3 Lessons from New Markets

In conjunction with MAGNET, WIRE-Net has been conducting meetings to acquaint local manufacturing suppliers with OEM and Top Tier companies.  The New Markets Initiative or NMI is a process to bring companies, who had found success in previously traditional markets and supply chains, like automotive, into new markets based not on product, but the capabilities of the company – that is, process capabilities which will allow them to move to new markets with little or no redesign of a company’s business model, machinery or staff. The biggest change we find is in attitude.  The premise is, if you have CNC capabilities and are serving one market, you stand a chance, with little redesign, to supply that capability to another market.  In the course of developing the initiative we came across concepts and principles to consider while on the road to moving into new markets:

 

Low Volume High Mix in New and Emerging Markets – the newer and emerging markets, like Medical, Energy and Aerospace, are seeking high quality parts in small quantities.

 

There are Macro Supply Chains and Micro Supply Chains – one of our biggest findings is that OEMS own the macro supply chains and have a very rigorous process for suppliers often requiring ISO certification, but top tier companies own a micro supply chain and often can bring a smaller companies product in under their certification.  This opens a large area for smaller companies to play. 

 

Quality is Everything - If you can supply in a micro supply chain, you still need to show quality.  This does not have to be ISO, but some form of QMS needs to be in place to work with a top tier company.  While to some this may seem daunting, much of what a top tier is looking for already exists in most companies and it is merely a process of documentation in order to qualify.

 

While new market entry is a great opportunity, only healthy companies should consider making the journey – it is not a stop gap measure for companies on the brink. What lessons have you learned from new markets experience.

 

 

A thoughtful analysis of the Chinese currency conundrum.

The Times gets it wrong: Ending currency manipulation would reduce U.S. trade deficits and create jobs

 

An op-ed published in The New York Times last week (August 23) claimed that revaluation of the Chinese yuan would "make barely a dent in America's trade deficit." This ludicrous assertion flies in the face of basic economic theory and our own economic history. The U.S. trade deficit with China displaced 2.4 million U.S. jobs between 2001 and 2008 alone. Treasury Secretary Geithner should identify China as a currency manipulator, and Congress should pass legislation that would authorize the president to impose substantial tariffs on Chinese goods if they fail to substantially revalue the yuan by the end of 2010.

 

Click here for the whole article.

 

 

 

Did Obama's Tire Tariffs Work?

Nearly one year ago, President Obama invoked a trade law known as “421” for the first and only time in the decade the law has been in effect and imposed tariffs on some automobile tire imports from China, which have been surging into the United States from 2004 to 2008.

 

See this post at the MANUFACTURE THIS Blog of the Alliance for American Manufacturing for the full story.

Advanced Continuous Improvement Tour at Zircoa

On August 18, 2010 the WIRE-Net Advanced Continuous Improvement group toured the Zircoa Plant in Solon, OH.  The group is made up of Manufacturers from the Northeast Ohio area on a Continuous/ Lean journey within their individual companies. 

 

Zircoa has been Utilizing Lean principles for the past year and has made some significant progress in implementation.  With the help of a local consultant Zircoa has:

 

• Improved flow
• Reduced mistakes
• Reduced WIP
• Cut Lead time

 

As a result of the efforts, they have seen:

 

• Increase in Sales
• Inventory turns up (inventory down)
• Improved EBIT
• Shorter lead times

 

Our tour focused on the Visual Factory aspect of Lean.  As we walked the floor we were introduced to personnel who described the use and value of visual displays of information on the plant floor (red is bad/green is good!).  We also witnessed a staff meeting being conducted on the floor as part of their continuous communication within the organization.

 

Recommended Reading

 

Zircoa has supported their personnel with many opportunities to advance their Lean Learning.  Among these opportunities were these suggested books:

 

• Everything I Know About Lean I Learned in First Grade (Martichenko)
• It’s Not Magic (Klein and Zawacki)
• Lean Production Simplified (Dennis)
• Creating a Lean Culture (Mann)
• Managing to Learn (Shook)
• Quick Changeover Opportunities: SMED Systems (Productivity Press)
• Made to Order Lean (Lane)

 

If you are interested in becoming part of Advanced Continuous group, please call Mark Pinto at WIRE-Net (216)920-1960 or e mail at mpinto@wire-net.org.

 

 

 

WHAMMO RE-SHORES

From Todays Machining:

 

Wham-O’s products are not exotic, but they take up a lot of container space per $ value. With container costs from China up to $4500 from as low as $3000 at the bottom of the recession, Wham-O has rejected offshoring. Their products are not labor-intensive to produce, primarily using injection molding. They are cheap, light and bulky. A container of Frisbees may hold only $5000 worth of product, so a 50 percent increase in container costs is a substantial piece of the overall cost, according to Kyle Aguilar, President of Wham-O. 

 

See:  Todays Machining World: The Magazine for the Precision Parts Industry   www.todaysmachiningworld.com

 

 

Building a New Model for Career Tech Education

The New Max Hayes - Creating a National Model for Career Tech Learning

Thank You! Investors and Partners WIRE-Net thanks the members of the Technical Team who have given over 1,700 hours to this project. WIRE-Net and our partners thank our investors in the New Max Hayes project: The Cleveland Foundation The Harold C. Schott Foundation The George Gund Foundation The Fred Lennon Charitable Trust The Cliffs Foundation The Lincoln Electric Foundation The Swagelok Foundation Eaton Corporation The Greater Cleveland Partnership Max Hayes High School is the only school in the Cleveland public school system that teaches the technical skills of manufacturing technology, construction, and automotive technology and auto-body. Since 1992, WIRE-Net has been an active partner at the Max S. Hayes Career and Technical High School, linking industry experts and experiences to students and teachers. Several years ago, with the strong support of WIRE-Net and local business and industry partners, including local metalworking associations and the Greater Cleveland Partnership, the TEAM Academy was formed at Max Hayes as a pilot "school within a school" to model the academy approach to education. This introduced closer integration of academic and technical education, strengthened the influence of industry at the school, and also led to the addition of Oracle programming to the technical instruction available. All along, WIRE-Net's role has been to leverage our relationships with hundreds of Cleveland firms to help students get prepared for real work and real rewards. A year ago our relationship entered a dramatically different sphere, when WIRE-Net joined forces with educators, manufacturing and business leaders, foundations, and community partners to create a new vision for high school learning at Max Hayes. This dynamic leadership group is helping the Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) develop an innovative national model for the new Max Hayes Career Tech High School—a community-based career learning center that will develop work-ready skills and talent to enable area companies to successfully meet global competition. The New Max Hayes, scheduled to open in the fall of 2013 at a site near West 65th Street and Clark Avenue, will be a new benchmark in the career-tech field, one that will help transform our approach to 21st century learning in the age of technology. WIRE-Net is working with a team of world-class educational design consultants from Big Picture Learning and Concordia LLC to create a vision for the new Max Hayes. We have seized this opportunity to propose a new learning model that includes: Rigorous and relevant academic learning that is integrated with top notch technology programs that engage and excite young learners, the next generation of manufacturing leaders, inventors, and entrepreneurs Valuable, relevant work experiences that build pathways to post-secondary learning and successful careers Strong and enduring partnerships with community, business and higher education that help teachers share their knowledge of careers such as design, construction and construction management, transportation including diesel and hybrid technologies, urban transportation systems and fleet management, manufacturing technology (welding, machining, electronics), and information technology. These partnerships will expose students and teachers to new and emerging markets in the biomedical, advanced energy, and environmental fields and will give students a variety of adult relationships to advance their learning and to build their practical experience in the community. Cross cutting themes such as information technology, the arts, and "green" or environmental sustainability will permeate all programs. Student business and entrepreneurial ventures. The New Max Hayes Award, produced by the Cleveland Steel Tool Company, celebrates the Technical Team's spirit of Innovation and Collaboration. The project is led by a Technical Team of volunteers and CMSD staff who have collectively contributed over 1,700 hours of time to this project. Site visits to see the best in career tech in greater Cleveland, Toledo, Dayton, Providence, Chicago, and Oklahoma City helped identify key success factors that we recommend be included in the new school. Additionally, our Team will recommend that CMSD begin immediately the process of transforming Max Hayes, starting in the fall of 2010 and culminating when the new school opens in 2013. If you and your company or organization want to be a part of a unique, dramatic, and exciting project that will create a national showcase of 21st century learning, please contact John Colm at 216.588.1440 ext. 105.

Celebrating Manufacturing Innovation

“General networking opportunities and the chance to see how other businesses are fairing was a plus.”

“I enjoyed the ability to network with new and old faces and companies.”

“I really liked the mix of the companies and the amount so I had a real chance to stop at every booth and spend a little time.”

—Good things people had to say about WIRE-Net's 2010 Innovation Celebration

On June 23rd, Northeast Ohio’s manufacturing community celebrated the spirit that has kept industry strong in Ohio at WIRE-Net’s 2010 Manufacturing Innovation Celebration. Sponsors, exhibitors, and attendees had the chance to connect with others in the community to sell or buy locally: parts, products, or services.

This special event, designed to support WIRE-Net’s effort to develop new business, new markets, new products, and access new capital, brought together a cross-section of the business community. A number of high-profile business leaders signed on to support the event, including, Dollar Bank, MAGNET, Simplified Logistics, LLC., Charter One Bank, Dairymens, Ohio Displays, Inc., ArcelorMittal, Catalyst Consulting Group, Inc., COSE, Fredon Corporation, JRN Group, Inc., Kaiser Permanente, Midwest Box Company/Walford Industrial Park, Robin Industries Inc., and Talan Products, Inc.

WIRE-Net also used the gathering as a forum for its annual meeting. The WIRE-Net membership accepted the slates of at-large members and officers of WIRE-Net’s Board of Directors including:

• Chairman – Thomas Schumann, General Manager, Kitzel & Sons, Inc.
• Vice Chairman – Mark Dawson, President, Cleveland Steel Tool Company
• Treasurer – Scott Bogard, Senior Associate, The Riverside Company
• Secretary – Charles Mintz, retired President,  Superior Tool Company

The New Max Hayes Award, produced by the Cleveland Steel Tool Company, celebrates the Technical Team's spirit of Innovation and Collaboration.

The membership also welcomed new Board member, Tim Rosengarten, the Director of the Fitting Services Group at Swagelok Company.

Since 1990, WIRE-Net has annually recognized manufacturing leaders who demonstrate their commitment to strengthen manufacturing in Northeast Ohio and support for WIRE-Net's mission to create healthy communities and fuel economic growth. This year, a special award was presented at the Innovation Celebration to the 30-member technical team who has dedicated over 1,700 hours to creating a vision for learning at the New Max Hayes.

 

The Wind is Free, Is Trade?

CHINESES TARIFF AND TAX POLICY DRIVE GROWTH OF THEIR WIND INDUSTRY

 

A May 29, 2008 on-line article by ClimateChangeCorp.com surveys supply chain shortages around the globe as the wind turbine market continues to heat up.  Aside from noting how the US “dithering” on establishing a predictable tax-policy (Congress’ failing so far to renew the Production Tax Credit, which expires at the end of 2008) to support the growth of the wind industry in the US, the article notes how China is actively growing this new, advanced manufacturing sector.

 

“Massive demand” in China for turbines is predicted to tighten global turbine supplies, but the Chinese are encouraging domestic investment and sourcing through a variety of tools that are apparently too good or too odious for US policy makers.  These include increasing tariffs on turbines imported into the Chinese market this May 2008, while slashing import taxes on components. 

 

The former will slow the importing of turbines, and the latter will encourage the development of a domestic turbine assembly industry.  In addition, the Chinese require 70% domestic content in their installed turbines.

 

See this link for the original article:

http://www.climatechangecorp.com/content.asp?contentid=5344

 

-John Colm

 

Manufacturing: Debatable?

Our friends at the Alliance for American Manufacturing have organized a unique election forum in Pennsylvania.

Clinton and Obama to Discuss Manufacturing Issues at Candidate Forum in Pittsburgh, PA

What: Presidential Candidate Forum on Manufacturing, sponsored by the Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM) and its partners. Senators Obama and Clinton will unveil their proposals to address the challenges facing America’s manufacturers, including China’s dumping, subsidies, and currency manipulation. Sen. John McCain was invited, but is unable to attend.

Who: Senator Barack Obama, Senator Hillary Clinton

When: Monday, April 14, 2008

Why: Pennsylvania has lost more than 207,000 manufacturing jobs since 2000, with more than 78,000 jobs moving to China alone since 2001. The event will focus on strengthening American manufacturing and addressing China’s unfair trade practices.

WIRE-Net's Great Lakes Wind Network Makes Progress

The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) recently noted the progress WIRE-Net’s latest brainchild is making to strengthen Ohio’s wind turbine supply chain.  See this link for information on subscribing to the electronic edition of Wind Energy Weekly:  http://www.awea.org/wew/

 

Ohio Group Seeks Out Wind Industry to Meet Value-Chain Needs
Ohio just put up a big Welcome banner for the wind industry value chain.

A recent conference organized by Ohio economic development organization WIRE-Net sought to connect suppliers in the state with the wind industry, with the ultimate goal of getting the state to provide a significant number of links to wind’s tight supply chain.

About 50 Ohio companies attended the Great Lakes Wind Network Supply Chain Forum to learn more about the wind power industry and network with featured guest Clipper Windpower. The event was so successful that Ed Weston, WIRE-Net’s wind energy director, intends to repeat the event on a quarterly basis, with a different wind industry company featured at each one. “I was delighted with the turnout,” Weston told Wind Energy Weekly. “It exceeded our expectations.”

Indeed, companies attending the event, to which Weston had to “turn people away,” could potentially make up a significant chunk of the value chain. The list of participants, among others, included eight foundries, seven machine shops, five forges, five fabrication shops, five electrical and electronics companies, four gear producers, four fasteners, and four materials suppliers. In addition to learning more about the wind industry through the presentation of Todd Windeknecht, Clipper’s strategic commodity leader, attendees had the chance to network and meet one-on-one with Clipper.

“If we can find suppliers we can partner with, we'll do it,” Windeknecht told the group.

In case Windeknecht and the rest of the gathering harbored any uncertainty about the state’s interest in attracting the industry, attendees also had the chance to hear from Chad Smith of the Ohio Department of Development and Michael Jung from the office of Governor Ted Strickland (D), who spoke on Ohio’s commitment to wind.

The success of the day, noted Weston, “speaks to the level of interest and density of wind-capable manufacturers” in the state. The next event, he said, will take place in the first quarter of 2008.

 

 

Great Lakes Mfg Council Comes to Cleveland, July 2008

From The Great Lakes Manufacturing Council: 

The Great Lakes Manufacturing Council announced today that its third annual Great Lakes Manufacturing Forum will be held July 9-11at the Cleveland Key Center Marriott, in Cleveland, Ohio,

The Great Lakes Manufacturing Forum brings together manufacturing, business, academic and government leaders focused on promoting, enhancing and preserving manufacturing in the Great Lakes Region. Regional leaders from the eight Great Lakes States as well as the Canadian Provinces of Ontario and Quebec will gather to discuss the image of the Great Lakes region, innovation in manufacturing, the workforce and skills needed for manufacturing today and in the future as well as the borders and logistics requirements needed to succeed in today’s global economy. The forum will be opened by Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson

We are pleased the Great Lakes Manufacturing Council has chosen Ohio as the site of this years forum, said Lt. Governor Lee Fisher, who also serves as Director of the Ohio Department of Development. The Great Lakes region has been a cornerstone of manufacturing and innovation for more than a century, providing jobs, new technologies, and robust businesses. This forum is a collaborative effort to help our region maintain that strength and make Great Lakes manufacturing the benchmark of the world.

Speakers include notables such as Jayson Myers of the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters, John Austin of the Brookings Institution, Ned Hill of Cleveland State University, and William Testa of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.

“Working collaboratively is the key to ensure we all thrive in the current global economy,” said Ed Wolking, president of the Great Lakes Manufacturing Council and executive vice president of the Detroit Regional Chamber. “It is our responsibility as business and governmental leaders to enhance the image of the Great Lakes region and to celebrate and promote our manufacturing strength to guarantee the region’s future prosperity.”

Some of the Partners in this event include:

·         Society of Manufacturing Engineers

·         Chambers of Commerce of Chicago, Detroit and Toledo

·         Province of Ontario

·         Pittsburgh Technology Council

·         Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters

·         Conexus Indiana

·         Purdue University

·         And many more.

 

About the Great Lakes Manufacturing Council

The Great Lakes Manufacturing Council is a long-term relationship and collaboration of regional leaders from the eight Great Lakes States and the Canadian Provinces of Ontario and Quebec committed to the growth of manufacturing and the Great Lakes region. Its goal is to support a more competitive manufacturing base by promoting greater intra-regional communication and collaboration, best practices sharing and application and positive imagery that will attract, retain and grow business.

For additional information about the event go to greatlakesmanufacturing.org or call 866.615.2182.

 

US Metro Areas Must Leverage Mfg to Compete Globally

The American Assembly hosted a forum last November 2007 that focused on the challenges and opportunities facing US Metro areas, like Cleveland. Paul Brophy has just summarized the findings of this forum, to which I was honored to be invited. See this link for Paul’s original comments on his blog at the Drum Major Institute.

I’ll note that there was good discussion about the parallels between urban manufacturing, and anchor institutions, as economic assets on which cities can and should build. In Cleveland, for example, there are about 1000 manufacturing firms with 30,000 employees in the City. WIRE-Net’s approach has been to work to support the leaders and managers of these firms, and then to engage them actively in a metro-redevelopment strategy that addresses manufacturing improvement and innovation, workforce excellence, industrial redevelopment, and policy advocacy.

--John Colm, President, WIRE-Net

US Metro Areas Must Compete Globally, Not with Each Other

The mainstream macro-economists tell us that globalization is good for the world and good for the United States. Maybe, maybe not. But two things seem certain: Globalization is here to stay, and it produces big disruptions in places that have lost manufacturing jobs to China and other low-wage countries.

In the United States, those places are our older industrial metro areas, whose economic health is key to America's competitiveness. The largest 100 metro areas contain 65% of our population and produce three quarters of our gross domestic product. Some are thriving, but others have yet to find their footing in the global economy. Over 65 metro areas from Baltimore to Beaumont, New Orleans to Newark (see the full list here), are currently in a downward spiral of declining jobs, population, tax revenues and other vital signs.

How can mayors and county executives in these places cope?

In November, the American Assembly convened a meeting chaired by Governor Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania and Ken Lewis, Chairman and CEO of Bank of America, and leading experts from around the nation and the UK to discuss how older metro areas can compete.

They wrote up their recommendations in a report entitled Retooling for Growth. It ought to be required reading for every state and city official, as well as the presidential candidates and their issues and speechwriting staffs. It finds there is plenty we can do to reverse the decline of these areas and strengthen our economy if we:

* Think and act metro. The economic unit that needs the economic development strategy is the metropolitan area—not the central city. Although it is sometimes true that central cities are competing with their suburbs, the real competition is between metro areas and other metropolitan areas around the world. Older industrial areas that will compete well are those that see themselves as an economic unit and act that way.

* Build from assets. Older metro areas have significant assets to work from, including colleges, universities, and hospitals. In this new economy, these places are poised to capitalize on these anchor institutions to build a knowledge-based economy, which is where the cutting edge is.

* Focus on human capital. Making these economies thrive again requires smart, networked people. Working to attract, retain, and network highly skilled people—some of whom are able to start new enterprises -- is key. This means that quality of life issues—safe neighborhoods, good schools, cultural and sports amenities--are essential to building the human resources needed to compete.

* Grow entrepreneurs. Most job growth occurs by retaining and expanding existing businesses, not by luring new businesses to move in. These older industrial areas need to create an economy where entrepreneurship can thrive—in neighborhoods, and in the region—so that new jobs are grown, not imported.

* Develop a new governmental compact. The federal government and state governments need to invest in older industrial areas, but it is only right that they demand accountability and buy-in from the recipients. Leaders of these areas – whether government, business, civic, and/or community -- must take responsibility for achieving results (Good Jobs First has published a wealth of site-specific studies on how to generate more results from economic development subsidies).

Despite the challenges, older industrial areas can and will find their places in the global economy if they focus on these opportunities.

Metals Matter in NE Ohio and So Does Trade Policy

I appreciated the Plain Dealer’s 11/29/07 article on a recent “Manufacturing Brief”, published by Cleveland State University’s Center for Economic Development  (see this link).  There was some good news in the Brief, which also raised some questions NE Ohio should consider as we look at the state of US based manufacturing.

 

First, our metals sector is alive and well.  The sector is adding jobs, investment and economic output.  It ships most of its products from the region, and through these exports, brings new money into NE Ohio.  It is thus one of the most productive and valuable industry clusters in NE Ohio.  The region should coalesce better around opportunities to maximize the wealth and job creation potential of this 100,000 job cluster that includes primary metal-making, metal forming, tool making, metal plating, local metals industry associations, our network of community college and high school career-technical training institutions and our university research facilities.  

 

The Manufacturing Access to Growth and Innovation in Cuyahoga County and NE Ohio (MAGICC NEO) is a good first step at addressing the training and workforce development needs of the metals sector, which is targeting metals firms that hire machinists, welders and industrial maintenance workers.  The machinery industry is closely related to metals, as most machines are built of metal.  It too is expanding employment and output.  Contact us at WIRE-Net if you are interested in learning more about MAGICC.

 

But why are so many other of our key manufacturing sectors lagging in both employment and output?  One key factor is our antiquated trade policies.  Not only does our trade bureacracy look the other way when our so-called “trading partners” break the rules of international trade – for example, by pegging their currency to an artificial value of the dollar and giving themselves a significant cost advantage for products made in their county, but it is confused between its two jobs of both promoting trade and enforcing trade laws.  We seen China backsliding on protection of intellectual property too, not to mention a dangerous and cavalier attitude about product and workplace safety.  Finding better ways to enforce fair trade rules, and updating our trade policy to the global economic realities are critical to NE Ohio’s future and to our manufacturing economy.

 

John Colm, President and Executive Director

WIRE-Net

Are Ohioans Leery of Trade?

The Plain Dealer ran an editorial recently that bemoaned the positions on US Trade Policy taken by several Ohio elected officials.  The editorial presumed that the policy we have in place now is in fact “free trade”.  At WIRE-Net, we beg to differ.  Our letter to the editor follows:

 

October 23, 2007

 

Cleveland Plain Dealer

To the Editor

 

While several of your conclusions in your October 21^st editorial regarding trade policy and protectionism were on the mark, much of your analysis was off-base.  

 

US trade bureaucrats have done a poor job of enforcing existing trade laws; tougher enforcement is needed, as you noted.  Our economic and trade policies could do more to encourage manufacturing innovation, and a retrained, more highly educated and skilled workforce.  We also need smarter investment in regions of the country that disproportionately feel the brunt of a rapidly changing economy, like NE Ohio.  All of these were part of the Bush Administration’s “Manufacturing In America” report from 2004, but precious little has been implemented.

 

You failed to recognize, as economist Alan Blinder noted last Spring on your editorial pages, that trade can have negative results for nations.  30% of the manufacturing job loss in the US can be traced to the huge and ever growing foreign trade deficit.  Much is at stake, not just “propping up uncompetitive industries”.  The US has lost more than 1 million manufacturing jobs, and several million other jobs in “downstream” industries like financial and consumer services due in large part to the trade policies of foreign governments, and our own inability to counter them.  When foreign governments win a 40% cost subsidy due to their currency manipulation, US firms are not playing on a level playing field.  When foreign governments use non-tariff barriers at the docks to prevent US products from entering their markets, then we do not have “free trade”. This is nothing short of foul trade.

 

However, Ohioans are not “leery of trade”, as you put it.  What we are leery of is a trade bureacracy that fails to enforce the rules, fails to hold foreign governments accountable, and that has led to the loss of good paying US jobs in industries that don’t need propping up, just a level playing field.  Our trade policy must create jobs in the US, encourage innovation and investment, and protect our national security.  Our policy makers have failed in each case.  What Ohioan and US taxpayers want is a “third way” in trade policy, one between protectionism and so called “free trade”, one that builds on US strengths and assets, but also is not afraid to confront flagrant violators of international trade laws.

 

Call to Energize Manufacturing Career Awareness

This story from the Associated Press ran in about 60 papers around the country in late May.

 

South Bend Tribune

Article published May 21, 2007

'Not like the old days'
New high-tech manufacturing struggles to find workers.

 

THOMAS J. SHEERAN
Associated Press Writer

CLEVELAND -- Michael Starr was laid off in mid-career from his factory job and found himself back in the classroom to upgrade his skills -- for a new high-tech manufacturing environment struggling to find workers. Working in industry today "is not like the old days: get a hammer and fix it," the 45-year-old said.

Starr was laid off Jan. 15 from his sheet-metal working job in suburban Medina. He has enrolled in a Lorain County Community College program to take courses in computers, math, machining, industrial blueprint reading, advanced computerized numerical controlled milling and job-search and study skills.

When he showed up in class, "I was terrified, (like) training an old dog new tricks," he said.

The nation has shed 5 million manufacturing jobs in three decades, but higher-skill factory jobs like Starr's goal increasingly go unfilled as employers deal with applicants with poor reading and math abilities and a bad attitude about blue-collar work.The National Association of Manufacturers says the skill shortages have hurt production and the ability to meet customer demands.

And the pattern is likely to persist as the nation sheds old-style manufacturing to compete in a global economy.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York, in a report last year, predicted a continuing trend of lower-skilled jobs lost to foreign competition and automation and giving way to a smaller number of higher-skilled manufacturing jobs.

The picture is similar across much of the nation's industrial base, with the Bureau of Labor Statistics reporting a consistent increase over three years in the rate of vacant manufacturing jobs, going from the 1.5 percent range to about 2.5 percent, or one in 40 jobs vacant.

The New York Fed report said the manufacturing share of the nation's work force has dipped from 20 percent in 1979 to 11 percent, with new manufacturing openings increasingly requiring fewer workers but higher skills, including math, communications, computer use and team work.The problem likely will worsen with baby boomer retirements. The Manufacturing Advocacy and Growth Network (MAGNET) organization in Cleveland estimated 800,000 manufacturing jobs in the Midwest will be vacated by retirements in the next six years. Laid-off workers often lack the skills needed in newer, high-tech jobs.

Hiring problems include job seekers with poor education -- sometimes high school graduates who can't read at an eighth-grade level -- an indifference to work issues, such as showing up every day, and the feeling that manufacturing is dirty work without a future.

There are indications that high-tech investments have created manufacturing jobs.

The nation's manufacturing job sector grew by 4.5 percent, on average, in 2006, while the U.S. economy expanded 3.1 percent, the National Association of Manufacturers said. U.S. manufacturing was helped by increased exports and more investment.

In a 2005 report, the association said skill shortages "are extremely broad and deep" and had affected 80 percent of the more than 800 companies it surveyed. The findings remain consistent for 2007, the group said.Adam Fekete, 17, hopes an innovative high school program in Cleveland will give him the 21st century skills needed to become a third-generation blue-collar employee working in manufacturing and computers.

Fekete, son of a sugar refinery worker and grandson of an autoworker, is one of 118 students enrolled in a manufacturing program at Max S. Hayes High School overlooking Lake Erie in a gritty Cleveland neighborhood where small, high-tech plants sit alongside locked factories.

The program has a rigorous curriculum, including calculus, chemistry, physics, robotics competitions and rotations in computer-aided design and drafting, computer numerical control machining, robotics and engineering welding.

The school encourages good work habits by letting younger students pair up with more studious older students, like those who watched Fekete work in an area that looks like a shop floor.

A partner in the school program, the industry-supported WIRE-Net organization, tries to ease the transition for less-skilled workers to land a good-paying manufacturing job.The nonprofit organization offers vocational training with a strong dose of life and job skills, like acting responsibly on the plant floor -- meaning you won't have a supervisor standing over you all the time like your grandfather may have. And you won't be assigned to run the same machine for 40 years.

Newcomers must be ready to keep improving their skills and know how to do more than one job, according to John P. Colm, president and executive director of WIRE-Net.

"There's a future but, again, you have to be smart. You can't sit on your high school diploma," Colm said. "Manufacturing is far from dead. It's changing. Every part of our economy is changing."

 

 

Manufacturing Careers Showcase & Shoreway Classic Car Show Attract Thousands

From the Cleveland Plain Dealer:

Good Deeds Car show benefits trade education

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

It's always nice to see manufacturers, school officials, government and auto enthusiasts come together for a worthy cause. That's exactly what happened recently at the Max S. Hayes Career and Technical High School's Career Opportunities Showcase.

"Basically, this was not about cars, it was designed to engage students from the Cleveland City Schools who are in grades 7 through 10 to get them interested in technical and trade education," says David Mallie, president of D.A. Motorsports. "Max Hayes is the only trade school in the Cleveland system and it's only at about half capacity. So we put together an event where we invited students in those grades to come to Max Hayes with their parents to learn about technical and trade education."

Certainly, trade education and touring Max S. Hayes' facilities in and of itself would pull in some people, but even Mallie acknowledges that more was needed to pull in the crowd.

 

"We realized we needed something with a little more excitement, so we put together the Cleveland Shoreway Classic," Mallie says.

The area from West 44th through West 49th was blocked off and RTA diverted on Saturday, May 12 from 11 a.m to 6 p.m. The show included race cars, specialty vehicles, classic cruise cars and bikes of all shapes and varieties. More than 150 trophies were given out including two for Best of Show in car and bike categories.

"We also had Larry Nance who had his race car on hand, and was there signing autographs," says Mallie. "When Larry found out this event was going on at Max Hayes, he was particularly interested because he went to high school for automotive mechanics and then went to Clemson for industrial welding. He took trade education throughout his scholastic career because he thought he was going to be a mechanic."

After being a standout with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Nance went on to a career in automotive racing. He now owns Larry Nance Racing.

"Mayor Frank Jackson was also there for about 45 minutes as was Tracy Martin of the Cleveland City Schools," Mallie adds.

Best of all, the event exposed Cleveland City School students to the many career opportunities available in a wide variety of industrial trades - the same trades that are the backbone of our local economy.

"In addition to the show, students saw the many career opportunities in building, construction, transportation, welding and machining trades - which were all among the stops on their tour," says Mallie. "After the tour was over, students received a packet of information and then went to a manufacturers' showcase where they were shown various products made by local companies. Here they could see what they might be making if they chose a specific career path such as machining. They also found out what company they might be working for and what they may be making."

The event was a resounding success.

"We far exceeded our goal of the open house, which was to bring in some 250 new freshman for the 2008 class," Mallie says. "Between the time of putting on the event and right now, we have more than 275 students pre-registered for fall classes - and that number is still growing."

Mallie stresses that D.A. Motorsports simply produced the show.

"A lot of credit has to be given to the Westside Industrial Retention and Expansion Network (WIRE-Net), the organization responsible for underwriting the event," he says. "But we also had a large number of other partners who really stepped up to the plate."

While proceeds from the entrance fee for the auto show helped to support the event, many organizations went that extra mile to ensure the event's success, adds Mallie.

Special thanks go out to: D.A. Motorsports' Jim Fagan who went above and beyond as director of operations for the event; Max S. Hayes Principal David Volosin; T.E.A.M. Academy's David Mikita; Cleveland Municipal School District's Tracy Martin; Mayor Frank Jackson; Councilman Matt Zone; Larry Nance of Cavaliers fame and Larry Nance Racing; CORNWELL TOOLS; Advance Auto Parts; Steve Legerski of the Grand Prix of Cleveland; Mr. Gasket; Time Bandit Racing; Jergens; Talan Products; Criterion Tool; The Great Lakes Towing Company; Midwest Box; National City Bank; The Cruisin' Times Magazine; Cleveland Public Power; Dominion; Alcoa; Dairymens and Summers Rubber, among others without whose time and support the event wouldn't have been possible.

 

Ohio Needs a New Approach to Trade Policy

by Gordon Barr, President, NewKor, Inc. and Chairman, NE Ohio Campaign for American Manufacturing. 

 

The Plain Dealer May 24 editorial (“Clearing the way for trade”) regarding the recently foreign trade deal between Congress and the Bush Administration, concluded that the deal “appears to make sense for both parties and for the American people”.  However, appearances aren’t always what they seem.

 

This plan will do no more to create US jobs than did NAFTA.  The US is not enforcing existing regulations, so how will we enforce abuses in thousands of new Chinese and east European factories?  And contrary to what appearend to make sense then, China’s entry into the World Trade Organization has netted the US no additional jobs, instead displacing production and nearly 1.8 million US jobs since 2001.

 

Officials like Senator Sherrod Brown, Congresspersons Betty Sutton, Zack Space and over 25 others were elected because they see a fundamental flaw at the core of US trade policy.  Look no further than the all-but-hollow-shell of Hoover in Canton and you can see it is far from apparent how Ohio voters will find any sense in this deal that learns so little from past experience. 

 

Americans want two things from our foreign trade policy.

 

First, Americans want a trade policy that creates jobs.  Foreign protectionism creates competitive advantage that has put US manufacturing companies and workers on the endangered species list.  If China had been effectively pressured to stop manipulating their currency, Hoover vacuum cleaners and other US products would have a cost advantage of between 25-40% working for us instead of against us.   This is the hidden “currency tax” on US made products. 

 

Second, Americans want a level playing field.  In our current system, everything from intellectual property, to the “unofficial” red tape that stalls US imports at the dock, and currency manipulation are all deployed to protect foreign industries, jobs, and markets and keep US made goods and services out.  Foreign protectionism in China, Korea, Japan and elsewhere is rampant and it is costing Ohio jobs, while our markets are flung open to the world.

 

Here are two immediate actions Congress should take now to get our Trade Policy on-track: 

 

1.      Pass the Hunter-Ryan Fair Currency Act, giving us the tools needed to hold accountable non-market economies, like China, that undermine the competitiveness of US made products through currency manipulation;

 

2.      End Fast Track trade authority.  The Congress should end the President’s Fast Track Trade Authority. Given Washington’s penchant for wrongheaded foreign trade deals, a “time out” on further trade agreements makes sense until we can build a new approach to US trade policy for the 21^st century.

 

A trade policy based on fairness, combined with a commitment to growing our own manufacturing base (as the Chinese, Germans, Koreans and every other nation does), will allow us to demonstrate that the US economy is the greatest in the world, one that works to the benefit of communities, workers and investors across the nation. 

 

Give us a level playing field.  As American manufacturers, we can do the rest.

 

Manufacturing a Break in the Weather.First Quarter Thoughts on US Manufacturing

I was recently interviewed by a writer for the Cleveland-based COSE Update for an edition they are doing on manufacturing.

The interview started off with the usual questions related to the view that “that manufacturing is dead”. We spent a few minutes correcting that misperception. Manufacturing still represents roughly 19% of northeast Ohio’s jobs and roughly one-third of its gross regional product. So much for being “dead”.

WIRE-Net staff have visited over 140 unique manufacturing companies (i.e., no repeat visits in that count) over since September 2006, nearly all located in the City of Cleveland. Roughly 23% of those visists were with companies that were expanding in one way or another: buying property they formerly rented, moving so they could expand, adding equipment, or hiring new staff. That amounts to 32 Cleveland based companies expanding in the manufacturing sector just in the last few months.

According to the US Federal Reserve, factory output declined slightly in the Sept-October 2006 period, due primarily to slumping automotive output. Put differently, output in everything but automotive improved.

Industry Week reported in December of 2006 that there were nearly 400 mass layoffs (of more than 50 employees) in manufacturing. However, 67% of the mass layoffs were in non-manufacturing sectors of the economy. Guess the “BOE” (balance of economy) is dead and dying!

Timken is adding almost 80,000 square feet to their Harrison Steel operation in Canton, in a deal they put together with Daido Steel. This will improve Timken’s position with the automotive transplants.

Companies need two things to survive and thrive, and neither is simple nor easy.

• First, a solid strategic plan that is well executed; and
  
• Second, a receptive political environment that allows the individual US based firm to compete fairly here and around the world.

To the seond point, the November election was a wake-up call for the Bush Administration and many Democrats, and led directly to the US Trade Rep filing a major “export subsidy” case against the Chinese government before the World Trade Organization . Look for that complaint to go nowhere fast.

Meanwhile, mainstream Democrats (like Charlie Rangel of NY, the influential head of the House Ways & Means Committee) are horsetrading around the President’s Fast Track Trade Authority, which expires this June. They are getting a receptive ear to include tougher rules on currency manipulation, labor and environmental protections in new trade agreements. This reminds me of similar deals that the Fair Trader Congresspersons made with former President Clinton during the NAFTA negotiations, and that resulted in nothing productive. Lets hope the “surge” of new Fair Trade reps elected to both the House and Senate in November stand firm and learn from the NAFTA failure. Some 39 of 42 newly elected Congressional reps signed a letter recently, stating that trade policy was a major issue in their election, and that the status quo as far as trade policy would not be acceptable.