Let's Shift info High Gear
You may have noticed that I have been on a mission recently. My editorial in the Winter 2006 issue, “Listen to the SMEs,” was an attempt to bring additional visibility to our manufacturing community—particularly Small Manufacturing Enterprises (SMEs). This industry is so important (approximately 15 percent of the state economy), that it requires constant attention and help from all of us in the business, government, education, and economic development realms.
In the Spring 2006 issue’s editorial, I tried to quantify the importance of manufacturing to our state. Manufacturing has the highest economic “multiplier” of any industry segment ($2.37), a healthy number of companies (7,500) and employees (350,000 total—one-third of whom work for firms with less than 100 employees), and a considerable payroll ($14 billion). Put it all together and you can see why manufacturing—the engine that runs our economy—is so important!
As if anyone needs additional convincing, consider this: Only 60 percent of Minnesota manufacturing companies have positive, taxable net incomes, which add up to a significant total of $2.8 billion. But a startling 40 percent, or approximately 3,000, of the state’s manufacturing companies are not profitable—which means that we’re leaving close to $1.8 billion of net income on the table. Yes, the companies would have taxes to pay on those dollars, but they would have serious money left over to invest! Think what this would mean to the communities where these companies are located. Think what it would mean for the State of Minnesota. Revving up the manufacturing engine will produce growth like we have not seen in some time. We need to shift into high gear soon!
Some good things are happening in this regard. The Minnesota Manufacturing Coalition, the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System’s Centers of Excellence, the state’s JOBZ and Minnesota Job Skills Partnership programs, Minnesota Small Business Development Centers, and others are helping to rev the engine. This magazine helps too, primarily by highlighting and sharing the stories of companies that are making a difference in the manufacturing and technology sectors. In this issue alone, we cover everything from supply chain management to alternative energy, food safety and security, continuous improvement, and much more.
Look forward to more on this topic in future issues—including specifics on what else can be done to help manufacturing lead the way for growth in Minnesota’s economy.