YAKIMA, Wash. -- Metal Benders is looking into government contracts in Guam.

Everyone from the chief financial officer down to the office worker at Wilbert Precast is learning to do multiple jobs.

Canam Steel in Sunnyside has bought new equipment to develop product lines and secured certification to do more government contracts.

Yakima Valley manufacturers have tried every way possible to endure the economic downturn.

The industry, however, has still dealt with a massive loss of jobs this year.

Out of about 2,100 jobs that Yakima County has lost year-over-year in 2009, about 1,300 were in manufacturing, according to the state Employment Security Department.

In 2008, while the county had a gain of 400 jobs from the previous year, manufacturing lost 300 jobs.

The losses come from manufacturing companies that have been forced to layoff workers with business and revenue dwindling.

Some companies are tied to industries, such as real estate and retail, that have shown major weaknesses over the past year.

"I've met with at least half a dozen companies that have significantly lower employment today then they did a year or two ago," said Dave McFadden, president of New Vision-Yakima County Development Association, the county's economic development arm. "They're affected by changes in the supply pipeline. There's no order backlog. With no order backlog, they have no choice."

Canam Steel saw employment levels reach more than 200 workers a few years ago.

But the company saw a drastic drop in business in the last year. Retailers, a major source of the company's business, experienced declining sales and scaled back new store construction activity, resulting in less work for the Sunnyside facility.

The company is down to 89 workers, with about one-third of the workers on reduced hours.

"The recession has hit us hard, it really has," general manager Roger Roudebush said.

The loss of manufacturing jobs started well before the national recession officially began in December 2007.

Looking at the past 15 years, manufacturing employment in Yakima County peaked in 2000, when it had about 11,300 jobs, according to the state Employment Security Department.

As of September, the county had about 7,300 jobs, a 35.4 percent drop.

Much of that decline came with the closure of several major Yakima Valley manufacturers in the last few years.

In 2005, Yakima Resources closed its sawmill, leaving 116 people out of work. A year later it closed its plywood mill, leaving another 225 people jobless.

The area dealt with huge job losses after the closure of two major recreational vehicle companies, which at their best employed hundreds of employees in total.

Trail Wagons/Chinook RV employed as many as 162 workers before it closed late in 2005. Western Recreational Vehicles closed in April 2008 and left 220 out of work. At its peak, Western RV had almost 600 employees.

While manufacturing is not the only industry dealing with job losses, manufacturing has taken the greatest hit. The sector with the second greatest loss was construction and mining, at 700 jobs.

And the loss of manufacturing positions may be more significant to the economy.

"It's an industry that pays well with good benefits," said Doug Tweedy, a regional economist for the state Employment Security Department.

Industry officials say that while losing jobs is not good, it may help companies better secure long-term survival.

"A lot of it is driven by need," McFadden said. Companies think, "'If I don't do this and get lean and efficient and modern and continually work to improve, I'm not going to be around.'"

Wilbert Precast, a Spokane-based company with a plant in Yakima, saw employee counts drop from 36 employees to 18 between February and August and saw its underground utility business and retaining wall business drop, a result of the housing market slowdown.

Employee counts increased back to 27 in the last few months when it secured business with the state Department of Transportation and Hanford.

But these workers are doing more than they did before, said Mike Dooley, Yakima branch manager.

A worker who may manufacture concrete boxes to store coffins may also help out in building underground utility spaces.

"I don't (layoff) by going by seniority," he said. "You have to do it by who gives the most bang for your buck and can get you through. It's definitely the guys who are more willing to learn new things."

Metal Benders, which has built its business on providing services for government and industrial projects, had to let go about 10 percent of its staff earlier this year as business activity slowed down.

It rehired most of those workers, but president Steve Menard isn't taking any chances.

His company flew to Guam a few weeks ago to look at doing work for a military base seeking about 12,000 construction workers. The company will fly back in December for a second look.

"We go wherever we can find work," he said.

Such moves are necessary.

"More and more for your companies to be successful, they have to understand their industry and be better than their industry," said Patric Sazama, regional project manager for Washington Manufacturing Services, a statewide organization that helps manufacturers boost efficiency and productivity.

While greater efficiency could result in a better bottom line for the industry, it's hard to say whether lost jobs will return.

In some cases, companies who cut back or change their process to be more lean may choose not to hire more employees, Sazama said.

Others believe the jobs will return, but not in the same areas.

While New Vision will continue to recruit larger-scale manufacturers to come to the Yakima Valley to create new jobs, such opportunities are getting slim, making it necessary to pursue other possibilities.

The organization is looking to provide more resources to emerging entrepreneurial ventures and encouraging innovation from existing companies.

"(Large companies) are not a big source of new jobs," McFadden said. "They pale in comparison to the smaller companies that have formed and have grown, adding more employment overall to the economy."

Local companies remain hopeful that the jobs lost during the recession will return in the next year as existing businesses return to normal levels and they see the fruit of investment in improving efficiency and seeking new business opportunities.

Canam Steel hopes to return to 2007 levels, though general manager Roudebush believes the recovery may take a while.

"There are people who want to build, but they can't get the money. I hear that over and over again," he said.

Wilbert Precast opened a new facility in Yakima early in 2008. The facility has the capacity for nearly triple that of current employee levels. Dooley believes those levels are possible.

That's why the company is still looking for good talent.

"If the right person walks through the door, we'll try to find a position," Dooley said. "We don't like to pass up on good talent."

* Mai Hoang can be reached at 509-577-7685 or mhoang@yakimaherald.com.