Many colleges and schools that “teach” manufacturing don’t have sufficient material, the latest in tooling technology, or any true curriculum to teach manufacturing. Every teacher is creating their own curriculum based on their own experiences and they’re not on the cutting edge because most are retired from the industry.
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One of the great things about manufacturing is that you don’t need to have a college education or degree to be a success. The opportunity is available to anyone who recognizes the opportunity and is willing to do what is required to take advantage of it. Titan Gilroy is a prime example of the kind of success we’re talking about. He grew up very poor in Hawaii. His mother didn’t even own a...
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Industry-wide supply shortages are creating demand. What happens when there’s demand? Prices skyrocket. Cars, raw materials, weight equipment, etc. are all rocketing in price. Car manufacturers can’t get chips which is driving up the price of current inventory. In some areas, a new Escalade is running $20,000 above the sticker price. What’s even worse? Everyone is buying computers, laptops,...
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Jim 100% cares about his employees and treats them well, probably more than many other employers. But at the end of the day, he’s the leader who has to create an environment that’s running efficiently. Some people treat their team as human resources or simply numbers that drive results. Nick really likes the people he works with and is even part of a fantasy football league with them....
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What do we do in this crazy labor market? Do you need to focus on retention? Up your recruiting? Hold on to employees that are just okay? Leverage is changing and employees are increasingly aware of their value. As business owners, we need to be aware of this and compensate our teams accordingly. While retention is key, what do we do when we have no choice and we need to hire in this market...
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If you’re a long-time listener, you know that I’ve been in the process of moving Carr Machine & Tool. This is the first move I’ve made in my career and probably the last. But why? Because I understand the power of branding and design well. I know that existing and future clients are going to be more sophisticated and they will want to partner with similar brands. I also want to attract and...
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A sales leader on Jason’s team thought it would be a great idea to focus on networking as a way to find sales opportunities. So Jason let him join different associations and attend events to try and drum up business. But it wasn’t producing the results that they expected, so they cut back on the networking. The question is—should increasing sales be the true objective of networking? Jim...
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If someone is new to the manufacturing industry, how do they acclimate to the industry and begin to build authenticity and credibility? How do they learn the ropes and become familiar with the necessary lingo?
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Nick Sainati was living in Seattle with his wife and daughter when the unthinkable happened: his perfectly healthy and active father was diagnosed with cancer. Faced with selling the family business to receive cancer treatment, Nick’s father asked him to take over his machine shop. Four months later, Nick and his family moved back to Chicago to take over Belden Universal. Belden Universal was...
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CMMC stands for Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification. Most people in manufacturing are familiar with ITAR (International Traffic in Arms). ITAR was a self-certification where you pay to certify and commit to being safe and secure with documents to make sure someone who isn’t a US citizen doesn’t see that data. But it wasn’t good enough. We’re always hearing about countries trying to...
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A huge percentage of manufacturing companies are owned by Baby Boomers that are moving up in years. As they’re nearing retirement, many are contemplating selling their shops. If you’re in that boat, how can you prepare for the sale? What can be done to make your machine shop more attractive to buyers? Paul Van Metre—the former President of Pro CNC and Co-Founder of ProShop ERP—shares that...
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It is no secret that the manufacturing industry in the U.S.A. has seen better days. After years of fighting overseas manufacturers for work, this current recession has been the impending nail in the coffin for some. Most machine shops and manufacturing facilities in the U.S. were built in the same way: with blood, sweat, and tears. The grit required to survive in manufacturing tends to weed...
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