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February 12, 1993 - Image 86

Resource type:
Text
Publication:
The Detroit Jewish News, 1993-02-12

Disclaimer: Computer generated plain text may have errors. Read more about this.

BUSINESS

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-

wo hundred miles
means nothing to De-
troit businessmen Ir-
win Elson and Joel

Shapiro.
In fact, 200 miles repre-
sents the distance the tele-
phone wire travels up to a
facsimile satellite and down
to Israel for overseas commu-
nication.
"Twenty years ago, there
may have been some per-
ceived time delay because of
communications systems,"
Mr. Elson says. "Today, with
satellite and fax, Israel is just
not that far away." .
Mr. Elson and Mr. Shapiro
recently sold J and L Indus-
trial Supply, a leading mail
order company that has been
importing machine tools from
Israel since the company's
founding in 1972.
J and L is not the only
Michigan company with busi-
ness ties to Israel. Where
there is profit, there is busi-
ness. And many local busi-
nesses are finding that Israel
has become a leading source
of revenue.
The majority of products J
and L purchases come from
companies in the United.
States. Yet 25 percent are im-
ported; and 5 percent are im-
ported from Israel.
Both Mr. Elson and Mr.
Shapiro had worked for other
companies before joining as
partners and creating their
own venture. The other com-
panies also did business with
Israel, where Mr. Shapiro was
born. "It's for profit," Mr.
Elson says.
"Products from Israel al-
ways have, and still repre-
sent, about 5 percent of our
overall sales," Mr. Elson says.
"This is for profit."
J and L manufactures in-
dustrial supplies like high
speed cutting tools, abrasives
and machine shop accessories
from warehouses in Detroit,
Chicago, Charlotte, N.C.,
Hartford, Conn., and Los An-
geles.
Among the products they
purchase are grinding wheels
from Kibbutz Sarid and tool
holding devices from Engi-
neered Tools Manufacturing
in Herzelia.
"Our business problems are
normal ones," Mr. Elson says.
"Israel is a most favored na-
tion for doing business."
Masco Corporation's Inter-
national. Sales Director

George Herrera says his com-
pany sells auto parts and
kitchen cabinets to Israel.
And for the past five years,
Masco has been selling doors
that are assembled there for
sale to Europe.
Israel has a free trade '
agreement with the European
market.
In addition, Masco imports
shower heads from the Israeli
company, Amcor, for its
Southfield-based subsidiary,
Brass-Craft Manufacturing.
Israeli foods are wonderful,
and most can't be duplicated,
some say.
"They (Israelis) make wines
that are just terrific," says !
Mickey Shanker, a partner
with Kramer Foods, a super-
market distributor which im-
portskosher foods.
"Somebody has to be the sup-
plier, and we enjoy the busi-
ness. The kosher food
business is just marginally
profitable, but I'd work on

"Like anything
else, this is for
profit."

Joel Tauber

nothing to help Israel because
it means something."
Kramer Foods was found-
ed in 1937 by a Holocaust sur-
vivor. It went through various
owners, and the company was
purchased by the Shanker
group in 1967. The company
carries. 7,000 products; of
which 60 come from Israel.
Included in the Israeli
products are Telma onion ,/
soup mix, Sharon Valley pre-
serves, Elite chocolate, Car-
mel, Gamla and Yarden
wines and a variety of
Passover foods.
"Israelis don't understand
our market too well," Mr.
Shanker says. "But they want
to do business here. And they
are getting better. Israel al-
ways has a food aisle at the
the big food trade shows."
Joel Tauber is national
president for the United Jew-
ish Appeal. But he also is a
businessman, whose Califor-
nia company, Reed Plastics,
manufactures five-gallon wa-
ter coolers through an
arrangement with a kibbutz.
"A lot of these coolers are
being used in the Middle

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