"Excellent service and fast delivery"The 135 inmates who make license plates behind bars at Lebanon Correctional Institution perked up when they heard last week that lawmakers are considering ditching the front plate for motorists.
The men, supervised by a staff of nine, crank out 300,000 pairs of plates annually. Starting salary is 21 cents an hour.
Are they worried about “unemployment?”
“It won’t affect us at all,” said Richard Custer, prison employee and tag shop supervisor.
He explained in the manufacturing process, two matching plates are inked and pressed at the same time.
If Ohio becomes a one plate state, it will still take the same amount of manpower to feed the machines, but the amount of materials used, including metal and ink, would be reduced.
“It will change how much we order and have around the shop,” Custer said, noting shipping costs would also be reduced.
The prison has been manufacturing the state’s license plates since 1964. It is a source of pride for all involved, especially inmates .
Jon Cherry is a Director of leading personalised number plate dealer Regplates.com. Jon has over 25 years industry experience handling some of the most expensive plates ever sold with many high profile and celebrity clients. Active since 1991 in the number plate industry, Jon is currently Chairman of the Cherished Numbers Guild, a trade body representing number plate dealers in the UK. Jon has written many articles on the industry and insight into the future of numberplates and the market as a whole.
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