After the patents expired on the locking pliers they immediately had competition and has struggled for the past 10 years. It's sad to see a small town lose jobs, fortunately Nebraska's economy is not in the "tank" as much as other parts of the country.

In the Omaha metro area there are still new jobs being created. Google is opening a large data center in Council Bluffs, Iowa, Yahoo just announced that it is building 2 facilities in the Omaha area. PayPal can't find enough help.