Manufacturers that mistake social media as an entirely outbound process are finding themselves ill equipped to deal with the reality that it is a two-way street.

When asked if he’d listen to suggestions from fans about how to fix his struggling ball club, late California Angels Manager Gene Mauch said, “Feedback is like perfume. A little is great, but too much is poisonous.” This is not unlike the sentiment I hear expressed by manufacturers merging onto the social-media superhighway.

Industry trends support that manufacturers are catching up to the digital revolution. But when they do, the “social” aspect of social media often takes these companies by surprise.

They find themselves in the position of the proverbial dog that’s caught the car. For years, they wondered what their customers were thinking. After earnestly chasing that goal for decades, they now have their answer – and it’s not as much fun as they thought it would be.

Manufacturers that mistake social media as an entirely outbound process are finding themselves ill equipped to deal with the reality that it is a two-way street. As feedback and inquiries stream in, they realize they’ve unwittingly asked their audience to tell them what they want or need when they aren’t fully prepared to listen. Historically, manufacturing has worked as a dictatorship. Can it function as a democracy?

Through trial and error, some manufacturers have successfully learned to use data gathered via social media to improve the quality of existing products while designing new ones, enhancing the customer experience, and staying current on changes in customers’ purchasing behavior.

They’ve done this by formalizing the listening process. By consciously managing the act of social listening, manufacturers are turning what might have been an unwieldy problem into a treasure trove of invaluable data and a big competitive advantage.

Do We Have To?
Even though 81% of business-to-business companies use social networks, the manufacturing sector has been slow to adapt,
for at least three reasons.  READ ENTIRE ARTICLE (IndustryWeek)

Listen in as these 2011 WOOD 100 companies share their strategies for success. The webinar will provide you with the tools you need to improve your business, marketing and production strategies – and grow your sales.

Topics covered include:

• Marketing Initiatives

• Business Strategies

• Productivity Enhancements

• Technology Integration

• Product Innovations

• Sustainable Operations

• Customer Service

Registration is Free

Click here for Speaker information and Registration

Date: November 30, 2011

Time: 10:30am CT/11:30am ET

Informed investment and business planning decisions require timely analysis of key U.S. government economic data and manufacturing industry trends. An accurate view of the manufacturing economic outlook is essential for policymakers to make informed and supportive decisions that promote the competitiveness of manufacturers in the United States. The NAM’s economist breaks down complex data into straightforward, usable nuggets of information. His in-depth insight provides a comprehensive look at manufacturing industry trends and the current state of the manufacturing economy in America.

That is, SCC will be one of two institutions in the country to pilot the Right Skills Now program, an accelerated training program designed to fast-track employees for manufacturing and machining companies desperately seeking talent.

The program is an outgrowth of President Barack Obama’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness. Earlier this year, Obama convened members of the council with leaders from the education and manufacturing industries to discuss ideas for credentialing up to 500,000 more workers in advanced manufacturing jobs around the country.

Right Skills Now was one of those ideas — and SCC is expecting to launch the program in January on its Faribault campus and in March on its North Mankato campus.

The program entails 24 credits — 16 of them earned in a 12- or 16-week classroom program and another eight earned during an internship. After that, employers will be encouraged to pay for their interns to return to SCC to finish a two-year degree.

The program does not come with additional funding, so SCC President Keith Stover did express some concern that SCC would be able to attract enough participants to make the program viable.

SCC was identified for the program (Dunwoody College of Technology in Minneapolis is the other) largely because of its new state-of-the-industry machining lab.  SCC has assembled the lab piecemeal over the past year, finishing up in the
summer with seven pieces of Haas-brand machining equipment — precisely the kind of equipment for which manufacturers are having difficulty finding qualified operators.

Such operators combine technical savvy with manufacturing skills and represent an evolution from the more technical skills required of manufacturing employees in the past. A survey by the National Association of Manufacturers found that 80 percent of manufacturing companies are in need of these kinds of employees.

Jon Morgan, a computer-integrated machining instructor at SCC, said there are more area jobs available than the 37 students represent in his program. He said the manufacturing industry is changing rapidly and public perception has not kept pace.

If successful, the Right Skills Now program will be used as a model nationwide. Stover said piloting the program at SCC is a point of pride.

Anyone interested in the program should contact Jeannie Ender  at 507-332-5861 or by email at jeannie.ender@southcentral.edu.

Madison College was pleased to host a Sanding Seminar recently where our students had the opportunity to mix with individuals from companies around the state. Two guest experts, Peter VanDyke of Stiles Machinery and Bob Usselman of 3M presented on sanding methods, materials and technology during a 4 hour lunch & learn sponsored by Stiles. This is exactly the dynamic Madison strives to create in their Cabinetmaking & Millwork program – the opportunity for students to interact with people in industry, sharing best practices and learning about the latest advances in technology together.

Madison College is grateful to Peter Van Dyke of Stiles Machinery and Bob Usselman of 3M for their generous contribution of time and energy which made the event a huge success.

Over the last month, the number of members in the group has risen from 13 to 16. Among them are a number of corporate heavy hitters, including AT&T, Boeing, and Verizon. Trade organizations belonging include the Association of American Railroads and
the National Retail Federation. Co-chairs are Dr. Elaine Kamarck, former advisor to President Clinton and Vice President Gore, and James P. Pinkerton, former advisor to Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush.

The group points out that the U.S. corporate tax rate, at 35 percent, is noticeably higher than the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development)  average of 25.3 percent. A study prepared by Ernst & Young for the RATE Coalition finds that the U.S. rate is second only to Japan among the world’s 50 largest economies.

RATE also points to a 2008 OECD study that indicates that corporate income taxes can have a negative effect on corporate
investment, and can distort corporate financing decisions – no surprise to most corporate finance professionals.

As the Coalition also notes, the current corporate tax system has been crafted so that it favors certain industries and sectors over others. “A vital center of constructive compromise can be found by reforming the corporate tax system, thereby reducing the corporate tax competitiveness gap. This new vital center is premised on our lowering the corporate tax rate and, as needed, eliminating loopholes at the same time,” wrote RATE’s co-chairs in an op-ed on Politico.com earlier this month.

RATE’s interest in a lower corporate rate, potentially bolstered by a broader corporate tax base, is supported by many studies and elected officials from both major parties. It’s one piece of a tax solution, along with reforms to individual taxes, that could help get the U.S. economy moving.

Congress approved free trade agreements with South Korea , Colombia and Panama, ending a four year drought in the forming of new trade partnerships and giving the White House and Capitol Hill the opportunity to show they can work together to stimulate the economy and put people back to work.

In rapid succession, the House and Senate voted on the three trade pacts, which the administration says could boost exports by $13 billion and support tens of thousands of American jobs. None of the votes were close, despite opposition from labor groups and other critics of free trade agreements who say they result in job losses and ignore labor rights problems in the partner countries.

In a statement, President Barack Obama said the deals would make it easier for US companies to sell their products overseas, and  these agreements will support tens of thousands of jobs across the country for workers making products stamped with three proud words: Made in America,’ he said.”  The President also added that passage of these agreements was a “major win for American workers and businesses.”

The agreements would lower or eliminate tariffs that American exporters face in the three countries.  They also take steps to better protect intellectual property and improve access for American investors in those countries.  The last free trade agreemnet completed was with Peru in 2007.

While the deals with Colombia and Panama are likely to have limited economic impact, the agreement with South Korea is designed to break down barriers between the United States and the world’s 15th-largest economy.

The South Korea deal has the potential to create as many as 280,000 American jobs, according to a recent assessment by the staff of the U.S. International Trade Commission, and to boost exports by more than $12 billion. Several major labor unions have warned that any gains will come at the cost of layoffs among American workers because of heightened competition from South Korean imports.

The South Korea deal is widely hailed as the most consequential trade pact since the North American Free Trade Agreement was ratified in 1994.

When long-stalled free-trade pacts with Columbia, Panama and South Korea sailed through Congress Wednesday night, it was a monumental victory for the National Association of Manufacturers.

The free-trade agreements were NAM’s “top trade priority,” association President and CEO Jay Timmons said. ”Today’s action by the Senate and House to pass these agreements is a big step toward creating much-needed jobs as we reach new markets,” Timmons said in a news release. “Manufacturers welcome today’s votes after years of inaction.”

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce struck a similar tone, hailing the bipartisan agreements as the potential foundation of “an aggressive new trade agenda.”

“Passing these trade agreements represents a victory for American workers, American competitiveness and American leadership,” said Thomas Donohue, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber.

“It means we will immediately stop losing jobs to our competitors who have cut their own deals and we can start creating hundreds of thousands of new jobs for Americans.”

The Washington Post  calls the three deals “the most significant expansion of trade relations  in nearly two decades.” According to the Post, “Final approval of the agreements represents a major victory for the Obama administration as well as congressional leaders in both parties, who have touted the trade pacts as a means to jump-start the flagging economy without additional government spending. Ratification of the agreements holds particular importance for  President Obama, who has set a goal of doubling US exports by 2015.”

FTA’s UPDATE (October 25, 2011)

Obama Signs Three Trade Agreements

(AP) President Obama “signed off Friday on the first three, and possibly the last, free trade agreements of his administration, deals with South Korea, Colombia, and Panama that could be worth billions to American exporters and create tens of thousands of jobs.” The President “signed them with none of the ceremonial fanfare that normally accompanies such triumphs. … The agreements will bring to 20 those countries that have free trade relations with the United States.”

Analysis Finds That U.S. Could Gain 2 to 3 Million Jobs and an Estimated $100 Billion in Output as Seven Industry Clusters Approach a ‘Tipping Point’ over the Next Five Years

Transportation goods such as vehicles and auto parts, electrical equipment including household appliances, and furniture are among seven sectors that could create 2 to 3 million jobs as a result of manufacturing returning to the U.S.—an emerging
trend that is expected to accelerate starting in the next five years, according to new research by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

The BCG analysis identifies those broad industry clusters that are most likely to reach a “tipping point” by around 2015—a point at which China’s shrinking cost advantage should prompt companies to rethink where they produce certain goods meant for sale in North America. In many cases, companies will shift production back from China or choose to locate new investments in the U.S. The U.S. is also expected to become a more competitive export base in these sectors for Europe and Canada.

“A surprising amount of work that rushed to China over the past decade could soon start to come back—and the economic impact could be significant,” said Harold L. Sirkin, a BCG senior partner and lead author of the analysis. “We’re on record predicting a U.S. manufacturing renaissance starting by around 2015. Now we can be more specific about which industries will return and why.”

In addition to transportation goods, electrical equipment/appliances, and furniture, the sectors most likely to return are plastics and rubber products, machinery, fabricated metal products, and computers/electronics. Together, these seven industry groups could add $100 billion in output to the U.S. economy and lower the U.S. non-oil trade deficit by 20 to 35 percent, according
to BCG.  Continue Reading

American Fabric Filter Co. High Performance Cartridge Filters

Hafele Introduces Georgia Decorative Collection in Polished Nickel

Hafele Introduces Balance LED Light

Nordson Nitrogen Generation Systems

Planit Alliance of Top Software Providers

Rev-A-Shelf New 2011-12 Specification Guide