RAISING PRICES IN A TIGHT ECONOMY

We all know that manufacturing costs change rapidly these days, everything from raw materials to equipment, utilities and shipping. That’s where a company’s own fixed prices can easily get them into a bind.

In Production Machining Magazine, business expert, Mitch Gooze, shares some specific ideas that can help fabricators and manufacturers avoid getting trapped in a too-low, fixed-price quandary.

Here’s one example:
A common practice that is more visible these days than in the past is bundling versus unbundling. The simplest example is the airline industry. In the “old” days, you bought a ticket for a price and everything was included: luggage, food, a seat, and so on. Today, depending on the airline you choose, the fare is for the ticket only. Luggage (even a carry on in the case of one airline), food and preferred seating is extra. The airlines have unbundled their pricing to achieve higher prices. This has occurred because their customers focus on the price of the ticket to make their buying decision, not the total cost of travel.

You can read his complete article here

MORE LOCAL MANUFACTURING DATA

Manufacturers in the Milwaukee area continued to increase their production in July, but at a slightly slower pace than June.

The Institute of Supply Management (ISM) Milwaukee’s Seasonally Adjusted Purchasers Managers Index dipped to 59 in July from June’s PMI of 61. (Still, any number above 50 indicates expansion.)

According to the index, new orders, production, employment, supplier deliveries and prices increased in July, but at a slower rate than they increased in June. Customer inventories declined, while the backlog of orders improved. Exports were stable with June’s level, while imports increased.

The survey monitors manufacturing activity in southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois.

You can read more from BizTimes here

COMING SOON: SMART MANUFACTURING

There have been a lot of innovations in manufacturing in recent years. Lean, Kaizan, micro-machining and more. Each of them with a specific set of purposes and benefits.

Here’s another term: Smart Manufacturing. This one is more than an efficiency program. Smart Manufacturing is the convergence of information, technology and human ingenuity applied to the inventing, manufacturing, shipping and sales of an item. It’s been getting most attention in large, global companies, but the same principles will apply to any size manufacturer.

Smart Manufacturing doesn’t replace Lean or any other program you have in place. In fact, those efficiencies will become even more in demand.

You can read more about it in this Special Report from Rockwell International

Check Out Our New Website

Change has become a constant here at Dalco Metals. New customers, new processes, and brand new, industry-leading new equipment.

We want you to tour our facilities for yourself. But, in the meantime, please take a tour of our newly remodeled website.

You’ll see new and improved services, an expanded list of products and a fresh focus on customer service. Not just ‘pretty pictures,’ but a better resource for your constantly changing needs.

www.dalcometals.com

Oh, and we’re serious about having you tour our facilities here in beautiful Lake Geneva, Wisconsin area. See the “Our Location” tab for details.

What Americans Know About Manufacturing

Recently, Delloitte and The Manufacturing Institute surveyed Americans to find out what they think of manufacturing. The results were surprising, and supportive.

Here are a few samples:

1. Do Americans continue to believe manufacturing is vitally important?

The survey showed that 78 percent of Americans believe that ‘American manufacturing is vitally important to our economic prosperity’ and 76 percent think it is also ’important to our standard of living,’

2. Do Americans think that we have the skills and resources to compete globally?

60 percent said “yes” because they believe we have an advantage in technology, R&D, and skilled workforce.

In Industrial Maintenance and Plant Operation, author Mike Collins comments on the terrific positives uncovered in the survey, but also problems, including ‘image’ (stemming from large corporation layoffs) and lack of consistent workforce development, especially in new technologies.

Check out his complete article, including more from the survey, here.

Job Shop Managers, the Next Generation

We won’t use the tired phrase “things are changing,” but Tim Heston’s recent Fabricator Magazine article, “Job Shop Managers, The Next Generation,” shows us how the skills and responsibilities of shop managers has shifted in a fairly short amount of time.

He writes that a mere two decades ago “many shops had one or two customers that made up the lion’s share of their work, and people trusted that work would always be there. These days it’s so different. A shop with one or two large customers may have steady work coming in the door, but for how long? Job shop managers know a diverse customer base helps build a stable business.”

Today, even small shops are setting up sales departments and developing comprehensive marketing programs to generate consistent new business. And that’s creating a new breed of manager.

You can read the full article here

Business Forecast for Wisconsin

We’ve got good friends throughout the Midwest, but let us take a minute to brag a little about Wisconsin. The Wall Street Journal recently reported that a survey of 500 CEOs gave the state a huge ‘thumbs up.’ They graded the states on taxes and regulation, quality of the work force and living environment. Wisconsin made the biggest jump of any state, and one of the largest in the history of the survey, rising to 24th from 41st. While some of the changes being made here are still in debate, they see our “Open for Business” approach as a strong positive. And that’s good for everyone.

You can read the full article here