In Part Two of the Apple-Finisar story, Apple covers the human side of the impact of such an investment in Sherman Texas. "Over the last five years, Bruce Armstrong has walked thousands of miles through the corridors of an empty manufacturing plant in Sherman, Texas, keeping the lights on. Since the plant closed in 2012, he's been its caretaker, always holding out hope it would come alive again. Thanks to new business from Apple, that hope is about to become a reality.

The 700,000-square-foot plant expects to begin shipping in the second half of 2018, and its output will make Sherman the VCSEL capital of the US. Finisar will soon start hiring 500 highly skilled workers and Armstrong, born and raised there, is busy getting the building ready. 'It will be great to see people come back through the door," he says. "This means a lot for the Sherman area.'"

Bruce Armstrong thinks this growth with Apple will mark a new beginning and a better future for his hometown. "Down the road, we used to have Johnson & Johnson — we were the dental floss capital of the world. But that's since closed. What defines Sherman now? This new facility. It's just that significant." He won't be walking those corridors alone for long. And that suits him just fine.

Machine operator Jerrod Wright knows firsthand how getting a good job can change a life. Before Wright was hired in 2014, he was homeless, sleeping inside a car wash at night.

During his last four years at Finisar, Wright has married and bought a home. “This company changed my life,” he says. The new Apple business is something he’s proud of. “Finisar is like a family so this means a lot.”

With U.S. manufacturing closing shop in the U.S. and running to Mexico, China and Vietnam due to lower taxes and wages over the last few decades, it's great to see the current U.S. President trying to pass a tax bill that will support investments in the U.S. like the one Apple is making there in Sherman.

When you read the human side of factories closing and then reopening, it's great to hear. It's positive and inspirational and it's definitely a two thumbs up moment for Apple in supporting more working class jobs in the U.S.A.

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