After almost five decades manufacturing industrial products for such diverse industries as solar power and defence, the company could ill-afford to lose Mr Klug’s expertise.

Like a number of US states, Minnesota has a labour shortage – specifically a skills shortage – and seeing his valuable experience disappear overnight would have left Alexandria’s management with big shoes to fill.

According to the US Department of Labor, since March 2018 US monthly job vacancies have outnumbered unemployed job seekers. As the baby boomers reach retirement, it seems there are not enough millennials in the jobs pipeline ready to step in.