’s]…oldest candle makers is planning to slash its work force in part because of decreased demand from a shrinking number of Catholic churches to buy its products.
Emkay Candle told its 46 employees that as many as 38 of them will be laid off in 90 days. That would leave just eight people to make candles at the company, which has been making them at the same location since its founding in 1925.
Rolly DeVore, Emkay’s general manager, said the actual number of layoffs may wind up at less than 38, but not much less. “I think maybe 15 will remain after the whole thing is done, but I don’t know,” he said. “It all depends on what the order input is going to be in the next two months.
With the tremendous growth in candle consumption in the public sector, why didn’t these guys branch-out into secular candles i.e. the scented kind people use in their homes. Just go to your local Wal-Mart or K-Mart and you see hundreds of candles. Maybe things will get better when the hordes of ACs Cross the River Tiber and start burning millions of candles?
We use liquid paraffin candles, have for years. Never shrink, easy to refill, stable no matter the heat. Me thinks they missed the technology boat…
Same here, Brian!
EmKay is no stranger to liquid fill or liquid cartridge candles. But they have had a large share of plain votive candles, 8 hour, 10 hour, 15 hour, and then the 6 day and 7 day sanctuary and reserved sacrament lights. These are not the normal home-burning choices. And the Roman churches have kept this part of the industry alive.
Part of the problem from a profit-margin basis with liquid fill is that once the initial outlay is made for the candle shell (the candle-looking container that holds the liquid and is capped with the screw on “follower” with wick), it is relatively inexpensive to purchase the burnable liquid (and purchase it from other sources than the original company). Not much of a profit margin there to keep a larger company afloat.
These are the ups and downs of cause and effect.
The same kind of thing happened with companies providing albs and amices, faced with the overwhelming demand for the cassock/alb.
As was learned by the makers of razors, computer printers and golf equipment, the money is in the consumables (razor blades, ink cartridges and golf balls respectively). If the people ain’t consuming, your business is not booming!
I’m not a fan of the liquid-reservoir candles. I prefer things to look like what they are. If it’s a candle, it should look like a candle. If it’s a lamp, it should look like a lamp. If it’s a light bulb, it should look like a light bulb. There’s nothing wrong with using light bulbs or lamps in place of candles, but why try to disguise them as something they aren’t?
So, Ross…
are you saying that we should set fire to our oil puddle on the altar on Sunday? We have a building that we can’t afford to AC and the candles just droop and dissolve. I’d say that the oil candles are just oil lamps. Tall, skinny, white oil lamps.