Some Firms Opt to Bring Manufacturing Back to the US

About 14% of U.S. companies surveyed by a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor definitely plan to move some of their manufacturing back home—the latest sign of growing interest among executives in a strategy known as "reshoring."

David Simchi-Levi, an engineering professor at MIT who runs a program for supply-chain executives, said he surveyed 108 U.S.-based manufacturing companies with multinational operations over the past two months. The companies range in size from annual sales of about $20 million to more than $25 billion, and most of them are over $1 billion, Dr. Simchi-Levi said.

Among the main reasons cited for reshoring: a desire to get products to market faster and respond rapidly to customer orders; savings from reduced transportation and warehousing; improved quality and protection of intellectual property.

 

See the full article at YahooFinance here.

 

 

 

Is Your Cash Flow In Crisis Mode or Control Mode?

When it comes to cash flow, are you in CONTROL MODE or CRISIS MODE?

Do you know the difference?

Join us for our next WIRE-Net Finance Seminar to find out!

WHEN
Friday, July 27, 2012
8:00 to 10:00 AM
Networking begins at 7:45 AM

WHERE
Jergens, Inc.
15700 S. Waterloo Road
Cleveland, OH 44110

The Cash Flow Factory will provide insight into maximizing internal cash flow. Participants will gain an understanding of cash and cash flow, balancing health and growth, and the difference between being in control mode versus in crisis mode. The program will walk through a detailed case study with a step-by-step approach to improving internal cash flow and introduces the "Business Dashboard" which is designed to provide daily or weekly management information on key cash flow drivers.

About the presenter: Tom Gentile is a partner with FocusCFO and joined the company in 2010. Prior to joining FocusCFO, Tom served in several executive management capacities with WCI Steel (Chief Financial Officer and Vice President-Strategy & Business Development) and BP America (Treasurer). He previously held positions with White Motor Corporation and KMPG Peat Marwick.

Tom’s experience includes working in the steel, oil and gas and heavy duty vehicle manufacturing industries, with extensive experience in strategic planning, turnaround management, working capital/cash flow improvement, acquisitions and procurement.

Tom received his MBA from John Carroll University and a BBA in Accounting from Cleveland State University.

For Info and to Register: Click this Link

 

 

CIRI Program Has Positive Impact on Manufacturing

CIRI’s mission is to work with Cleveland's manufacturers to help them stabilize and grow in Cleveland. CIRI, or Cleveland Industrial Retention Initiative, is a program of the City of Cleveland, managed by WIRE-Net. At last week's council meeting, City Council read and passed legislation to continue another contract year for CIRI services to Cleveland manufacturers. The city annually invests around $350,000 in direct support to the sector through CIRI.

For every dollar invested in CIRI in 2011, the City earned $2.46 in payroll taxes alone. Since 2007, when WIRE-Net began managing the program, the ROI is a $2.85 return on every CIRI program dollar invested.

Since 2007 the combined economic impact of CIRI's 61 service interventions has been:

• 55 firms retained or expanded
• Retained 1,200 direct jobs
• Preserved over $59 million in annual payroll
• Secured $1.1 million in annual payroll taxes

CIRI assists the city's manufacturing firms to improve operations, maintain profitability, and remain competitive. Kareemah Williams is CIRI Program Director and she believes in building relationships with businesses to develop an understanding of their needs, opportunities, and challenges as the cornerstone of business retention.

Williams remarked, "The volume of manufacturing services that CIRI now offers has evolved beyond a visitation and information referral program, to one that includes facilitating projects that help manufacturers compete and grow in Cleveland. CIRI meets daily with manufacturers on behalf of Mayor Jackson and the City of Cleveland. We identify issues and provide solutions that are important to the retention of jobs and income to the City of Cleveland."

The CIRI team consists of Industrial Development Managers, Jacki Adams, Millie Caraballo, and MidTown Cleveland's JP Kilroy. The whole team is well-respected by their manufacturing customers. Michael Smalley, VP for Electric Cord Sets said, "Jacki and WIRE-Net have been instrumental in bringing Electric Cord Sets into the City of Cleveland. Jacki always has new and good ideas on how we can increase sales and reduce our expenses. What a fantastic asset!"

Millie Caraballo is known by local companies as someone who gets things done. According to Ingolf Nitsch, Factory Manager for Nestlé Professional – L J Minor Division, who is managing a large plant expansion on 25th Street, "Millie is one of the most knowledgeable people that I know about the overall workings of our local government. Her knowledge, commitment to help better the city, her sincere passion for helping others, and her ability to get things done make her an invaluable asset to the City."

Nestlé / L J Minor was evaluating a complicated expansion requiring assembly of property from several different owners. Expanding in an older City is rarely easy, but the City's help with the support of CIRI ensured that the over $20 million project would stay on track. It resulted in the retention of over 200 jobs at the plant, which has never seen a layoff.

In 2011, the CIRI team had a direct impact on helping to create or save 870 Cleveland jobs. This includes CIRI's project support for plant expansions at LJ Minor, Miceli Dairy, and Electric Cord Sets, among others, but does not include the often small – but important – daily support CIRI offered over 520 unique companies in 2011.

In 2011 CIRI Industrial Managers:

• Delivered in-plant support to 520 unique Cleveland manufacturing firms employing over 22,000 people
• Conducted over 750 total visits to uncover opportunities and challenges at Cleveland's industrial companies (includes follow-up visits)
• Completed over 510 services primarily in the areas of infrastructure, general business assistance, employment and training, and real estate and land assembly
• Delivered service interventions to 21 firms where jobs were at risk or new jobs could be added, for a total impact of:
1. 870 direct manufacturing and related jobs
2. $43 million annual payroll *
3. $860,000 in annual payroll taxes paid to the City
4. 67 jobs projected to be created with potentially $3.3 million in new payroll*

*Annual payroll is estimated on payroll data from the State of Ohio Labor Market Information System.

The Chicago Fed's Take on the US' "Manufacturing Moment"

At WIRE-Net, we are glad to see the string of positive job reports in the US manufacturing sector.  We are also glad to see all the new friends of US manufacturing, including elected officials, economists, think tanks and policy wonks -- both inside and outside the Capitol Beltway.  But, lets get real.  The US economy shed over 5.7 million manufacturing jobs in the 2000s.  In Ohio, over 3300 manufacturing firms closed their doors in the same period.  Gaining about 500,000 total mfg jobs since the bottom of the financial crisis does not constitute a full blown manufacturing recovery.

So we appreciated the view of the Chicago Fed's Bill Testa on the prospects for a full manufacturing rebound: 

Manufacturing: Been down so long, it looks like up?
Those having keen interests in the U.S. manufacturing sector are somewhat encouraged by its performance over the past three years. The sector has bounced back sharply since the end of the severe 2008–09 recession. Job growth in manufacturing is running up 2 percent on a year-over-year basis, and the sector has recovered three-quarters of the output lost during the 2008-09 recession. Encouragement about manufacturing prospects derives not only from the recent bounce, but also from the possibility that the change in direction may represent a turnaround in manufacturing’s fortunes that will be sustained over the longer term. The previous peak in manufacturing jobs took place as far back as the 1990s, so this new direction, particularly if it holds up over a long horizon, would be a welcome change.

Making It Here: The Heart of the Matter - Keynote and Plenary Panel

If you have not yet registered for this year's Making it Here conference . . . then please read this recent offering from WIRE-Net. I wanted to make sure all of my contacts had seen this.

If you cannot attend the full two-day Making it Here conference, but would like to be part of this national energy supply chain conference, you can join us for :

 

·  just the luncheon key note on Wed July 11, or  

·  for the opportunity of networking – Wednesday evening on the Lake Erie Dinner Cruise. READ BELOW

Also – today is the last day to register and still get the Early Bird pricing for the two days.
Hope to see you there!

John Colm

If you're only seeing text, you can see the HTML version at http://www.wire-net.org/email/MIH2012LuncheonEmail.html

 

Energy has become the big economic story of 2012 Join us for an engaging luncheon keynote address and panel discussion on how we can grow our manufacturing industries

KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Louis Schorsch CEO, Flat Carbon Americas, ArcelorMittal and Member, Group Management Board A PLENARY PANEL DISCUSSING SMART POLICIES FOR A MANUFACTURING REVIVAL: Keynote: Chris Ayers President, Global Primary Products, Alcoa Michael Eckhart, Managing Director, CITI Bank, former President, American Council on Renewable Energy Carl Pope, former Executive Director and Chairman, the Sierra Club "Four years ago, Lou Schorsch reminded us we couldn't produce 25 percent of America's energy from wind resources without the 300 tons of steel that go into every wind turbine. That we couldn't build the high-speed rail, mass transit, or freight rail systems without the steel that we need. That we can't have the electric vehicles, high-efficiency appliances, or the carbon-neutral building systems required without the steel that such a massive overhaul would require." -David Foster, President, BlueGreen Alliance Foundation WHEN Wednesday, July 11, 2012 11:30 AM to 2:45 PM WHERE Public Auditorium Building 500 Lakeside Avenue Cleveland, OH 44114 COST $40 Per Person $300 Table of Eight

www.MakingItHere.org

AGENDA TOURS CORPORATE SPONSORS PRICING REGISTRATION

Register for the full conference! Early registration discount ends July 3rd! INDUSTRY TRACKS INCLUDE: NATURAL GAS • WIND • SOLAR • ENERGY EFFICIENCY • ADVANCED TRANSPORTATION

 

 

Forward email WIRE-Net | 4855 W. 130th Street | Suite 1 | Cleveland | OH | 44135

 

Article: Job Creation: Focus on Programs, Not Politics

Job Creation: Focus on Programs, Not Politics
http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2012/03/this_election_year_well_all.html?cm_mmc=npv-_-AWAREN-_-KASLOW_POST-_-030112

(Sent from Flipboard)

Sent from my iPad

Obama: Manufacturing Matters

This is the White House recap of President Obama's Manufacturing Agenda. In over 20 years of working in and with manufacturers, I can't recall this critical sector getting more airtime in a State of the Union address.

Everything You Need to Know About the President's Blueprint for Manufacturing
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2012/01/25/everything-you-need-know-about-presidents-blueprint-manufacturing

Sent from my iPad (not made in America) :(

Some Boards from the Past

I was going through some of my files and thought I would post some of the boards created in various facilitated events. Some come from open discussions others from more formal methods like World Cafe events.