I came across this article, which is a couple years old, I thought it made some good points. I think it will be the last of these I post for a while. I am going to concentrate future posts on fixing the problems of the industry. I think it's important to look back from time to time though. Only a fool would not learn from his own mistakes or to be aware of others in his shoes.
Tooling craft rapidly vanishes - 7/11/04
The article is about a tool and die company closing it's doors after 75 years of business. The quote I found most interesting was ....
"U.S. toolmakers were once so coveted they were exempt from the draft during War World II. Now they are losing out to foreign workers who often earn $2 an hour."
I actually have heard stories that not only were they exempt but many that volunteered for the services were rejected because of this or had to lie in order to serve. My, how times have changed.
This company, I'm sure, made many mistakes that led to it's demise. Some they were in control of and others I'm sure they had very little control over. They probably kept many of their workers employed longer than they should have, waiting for a industry rebound that never came. I have been guilty of this, as many have. You hate to lose your key people that you've spent many years cultivating to your competition over temporary work shortages.
It sounds like they didn't invest in modern technology when times were good, as many of us have. It didn't save the jobs at my company, but it did save my company from extinction. I now do almost as much work as I did with a shop full of employees. I can't say it's more profitable. I pay for machines rather than people. I'm glad I made many of these investments years ago, as one did one of the shops quoted in this article did.
The local economic development organization has requested a meeting with me as they do every year. Their main focus will be job retention. It's a little late for that with my company, unless the job they want to retain is mine. However, I will meet with them, as I always do. I will give them my laundry list of things they can to help create jobs, which I'm sure they will never act upon. I'm sure they ask for my support or donations, as they always do. I'm just too small now to be of interest to them and won't generate enough good press. At least they still take the time to meet with me.
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
NAM, China and the Sheep. Where are the shepherds?
You gotta pay if you want to play.
This is especially true if you want action out of the US government or supposed trade organizations. The tool and die industry is being killed by Chinese currency manipulation and many other issues. The T&D companies are the sheep of American manufacturing, not big enough to defend themselves against the wolves. They will occasionally travel in packs, which helps protect them even though they are picked off daily. The shepherds job should be easier to protect them as they huddle together. Their shepherds should be organizations like the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) . Unfortunately NAM is split on support of a new bill that would seek penalties for China in manipulating its currency. On one side is the small manufacturers who support such measures. The other side is the Large (wolf in sheeps clothing) Corporations. They don't want to upset the status quo for fear of loosing all the money they are able to make by outsourcing much of their work to China. There are some good shepherds out there, but their flocks are too small to defend themselves from the wolves. The Michigan Tooling Association is one of the good shepherds. Their web site(www.mtaonline.com) has a few good articles.The Testimony of Laurie Schmald Moncrieff President of Schmald Tool & Die, Inc. FULL ARTICLE I found extremely good.
Tooling people are great problem solvers. It's what they do on a daily basis. I love this industry because it's one of the few in which the B.S. doesn't fly. These guy's know that talking about a problem or pointing the finger doesn't get the job done. They let their work do the talking for them. They are also quite independent, and this will probably be their downfall. They are usually quite conservative and don't believe government can solve their problems. Unfortunately government is the cause of their problems. If herded together under the watchful eye of a good shepherd they could really turn the industry around and start to solve it's problems. 90% of the industry is small companies under 50 employees and most are under 10. They don't want protectionist measures, just a level playing field. They'll never have the numbers or money to get things done in Washington. Who will be their shepherds?
This is especially true if you want action out of the US government or supposed trade organizations. The tool and die industry is being killed by Chinese currency manipulation and many other issues. The T&D companies are the sheep of American manufacturing, not big enough to defend themselves against the wolves. They will occasionally travel in packs, which helps protect them even though they are picked off daily. The shepherds job should be easier to protect them as they huddle together. Their shepherds should be organizations like the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) . Unfortunately NAM is split on support of a new bill that would seek penalties for China in manipulating its currency. On one side is the small manufacturers who support such measures. The other side is the Large (wolf in sheeps clothing) Corporations. They don't want to upset the status quo for fear of loosing all the money they are able to make by outsourcing much of their work to China. There are some good shepherds out there, but their flocks are too small to defend themselves from the wolves. The Michigan Tooling Association is one of the good shepherds. Their web site(www.mtaonline.com) has a few good articles.The Testimony of Laurie Schmald Moncrieff President of Schmald Tool & Die, Inc. FULL ARTICLE I found extremely good.
Tooling people are great problem solvers. It's what they do on a daily basis. I love this industry because it's one of the few in which the B.S. doesn't fly. These guy's know that talking about a problem or pointing the finger doesn't get the job done. They let their work do the talking for them. They are also quite independent, and this will probably be their downfall. They are usually quite conservative and don't believe government can solve their problems. Unfortunately government is the cause of their problems. If herded together under the watchful eye of a good shepherd they could really turn the industry around and start to solve it's problems. 90% of the industry is small companies under 50 employees and most are under 10. They don't want protectionist measures, just a level playing field. They'll never have the numbers or money to get things done in Washington. Who will be their shepherds?
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