Month: July 2018

It is a great, but terrifying time to be a manufacturer in the United States. New manufacturing plants are popping up and existing manufacturers are pushing their capacity to the limit. The big issue that remains however, is the skills gap. Retiring baby boomers are vacating skilled manufacturing jobs. To complicate matters our culture tends to emphasize academics more than job happiness. Anyone involved in manufacturing knows it can be an extremely rewarding field to work in and many great jobs do not require a four year degree to perform. There should be no shame for an individual who would prefer to build things and work with their hands while contributing to an incredible economic powerhouse. That’s not to say that manufacturing is just a blue collar paradise. There are jobs of every shape, size and technical qualification and modern manufacturing is a far cry from the dark dirty factories of the past. If you spend a little time with these hard working talented people, you will see how passionate they are about their jobs, communities and making quality products.

Manufacturer Led Solutions

In recent years, a number of manufacturers have organized to address the skills gap directly in their own communities. They do this by working directly with educators. We don’t see real change without the efforts of these people, they are the answer to this problem and they need our support. These are just some examples from here in California, but initiatives and groups like them are forming all over the country:

• Grow Manufacturing Initiative
• San Joaquin Manufacturing Alliance
• Sacramento Valley Manufacturing Initiative

Grow Manufacturing Iniative

In Northern California, centered in Chico, CA. Manufacturers organized to form GMI and they have made a real impact in the communities they service. They have been very successful in aligning the skills being taught with the needs of local manufacturers. They host an annual manufacturing expo as well as train the trainer (educators) events. Bill Gaines of Transfer Flow was also instrumental in inspiring the formation of the Sacramento Valley Manufacturing Initiative.

San Joaquin Manufacturing Alliance

In the Central Valley, centered around Fresno, CA. Manufacturers organized to form SJVMA. They have achieved great results in addressing the needs of manufacturers for a skilled workforce and have formed a sizable organization that also includes an annual manufacturing summit that attracts hundreds of participants, vendors and sponsors. Mike Betts of Betts Manufacturing is incredibly passionate and dedicated a tremendous amount of his own time and resources to helping establish and make SJVMA a viable and effective organization.

Sacramento Valley Manufacturing Initiative

In the greater Sacramento Area, manufacturers including Harris and Bruno, Tri Tool, Snowline Engineering, Garner Products, Siemens, JL Haley, TechnicFMC, Zi Machine, and Blue Diamond Growers along with some affiliates including Managed Solutions formed SVMI in 2018. The group has already hosted train the trainer events, factory tours and established a dedicated and passionate board of directors. They recently launched their website, and will be working hard to meet the work force demands of manufacturers in the area for years to come.

WASHINGTON—American factory activity accelerated for the second straight month in June, signaling momentum in the U.S. manufacturing sector.

The Institute for Supply Management on Monday said its manufacturing index rose to 60.2 in June from 58.7 in May. Numbers above 50 indicate activity is expanding across the manufacturing sector, while numbers below 50 signal contraction. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had expected a 58.1 reading for June.

The index in February hit 60.8, its highest level since May 2004, before easing in March and April. It picked up in May and again in June.