There is a reason that I work for someone else: I don't have that desire to strike out on my own to build a business. The entrepreneurial gene can't be found in my DNA.
So when I'm chatting with business owners, I'm doing so with a lot of respect for their accomplishments. If the shoe were on my foot, I probably wouldn't have any money to invest in a sock to wear with the new footwear. (more...)
I came across the Web site for JRS Custom Fabrication Inc. down in Ocala, Fla., last week. Someone sent me an e-mail so I checked it out.
When you visit the site, you'll notice a Bible verse from 1 John 1:3. Make no mistake; this company's guided by the Lord's words. As its mission statement reads, "To share the love of God, with our employees, customers, and vendors using tanks, trailers, and enclosures as our platform of introduction."
Jump into the Web site and you'll notice the fabricator has a "lead pastor," Don Grant. "I work with our team every day, but I'm here to serve you as well," the audio introduction details. (more...)
I'm reading about the tragedy in Haiti this morning and thinking about the sheer amount of work that'll be required to get this nation back on its feet. That may be one heck of a goal considering many feel this nation really wasn't on stable footing to begin with—extreme poverty, history of military coups, and tendency to be hit with natural disasters on a regular basis.
Despite the implausible, most of the world is scrambling to help. The U.S. military already has arrived with aid. Other countries are being held back in delivering aid by the lack of functioning infrastructure in Haiti.
Like most people, I try to relate to what's going on in Haiti by imagining how I might react if such an event struck my hometown. It just so happens that my family sort of has an emergency plan should a catastrophic event hit northern Illinois, cutting off communication and leaving everyone with a need to relocate temporarily. We're meeting at a family friend's home in Madison, Wis., even if it means walking, I guess. (more...)
When I saw the words manufacturing and boom in one headline, I had to do a double take. An AllianceBernstein economist was especially optimistic, predicting that manufacturing may be gearing up for the biggest turnaround seen in 25 years.
"The evidence points to a 20 percent jump in output in the fourth quarter, as there finally has been an end to the inventory reduction process that has gripped the industry for most of the past two years," said Chris Kuehl, economist for the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association, in a Monday e-newsletter. "The key point for Alliance is that new order growth is far outstripping the current inventory levels, and that is a recipe for growth under most circumstances. If this trend holds, the economy is in for some solid numbers in the months ahead."
A year ago Troy Berg wasn't in a good place.
"I knew in January that 2009 was gone. Never in the history of my business have I had to kiss off a year in January & Now that we're through 2009, the hard cuts have been made, we've made a little bit of money, and those of us who are still standing are looking at 2010 to be a better year."
A few days ago Berg told this to a reporter for the Wisconsin State Journal. Berg is president of Dane Manufacturing, a precision sheet metal shop in Dane, Wis., north of Madison. His comment pretty much sums up where metal fabricators stand today: battered and bruised, cautiously optimistic (an overused phrase these days), and ready to take on a better year. Some are expecting strong growth this year, some foresee it taking several years before sales volume gets back to 2007 and 2008 levels, but most agree we've started the recovery.
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Rickey Moulder probably won't forget the workday he had Thursday. Moulder is press brake department supervisor for Impulse Manufacturing in Dawsonvile, Ga., and on Dec. 17 he got to explain a bit about sheet metal fabrication to Vice President Joe Biden. An Associated Press photographer even got a great shot of him holding a sheet metal part and standing next to a sign explaining the company's press brake operations. That's not something you see every day.
Earlier this year, I landed at the Detroit airport en route to a conference. I got into my rental car, headed to the I-94 on-ramp, and then I saw it. There, next to the highway, was a big billboard advertising, of all things, a metal fabricator: "W Industries: Aerospace, Defense, Energy, Industrial."
Notice anything missing?
At the time, W Industries was making headlines. Local organizations were recognizing the company as one who successfully diversified outside automotive. And that was definitely something to flaunt in this economy.
But today, as the economy and credit markets get back on their feet, a wrinkle has been thrown into the diversity equation: the depreciation of assets. As Chris Kuehl, economist for the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association, Intl., wryly said during a keynote panel at this year's FABTECH Intl. & AWS Welding Show, "Now [the banks] are saying, 'Gosh, we expect you to pay the money back, and we're interested in collateral.'"
As my toddler sculpted her mash potatoes into something resembling, well, a lump of mash potatoes, I looked around at the Thanksgiving table. Smiles all around, not only because my daughter's so darn cute (no bias on my part, of course), but also because they knew they didn't have to clean up the mess. Still, the good food and good conversation got me thinking about how thankful I am for friends and family. I know, it's a hackneyed, Hallmark thing to say, but it happens to be true.
The next morning I opened the newspaper. Dubai World had taken a nosedive, and world markets were spooked. At that moment I thought of something else to be thankful for, something that probably isn't on any Hallmark card, at least not the mushy ones.
It's cash.
Yes, Tim, it truly is about jobs. Congress can debate health care reform, bail out banks, extend unemployment benefits, work to develop a climate bill, increase the legislative budget, and do whatever else it does until the cows come home, but we need jobs—lots of good jobs—for the economy to improve.
Jobs and a healthy economy are analogous to the chicken and the egg. You can't have one without the other. And without jobs and a healthy economy, the U.S. can't afford the flood of money Congress is spending these days. The current situation is a mindboggling conundrum—a mess. I don't have the answers, but I believe employers and employees can work together to mitigate job loss—just as the companies mentioned in my colleague's blog post did. Fabricating Update readers think so too.
It's now one in 10, probably more. Take a walk and glance around. You'll probably see someone in need of a job. Within two blocks of my house, I know four who are unemployed—and those are just the neighbors I know.
The Labor Department's release, which pegged October's unemployment rate at 10.2 percent, caught many off guard Friday. Most thought the rate would reach that point someday, but not so soon. During the past year, durable goods manufacturing unemployment more than doubled, from 5.9 percent to 12.9, the highest rate of any sector the labor department tracks.
Break it down a bit more and the picture doesn't look quite as dire. In September 2008 the fabricated metal products sector employed 1.280 million; in October 2009 it was 1.275. And get this: Employment related to motor vehicles and parts actually increased by more than 4 percent. Could the sector finally be bouncing back?
I know I'm hunting for diamonds in the rough here. Heck, I'd be pleased with cubic zirconium at this point.
