There is some truth to the latter part of Mr. Sholle’s assessment. More than two hours north of Indianapolis and some distance from the nearest Interstate, Huntington, like other rural corners of the country, rarely gets much attention from outsiders.

At the same time, true to the spirit of its understated residents, Huntington’s political and union leaders shied away from the spotlight that their counterparts in Indianapolis sought out. Some feared that criticizing United Technologies publicly would undercut negotiations to save jobs.

About 100 jobs in sales, marketing and engineering will remain in Huntington after manufacturing ceases, and the company has been adding to its white-collar staff here. Unfortunately, most of the workers on the assembly lines would never be considered for these jobs because they lack college degrees and other credentials, like engineering experience.

While it is too late for the likes of Jim Sholle and Pat Saylors, even United Technologies’ chief executive, Greg Hayes, suggested recently that the years of cost-cutting at Carrier, the furnace and air-conditioner maker, had gone too far, putting short-term profits ahead of long-term growth.

The need to stay competitive was the reason the company gave for moving the jobs from Indiana to Mexico, but Carrier’s market share actually eroded slightly last year. So Carrier is making a course correction.

“We need to make investments, as I said before, in the sales force,” Mr. Hayes told analysts on Wall Street in December. “We need to get more feet on the street.”

“Bob is focused on it,” Mr. Hayes added, referring to Mr. McDonough’s new marching orders to invest, in what sounded like a mix of goal and threat. “Bob’s senior leadership team is focused on it, and we’ve got to get everybody in the organization focused on it equally, so more work to do there.”