June Data Points

From MSCI’s Forward Magazine, here’s an updated look at some of the nation's economic indicators. Click here for the full chart.

Sensor Frankensteins, Mutants and Zombies

The result of mergers, acquisitions and trigger-happy customers, dies are flowing from shop to shop at a growing pace. The biggest problems are that each one has its own particular sensor setup, plus different controls and die-protection systems are being mixed and unmatched.
It’s a sensor and controls nightmare that’s become more than a bad dream for innovative fabricators and stampers.
For the ‘fix,’ click here for the complete article in this month’s Metalforming Magazine

Manufacturing's Role in Wisconsin's Economy

This applies to our friends and partners in Illinois and Minnesota, too!
Coming off the 16th Annual statewide manufacturing conference, Buckley Brinkman, Executive Director of the Wisconsin Manufacturing Extension Partnership, reports that Wisconsin’s manufacturers are “transforming the state by leading the charge” on preparing our future workforce and driving innovation throughout the economy.
“The industry accounts for 19 percent of our private, non-farm workforce. According to the National Association of Manufacturers, these jobs command an average premium of $21,000 over other jobs in the state. Manufacturing is 18 percent of our GSP and also one of the primary ways of creating value and increasing exports. With the additional support services and products required, manufacturing may account for up to half of the state’s economy.”
This isn’t a “rah rah” piece on manufacturing, either. He covers specific challenges while laying out solutions that each individual company can use to boost their own future (and bottom line).
You can read his complete article here

FABRICATING A MUSICAL MONUMENT

The famed Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa, home to the last performances of Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens, is a renowned museum and home of the annual Winter Dance Party. And now, the Surf Ballroom overlooks Three Stars Plaza, a permanent tribute to the three, which features a one-of-a-kind sculpture that was created by local metal fabricator, Steve Sukup of Sukup Manufacturing. The eye-catching structure is a stack of records on a spindle (for those of us who remember those!). The 1500 lb center supports three neon-lit “records” made from 7 gauge stainless steel, laser cut and TIG welded. The Three Stars Plaza story, from Fabricator magazine, can be seen here.

GOOD NEWS FROM MINNESOTA

Naturally, we talk about Wisconsin a lot, but we’ve got some fine customers in surrounding states, too. So it was great to read this ‘good news’ on manufacturing growth in the Land of 10,000 Lakes.
Manufacturing activity in the Midwest strengthened in April, according to a survey of supply managers, reported in the St. Paul Pioneer Press. The Business Conditions Index for Minnesota and a nine-state region climbed to 60 from 58.6 in March. (Above 50 indicates expansion.)
“Despite higher energy prices, manufacturers, particularly those tied to international markets and agriculture, expanded "briskly" for the month, said Ernie Goss, a professor of economics at Creighton University in Omaha, Neb., who conducts the survey. In Minnesota, as in past months, durable goods manufacturers such as metal producers are growing, even as nondurable producers, such as food processors, are registering no growth.”
For the state, the index climbed to 61 from March's 56.7. In addition to upturns in hiring, manufacturers and non-manufacturers are increasing the hours their employees are working, Goss said.

Manufacturing's Secret Weapon

When a company launches a new initiative, it’s usually hard to pinpoint the positive results. But that’s not the case at WMEP (the consulting group, not a radio station). A lot of you are familiar with the Wisconsin Manufacturing Extension Partnership. Similar groups include Enterprise Minnesota, CIRAS at Iowa State University, and Illinois Manufacturing Extension Center. All of them are manufacturing specialists helping companies change AND grow through these economic times. In 2011, according to their annual audit, WMEP helped manufacturers here generate $47 million in increased or retained sales, $3 million in costs savings and $6 million in increased investment towards factories and equipment, information systems, and work force practices. We’re not here to shill for them, just passing along some helpful facts. Here’s a link to their annual report. And, because we HAVE worked with them, here’s a link to a brief tour of Dalco Metals, with a few comments on WMEP.

Gas Drilling Helping Steel

New sources of natural gas are having a direct effect on steel prices, at least out east. In Pennsylvania, rich gas deposits in the Marcellus Shale is driving the demand for steel that is used in the mining and drilling equipment. At the same time, mills, like U. S. Steel’s West Mifflin plant, are switching over to that cheaper natural gas, which they claim will help reduce their costs in the coming years. While it’s not likely to have a fast impact here, it is a noteworthy and positive development. Take a look at the Wall Street Journal story here.