Nov. 4--An all-too-familar scene played out last week, this time at Benchmark Electronics, Inc.

A group of 14 workers showed up for their $10 per hour shift assembling circuit boards. But instead of starting, they were told their work contract was ending immediately.

The buzz among the group was that other shifts of workers totaling 35 were released earlier, bringing the estimated number people losing jobs to 49.

This abrupt and unexpected end was two months earlier than originally planned when the crew was hired, says one of the workers.

Many workers were hired in August for a gig that was to run through December to handle what was expected to be an increase in manufacturer orders, said the worker, who wished to remain anonymous.

Officials at the Angleton, Texas-based contract manufacturer confirmed that "contract workers hired for temporary situations" were let go, though no full-time Benchmark employees were affected.

The worker who contacted me said everyone cut had been working 40 hours a week.

The talk on the assembly line was that apparently expected orders for medical devices fell though for November and December.

It all adds up to a local facility having less work and Rochester having "... a greater pool of unemployed workers in an already crowded field," the former contract worker said.

Here's come the sun

As the sun is becoming a more rare sight in the misty Minnesota sky, a Mankato couple is preparing to light up a new tanning salon in Rochester.

Owner John and Wendy Fell are opening a Tan World franchise at 1300 Salem Road S.W. in the T.J. Maxx Plaza.

"We've always been looking at the Rochester area," says John Fell,

"We like the city a lot. Finally, the stars aligned."

The Fells hope to open in the former Creative Expressions space in mid-November.

Expect 15 tanning units, including a do-it-yourself spray-on tan booth.

This will be their fourth Tan World location. The others are on Mankato, St. Cloud and Mason City, Iowa.

Tan World is expected to open with five on staff. "And hopefully, that number will grow," John Fell says.

Hers online

In an effort to try to stay connected with the shoppers that discover his women's clothing stores while visiting Rochester, Bruce and Brenda Dahlstrom are taking Hers to where it has never gone before.

The Internet.

"People come to Rochester for Mayo Clinic and ask us every day, 'Do you have a catalog or a Web site?'" says Bruce Dahlstrom. As of two weeks ago, the second generation, family-owned business can say it does have a Web site and customers can buy through it.

The Hers stores are located on the Peace Plaza and on the second floor of the University Square Mall in the downtown Rochester.

While many retailers have taken that step long ago, this is a big deal for a pair of shops that only have had a point-of-sale computer for three years.

"We did this for two reasons -- to help promote our bricks-and-mortar store and to do e-commerce," Dahlstrom says. "We just took an order from Louisiana. We're off to a good start."

Jeff Kiger's Heard on the Street column runs Mondays and Thursdays.

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