Two Kosciusko County companies are being hard hit by General Motors' 47-day long strike.

While inventories at Petro's GM Showplace are getting thin, production at Explorer Van has dropped off dramatically.

Explorer laid off about 30 summer workers three weeks ago and decided Wednesday to lay off 50 more employees - all due to the strike that has led to a virtual shutdown of GM plants across North America.

About 80 percent of the vans Explorer converts into recreational vehicles are GM or Chevy, said Steve Kesler, who operates the business with his father, Bob.

The van conversion company's normal daily production level is about 30 vans a day, but production has slowed to eight vans a day. "We've basically become a Ford conversion van company," Kesler said.

Explorer was in the midst of a strong year with record-setting months, but the strike has changed everything.

"We're taking a licking," Kesler said. "If it isn't settled in a hurry, it's going to start having a traumatic affect on us."

The workers have expressed a desire to come back as soon as possible. "I feel sorry for them," Kesler said of the laid off workers.

The strike has seriously depleted the new car inventory at the GM Showplace on Ind. 15N in Warsaw.

To make up for the lack of new car sales, Petro's is acquiring and selling more late-model used cars to supplement business during the strike, said owner Bob Petro.

The company usually has about an 80- to 90-day car supply, but had just 38 new vehicles on its lot Thursday.

But it will take nearly 30 days after the strike is settled to restock the new car supply, Petro said.

"We're getting down to the nitty-gritty," he said.

Some workers involved in new car sales have been tentatively reassigned to other departments within the company.

Petro's employs five new car salesmen.

Petro views potential layoffs as an "absolute last straw ... I don't even want to think about that," he said.

Petro said other departments remain busy, but wants people to know they still have a wide variety of vehicles to choose from.

For Explorer, the strike could not have come at a worse time. The company had reduced its inventory of 1998 vans in anticipation of 1999 models.

If they anticipated the strike, Explorer would have slowed production down to preserve its inventory and keep workers busy.

The average salary of those who were laid off is about $35,000, Kesler said.

But he said he sees an impact on the community beyond lost wages for workers.

Midsummer is the time of year Explorer brings dealer representatives to town to promote its company. That involves groups of about six people eight times a month. During their stay, Explorer covers the expense of hotels, restaurants and extras such as golf excursions.

"All that's up in smoke," Kesler said.

Explorer has coped with other minor strikes, but this is different.

"This is the first one that's really affected us," Kesler said.

Recovery from the strike won't come immediately upon an end to the labor dispute.

Kesler said the plant wouldn't be back up to speed for another six weeks after the strike is resolved.

Neither Kesler nor Petro are optimistic about an end to the strike.

Kesler is fearful that GM might try to ride out the strike and not compromise. "That would be a bloody affair," he said.

Meanwhile, Rinker Boat Co., a Syracuse manufacturer which uses GM motors in its stern drive motorboats, learned GM had worked out a deal to continue the service.

Rinker's controller, John Peat, said the apparent agreement is unexpected good news.

The company hasn't been affected by the strike, but officials are worried.

"I thought we were going to be shutting down for ever how long, but apparently, that's not going to happen," Peat said. [[In-content Ad]]