State of Manufacturing II
BY BOB KILL
About a year ago, we at Enterprise Minnesota took on a project that seemed to get a life of its own. We called it the “State of Manufacturing.” We hired one of America’s top pollsters to survey 400 manufacturing executives about what they thought of their industry, the economy and the state of their communities.
Remember, this was a time when many economists seemed to be running around in clueless disbelief as the wheels fell off of the American economy— seemingly without warning. America’s policymakers had their forefingers firmly planted on the panic button regarding the economy.
Back home, manufacturers were also concerned about things like the lack of trained workers, changes in supply chain management and the challenges of watching some of their markets go to China and India.
Our findings were nothing if not illuminating. Although most executives agreed that Minnesota’s economy was headed for a very bumpy ride in 2009, nearly three-quarters had high hopes for the prospects of their own companies. Many observers found this calm self-assurance to be absolutely astonishing. Not me.
The results of our poll confirmed my own experience: Minnesota’s manufacturers didn’t view an economic downturn as a time for hopeless hand-wringing. They viewed it as a chance to analyze, retool and upgrade their operations so that they’ll be the first to exploit the opportunities of a recovery. In many ways, manufacturers gave their communities the strong hands of experience they needed at the helm during an economic storm.
We’re about to go into the field with our second poll, this one bigger and better. We’re going to expand the number of interviews—with a special regional focus. We also plan to double, with luck, the number of focus groups we will use to augment the polling research.
What made the State of Manufacturing so successful in 2009 was the high level of participation from executives. Our pollster was surprised at the number of quick-turnaround responses he received from very senior executives. Such high-level participation heightened the credibility of our research.
I’m hopeful we’ll get the same participation this year. When you get a call from our pollster or an invitation to a focus group, we hope you will take the call or attend the meeting.