The Auto Bailout - A Sneak Preview

Add comment September 3rd, 2010 03:18pm Bob Trojan

If you can’t wait until October 14th, when the book “Overhaul: An Insider’s Account of the Obama Administration’s Emergency Rescue of the Auto Industry.” gets released, then here are some interesting highlights about the  bailout

Avoid Rebate Gimmicks

Add comment September 3rd, 2010 12:01pm Bob Trojan

A good article from the Alliance for American Manufacturing that says “avoid rebate Gimmicks

Giving consumers a rebate on purchases that only increase purchases of imports doesn’t help in creating American, good paying jobs.

Investing in research and development that results in products that will be made in America is the more sensible thing to do.

Which would you prefer…rebates to buy stuff from China or invest in American made products and create more American jobs?

Doesn’t seem to be too hard to figure out.

White House Package of Business Tax Breaks to Spur Hiring

1 comment September 3rd, 2010 10:58am Bob Trojan

According to this Washington Post story, the White House is considering a payroll tax to spur hiring….  Hire

I guess these Washingtonians have never managed a business.  Do you know what comes first?

If you said “Sales”, then you know that without them, you don’t have a business. If you have some but not enough, you’re certainly not going to hire anyone.

Why do they think that businesses will hire just because they would get a tax break to hire someone that they may not need?

Wouldn’t it be better to help businesses SELL more so as to create more demand for their products and thus be a reason to hire more?

Tell me, what am I missing, because I’ve been managing companies for most of my life and I don’t know what I don’t understand.

European Industrial Outlook: Growth in Production but Pace of Expansion to Slow in 2011

Add comment September 2nd, 2010 04:23pm Bob Trojan

This report from the Manufacturers Alliance  MAPI predicts 10 of 14 industries in the Eurozone will show growth in 2010, led by motor vehicles at 19.5%.  Six of 14 industries are anticipated to grow in 2011, with machinery and equipment leading the way at 5.9%. Three industries—wood and products, nonmetallics and construction—are expected to decline in both years, although all will likely rebound from significant declines in 2009.

British manufacturing ‘at risk of collapse in five years because of skills shortage’

Add comment September 2nd, 2010 01:00pm Bob Trojan

Certainly a Bad News-Good News scenario…Bad if they can’t get more people into manufacturing, good because it represents great opportunities for those unemployed.  UK

The Midlands that they cite is the heartland of British manufacturing companies and the region where I lived and worked years ago.  Similar to the Greater Rockford area.

Do you suppose this could happen in the US?  I’m seeing more of this skills shortage showing up more and more in the US.

Local Manufacturers Still Cautious

Add comment September 2nd, 2010 11:00am Bob Trojan

OK, maybe it wasn’t scientific, but I took a survey of some of our local manufacturers at the recent Manufacturers Council meeting.   I asked about what they saw for business conditions as we head into the rest of this year.

Most indicated they had a pretty good first 8 months, that seemed to be the consensus.

Looking beyond, t appeared mixed signals, depending on the industries served.  One said one of his largest customers just wiped out three weeks of production before year end.  Another said they can’t keep up with production.  A third indicated he recieved a significant order from a US cutomer who was returning work from China and sourcing it here.

Trade show sign-ups appear to be heading up for this fall and into next year’s show.  Usually a barometer of manufacturing activity, trade shows tend to be up or down depending on the economic outlook.

Another common comment drew attention to the growing number of  seminars dealing with Alternative Energy.  More of our manufacturers are attending them as well as traveling to show to exhibit their products.

Another them that came out was to diversify your markets and keep finding new customers.  Don’t rely on a large part of your sales in a very few customers.

Probably the best nugget of advice!

Students to IMTS Planning Proceeding

Add comment September 2nd, 2010 08:54am Bob Trojan

As mentioned in an earlier blog  IMTS  planning for the students going to the International Machine Tool Show on September 15th is proceeding very well, in fact, this will be our best effort since we’ve been conducting this program.

We have over 230 students being signed up, 15 adult mentors and 5, maybe 6 buses waiting to conduct the visit to the world’s largest trade show for manufacturers.

Students from East, Jefferson, Harlem, ACE, and Guilford so far have signed up.  Mentors have met to discuss their roles in informing the students of the many facets of manufacturing life.  On the way into Chicago they’ll get information on what to expect; on the return trip, we’ll ask them what they learned and how does this affect your course work while in school.

I will be trying something new this year; Anna Voelker will give instructions for the kids on how we could tweet into the RRStar while they are touring the show.

More later, but this is very exciting for all of us to see the support from our high schools and manufacturers to make this happen!

Manufacturing Activity Continues Up for August

Add comment September 1st, 2010 11:38am Bob Trojan

The August ISM Index (Institute of Supply Management) shows an increase in manufacturing activity.

Eleven of the 18 manufacturing industries are reporting growth in August, in the following order: Primary Metals; Apparel, Leather & Allied Products; Transportation Equipment; Fabricated Metal Products; Electrical Equipment, Appliances & Components; Miscellaneous Manufacturing; Computer & Electronic Products; Paper Products; Chemical Products; Food, Beverage & Tobacco Products; and Printing & Related Support Activities. The five industries reporting contraction in August are: Furniture & Related Products; Petroleum & Coal Products; Nonmetallic Mineral Products; Plastics & Rubber Products; and Machinery.

The index is computed from interviews with Purchasing Managers around the country and is the leading index for activity in manufacturing

Manufacturing: The Misunderstood Industry

Add comment August 31st, 2010 02:22pm Bob Trojan

This article Education written by Scott Doron, Director of the Southern Technology Council asks what are we doing to encourage young students to enter careers in manufacturing.

One event we are planning for Sept 15th is to take area high school students to the International machine Tool Show in Chicago.  We have engaged the schools, we have raised funds to pay for the buses and lunches and we have volunteer manufacturing experts to serve as mentors during this event.

Not much, you say?  Well, it’s one of many steps that we take and there will be more coming.

Aerospace Engineering Program for Rockford?

Add comment August 31st, 2010 08:41am Bob Trojan

I saw this story on WREX last night and this could be a good program for the Rockford Region.  With 90 or so manufacturing companies in the region, this would be a great complement to them as well as the RFD airport, NIU and RVC.

The president of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, which has the largest Aerospace Engineering Program in the US, met with NIU and RVC representatives yesteray and will be spending a few more days in the area.  His comments were very positive about this prospect.  They already offer a Master’s Degree program at the Chicago-Rockford International Airport.

This is worth watching for further development!