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USCTI: Cutting tool economic health looking up

The United States Cutting Tool Institute (USCTI) reported total billings of nearly $168 million among the 43 cutting tool companies included in USCTI's Current Business Report (CBR) for February 2018. The total represents an increase of almost 7 percent over total billings in February 2017, which topped $156 million, and a 6 percent jump compared to total billings of nearly $157 million in February 2016.

In January, USCTI reported total billings of more than $172 million.

DMDII launches Cyber Hub

As the factories for U.S. manufacturers are increasingly becoming digitized and connected, the surface for cyberattacks is broadening. To allow experimentation on cybersecurity technology for the factory floor, the Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation Institute, Chicago, officially launched its “Cyber Hub for Manufacturing” earlier this month. DMDII reported that the U.S. Department of Defense contributed $750,000 in seed funding for the hub.

Losing my religion

There’s a Sands Casino where the Bethlehem Steel Corp. once stood. The casino was completed in 2009, just 8 years after the 100-year-old steel company filed bankruptcy. Ironically, the biggest obstacle facing the casino’s developer was a shortage of structural steel. Even more ironically, the developer ended up buying it from Nucor Corp., the onetime “minimill” competitor that Bethlehem executives scoffed at decades earlier for the startup’s embrace of electric arc furnace technology.

Starting a CNC business

A life-long entrepreneur involved in starting and growing seven different businesses and a successful blog, Bob Warfield of the CNCCookbook devotes the 13th episode of the CNC Chef video series to a question his CNC machining audience often asks: How do you start a new business?

2018 outlook on manufacturing

This year should be an exciting one for manufacturers. First, we must recognize the long-term trend where large corporations’ productivity gains have been outstripping mid and small-size manufacturing companies (500 employees and less). This year we expect those large manufacturers to continue celebrating those productivity gains.

The MEP National Network advances US manufacturing

The MEP National Network is a unique public-private partnership that aims to deliver comprehensive, proven solutions to U.S. manufacturers, fueling growth and advancing U.S. manufacturing. Focused on helping small and medium-size manufacturers generate business results and thrive in today’s technology-driven economy, the network comprises the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership, the 51 MEP Centers located in all 50 states and Puerto Rico, and over 1,300 advisers and experts at more than 400 MEP service locations, providing any U.S. manufacturer with access to resources for success.

ISM: New orders, production and employment continue growing

Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in January, and the overall economy grew for the 105th consecutive month, say the nation's supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM Report On Business. The January Purchasing Managers' Index registered 59.1 percent, a decrease of 0.2 percentage point from the seasonally adjusted December reading of 59.3 percent. This indicates growth in manufacturing at strong levels for the 17th consecutive month, led by continued expansion in new orders and production activity, with employment growing at a slower rate and supplier deliveries continuing to struggle.

Governor attends high school's first manufacturing night

While spectators filled the Berry Bowl for Logansport (Ind.) High School’s Friday night basketball game, job seekers and employers gathered in the gymnasium next door. Nearly 20 manufacturing companies, schools and other workforce organizations partnered for the high school’s first advanced manufacturing night to promote skilled trades positions available in the area. Gov. Eric Holcomb attended the event. His “Next Level Agenda” emphasizes Indiana’s need to strengthen its workforce with high-wage, high-demand jobs.

Who advises vocational students about their majors?

A bachelor's or graduate degree is not the only route to a financially rewarding career. There are good-paying technical jobs in fields like health care and other skilled trades that require some postsecondary training, experience or education but not a college degree. Policy leaders, including the National Academy of Sciences, have made it a priority to better understand how to prepare more adults for work in these fields. Data from Gallup Inc. and Strada Education Network's Education Consumer Pulse shed light on who advises students in vocational programs about fields of study and how helpful that advice is to students.