This afternoon I’ll be boarding a plane to Tampa, Fla., for The FABRICATOR’s Leadership Summit. I’m biased, of course, but the industry conference remains one of my favorites. Talk centers on the many joys and challenges of running a metal fabrication business. Industry leaders discuss everything from hiring practices to supply chain issues. Every year, my hands ache from so much note-taking. The story ideas abound.
Posts Tagged ‘fabricators and manufacturers association’
Metal fabricating with focus amid chaos
January 8th, 2013
By: Tim Heston
By: Tim Heston
Early last year, I recall eating lunch in the break room at Atlanta-based Metcam, which hosted a press brake training seminar run by Steve Benson and organized by the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association. Sitting across from me was a press brake supervisor, we chatted a bit about his tours of duty in both Afghanistan and Iraq. He told me some intense stories.
He had gotten a job at a local metal fabricator and had climbed the ladder quickly. His military training, it seems, helped. He could focus. He paid attention to detail. He showed up to work like clockwork, and he was totally engaged in company’s improvement processes. To me, he sounded like a model employee. This is why I wasn’t surprised when I read an article in Forbes describing this as a trend that may abate, at least to some extent, our country’s skilled labor crisis.
Thankful for the people of metal fabrication
November 19th, 2012
By: Tim Heston
By: Tim Heston
This Thursday my family will continue a long, albeit corny tradition. We go around the table and tell people what we’re thankful for. It’s a refreshing respite from all the dreary news--about China, the European mess, the Fiscal Cliff, and all the uncertainty and dysfunction from our nation’s capital.
So what will I give thanks for? Yes, family and friends top the list, as usual, but I’m also one of those odd people who mentions his day job. Every day, I get to talk to people in metal fabrication. I enjoy conversations with few if any corporate buzzwords. They get to the point. They have great character. And when it comes to the productive economy, they work where the rubber hits the road.
Busy or slow, manufacturer never stops improving
October 28th, 2012
By: Tim Heston
By: Tim Heston
If tragedy has a silver lining, it is that it brings everything else into stark clarity. Those who suffer usually either wallow or emerge triumphant. Chesterfield, Mo.-based Cambridge Engineering did the latter.
As Vice President of Manufacturing Michael Mueller put it, “We had a new spirit, and we had to survive.”
