Management

A new program at Focus: Hope is designed to get Detroit-area women into fields that have historically been dominated by men. The 13-week training class was made possible by a $370,000 donation by General Motors. The training program enables women to earn four certificates required in IT and manufacturing.

Gallup found in its 2017 "State of the American Workplace" report that 25% of manufacturing workers are engaged at work—eight percentage points lower than the national average of 33% employee engagement, the lowest in this metric. Why, and what can be done about it? Gallup consultants offer five suggestions.

Concurrent Technologies Corp. celebrated its 30th year with a luncheon Friday outside its main facility in Johnstown. The R&D company of about 550 employees works primarily with military contracts and advanced manufacturing techniques. Current projects include friction stir welding, which can strengthen joints in thicker metal, additive manufacturing for repairs of temperature-sensitive or hard-to-reach parts, and laundry and shower wastewater recycling for military outings.

Paul Polesnak has joined Franklin Bronze Precision Components LLC, Franklin, Pa., as quality assurance manager.

Jeff Stowe joined Unist Inc., Grand Rapids, Mich., as territory manager.

Kosmo Machine Inc., a full service precision machine shop, will invest $1 million in new equipment to increase production capacity at its manufacturing operation in Henrico County, Virginia. The expansion is expected to create 36 new jobs. The ISO 9001:2015-certified company specializes in CNC milling and turning, EDM, and custom welding processes. The expansion is expected to create 36 new jobs.

The manufacturing industry has created nearly 500,000 new jobs in the last 6 years, but some places have experienced better job growth than others. Headlight Data has just released its annual rankings of the fastest-growing US counties in manufacturing. Recently released data show that manufacturing job creation in 2016 across counties in the US varied from a high of 3,600 in Jefferson County, KY to a loss of 19,000 jobs in Harris County, TX.