Supply Chain & Logistics

In the decade since the beginning of the Great Recession industrial production (e.g. manufacturing, mining and electricity production) has been a political football of both the left and right. It's time to stop playing that game, and a good way to start is to review some facts about these industries, which continue to provide a significant share of the Midwestern economy.

Deloitte projects that in the next decade, 3.5 million manufacturing jobs will need to be filled. However, many manufacturers struggle to fill the employment vacancies they have now. With five website enhancements, a manufacturer can improve its chances of recruiting talented, experienced millennials.

The job training programs at Hononegah Community High School and Beloit Memorial High School include job shadowing, mentoring, summer apprenticeships and training workshops at cutting tool manufacturer Regal Cutting Tools, Roscoe, Ill.—but no internships. Working at Regal Cutting Tools means being considered a normal employee, not an intern, even if the worker is there part time and spending his or her days as a high school junior or senior. Although students are allowed time off for academic-related reasons, such as preparing for college admission tests, there are no exceptions for extracurricular activities, such as sports or clubs. "They need to make a decision whether they want to be part of that," said Plant Manager Dennis Weiland.

Doug Yates was having trouble finding folks to run his CNC machines, so he called his buddy John Dodson at the NASCAR Technical Institute in Mooresville, N.C. Dodson had an answer for Yates, CEO of Roush Yates Engines in Mooresville, but it would cost him. The idea is to train students on how to run the complex metalworking machines, not only for making NASCAR engines and race cars but for medical, energy and aerospace applications.

It's been a crusade for many manufacturers for years: the battle against an out-of-date public perception of manufacturing as dirty, repetitive work that's possibly unsafe and probably a dead-end career path. Two recent surveys show that there's still a lot of work to do in dispelling that myth—but a third offers some hope.

For National Manufacturing Day, Aerotek, a leading provider of industrial staffing services, today released its second-annual list of "Opportunities in Manufacturing," including the top 10 fast growing U.S. industries for manufacturing employment as well as the top states driving employment. Although the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a softening in the manufacturing industry, Aerotek notes the demand for manufacturing talent is still critical.

MachiningCloud, a product content provider for cutting tools, CNC machines and workholding, today announced a partnership with IMCO Carbide Tool Inc., enabling the precision cutting tool maker's product data to be published online. MachiningCloud represents a new channel through which IMCO will provide its customers with digital product data they need to run today's data-hungry shop software, according to a joint news release issued by the two companies Jan. 6.

GTI Spindle Technology, Manchester, N.H., recently announced plans to open a new state-of-the-art spindle repair facility in Raleigh, N.C., this month. The new 5,000-square-foot facility will provide full-service spindle rebuild and repair services. The new facility also will provide on-site predictive maintenance services, including vibration analysis routes for customers who want to ensure maximum uptime and reliability for their shops.