The Great Cake of Manufacturing®

A Litchfield 'rollout event' underscores that the State of Manufacturing® represents far more than an interesting collection of survey numbers.

By Lynn Shelton - Enterprise Minnesota's Director of Marketing & Communications

The large and diverse crowd that gathered last week in Litchfield to hear first-hand about the results of the State of Manufacturing® project reminded me again that the value of the project is so much greater than mere survey numbers.

The State of Manufacturing is our annual survey of Minnesota's manufacturers, conducted by Public Opinion Strategies, a renowned Washington, DC-based polling company that counts the NBC-Wall Street Journal poll among its client projects. This year marked our fifth survey, which we augmented with 19 focus groups, held all across Minnesota - attended by more than 200 manufacturers.

Dee Schutte, the savvy executive director of the Litchfield Chamber of Commerce, has hosted a local briefing of the State of Manufacturing for four consecutive years. She understands the value of her constituent manufacturers to Litchfield's local economy.

She understands that the State of Manufacturing might be better described as an annual appreciation of the value of manufacturers to their state and to their local communities.

To view the survey results through local eyes, she knows, gives the numbers new meaning that emphasize how today's manufacturers have evolved greatly from, say, 30 years ago. Today's manufacturing is a dynamic job-creating engine whose success benefits the entire local economy. The culmination of the project is not in the survey but in the community events in which community leaders gather to hear the results and ponder what they mean.

Think about it:

   •   When manufacturers tell the pollster how cheap-labor competition from India or China undermines their business, they remind us all that they are engaged in sophisticated businesses that now conduct businesses on a world stage. And it underscores that manufacturers have many local partners who depend on them, including suppliers, consultants, banks, and professional services professionals.

   •   Their frustrations at finding workers who are prepared to take on the increasingly high-tech demands of their operations, remind us that manufacturing no longer represents the dirty, boring, low-paying jobs some folks think it does. Today's manufacturers represent long-term career opportunities for prospective employees of every age.    
   
   •   When they talk about how uncertainties from Washington discourage manufacturers from taking an aggressive pursuit of growth, they remind policy-makers that it is not only their legislative actions that affect job growth, but how they are legislating those actions.    
   
   •   And when they agree (for the fifth consecutive year) that the costs of employee health comprise the No. 1 concern of manufacturers, it gives voice to every job creator in their market that health care is still a concern.

So when Dee organizes her annual briefing, she's reminding us that we are all in this together. The bottom line for local communities is job creation by maintaining a robust, sustainable local economy. And manufacturers are always at the center. They aren't the only ingredient in the mix, but they are essential - and the State of Manufacturing seeks continually to demonstrate that.

Just as Enterprise Minnesota strives to use the State of Manufacturing to demonstrate our roll as the connector - the nexus organization - among all the diverse publics who care about manufacturing (or who should), local chambers serve that role to their local organizations. Dee's service is a perfect example of that.

Here are some digital clips of the event.

Litchfield Independent Review - Health Care Costs Hinder Manufacturers (5-9-13)

Delano Herald Journal - Major concerns for Minnesota manufacturers include health care costs and finding qualified workers (5-13-13)

The State of Manufacturing website link is also featured on Dassel Cokato.com Enterprise Dispatch (in pink box in the center of the page, titled "Links Featured in our Current New Stories."


Enterprise Minnesota invites you to attend any of the following upcoming State of Manufacturing® rollout events.
 
May 20 - Alexandria
May 22 - North Mankato
May 29 - Albert Lea
May 30 - St. Cloud

Register Now

Quality Management - ISO Processes Power Your Business Management System

Wednesday, June 12, 2013
8-11am
US Bank
1 Meridian Crossings
Arrowhead Conference Room
Richfield, MN  55423
Cost: Early Bird $79 by May 28; Regular $119  
 
Register Online

What to Expect?
Come learn how medium-size and smaller manufacturing companies are working to transform their ISO processes into a powerful business management system. Manufacturing executives and Kent Myhrman, Enterprise Minnesota Business Growth Advisor, will show you how ISO directly influences the ability to compete and grow profitably.

Moderator:
Kent Myhrman, Business Growth Advisor,
Enterprise Minnesota