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The State of Manufacturing to Probe Industry Issues
The State of Manufacturing, a comprehensive industry survey, reveals Minnesota manufacturers' economic outlook and top issues.
Enterprise Minnesota will release a full report from its 2012 State of Manufacturing survey at the end of February, but early signs show that some issues are already top of mind for manufacturers. After traveling the state to talk with manufacturers throughout the year, Enterprise Minnesota president Bob Kill notes increasingly more companies are having trouble finding skilled workers.
"For every hour that you drive from the Twin Cities, finding enough workers with the right skill set becomes that much more difficult," Kill said. "Training is not the only big issue, but interest in manufacturing among younger workers is just as big of a hurdle."
The State of Manufacturing survey will ask manufacturers questions about a number of topics, including the skilled worker shortages. Washington, DC-based. Public Opinion Strategies will conduct 400 phone interviews. POS has completed more than 12,000 research projects and interviewed more than 5 million Americans across the United States for public interest studies, corporate research, and political campaigns.
Last year's State of Manufacturing survey found that executives expected a mixed bag, closely matching the actual outcome over the next several months. The survey found that less than one in 10 manufacturing executives (9 percent) anticipated a continued recession in 2011, while 40 percent foresaw economic expansion.
However, more executives expected an increase in revenues, profits, and capital expenditures in 2011 at their own company. In fact, the percentage of respondents who projected increases nearly doubled over the past two years. Fifty-one percent expected their firm's annual gross revenues to increase in 2011, up from 44 percent in 2010, and up from just 23 percent two years ago. Thirty-nine percent expected their firm's profitability to increase, up from just 17 percent two years ago. Thirty-two percent projected their capital expenditures to increase, an increase from 24 percent last year and 19 percent two years ago.
Enterprise Minnesota presents the findings across the state, including at the state legislature and in Washington, D.C. for congressional members. Elected officials are interested in learning about the top issues that manufacturers face.
As the economy rebounds, policymakers are interested in hearing how to support manufacturing. Particularly in rural areas, companies are expressing concerns about a lack of new worker prospects available as this generation of employees looks towards retirement.
"Students are not getting the same motivation from schools or parents that manufacturing remains a stable and well-paying job," Kill said. "The truth is that these careers are high-tech, high-skill careers that form a significant part of our economy. The survey and focus groups bring these issues to light and have a positive effect."
To get full results from the 2012 State of Manufacturing survey, attend the announcement event at 4:00pm on February 21 at the Minneapolis Convention Center. For more information and to register, visit www.enterpriseminnesota.org.
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The Leader Within: Training Effective Employees
December 14, 2011
8:00am-11:00am
RJF (7225 Northland Drive North, Suite 300)
$110 Regular Come
learn about leadership, communications, conflict resolution and problem
solving - skills you want to gain for yourself and have your employees
embrace. The objective: to make lean the focus of every employee, and to
develop a systematic approach to identifying and removing problems.
Our
expert consultant will share the principles of Training Within Industry
(TWI), including Job Methods, Job Instruction, Job Relations, Job
Safety, Social Styles, and Problem Solving. You will also hear from
manufacturing company leaders about how they employed TWI and Problem
Solving to help their company compete and grow profitably.
Speakers:
John Norris, President & Owner, Atscott Manufacturing
Bill Shafer, Process Engineer, CPP
Lori & Traci Tapani, Co-Presidents, Wyoming Machine
Jan Hepola, Business Growth Consultant, Enterprise Minnesota
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Industry NewsEnterprise Minnesota president named one of 200 Minnesotans to Know:
Enterprise Minnesota president & CEO Bob Kill was recently named one of 200 Minnesotans You Should Know by Twin Cities Business magazine. Click here to read the entire list of 200 individuals.
State of Manufacturing Statewide Events: Enterprise Minnesota will roll-out findings from its fourth annual State of Manufacturing poll, a statewide research project that includes hundreds of phone surveys and several focus groups with manufacturing executives across the state.The main roll-out event will occur on Tuesday, February 21, 2012 in Minneapolis. The regional roll-out events will occur February 22-28, 2012 in Rochester, Faribault, Mankato, Alexandria, St. Cloud and the Iron Range area.
More information
Upcoming EventsEnergy Harvesting and Solid State Batteries for Advanced Medical Devices
Presented by LifeScience Alley
December 13, 2011
7:30-9:30am
Hamline University Minneapolis
More information
Employee Benefits Compliance for 2012
Webinar
Presented by RJF Agencies
December 15, 2011
12:00-1:00pm
More information
Leveraging ISO Certification to Grow Your Business
Presented by Enterprise Minnesota
January 18, 2012
8:30am-11:00am
Location TBD
Effective Tools for Understanding and Controlling Workers Compensation Premiums
Presented by MPMA
January 25, 2012
7:30am-9:00am
South Central College
North Mankato
More information
State of Manufacturing Poll Event
February 21, 2012
4:00pm-6:30pm
Mpls Convention Center
More information
State of Manufacturing Poll Regional Event
February 22, 2012
8:30am-9:30am
Rochester
More information
State of Manufacturing Poll Regional Event
February 22, 2012
11:00am-12:00pm
Faribault
More information
State of Manufacturing Poll Regional Event February 23, 2012
9:00am-10:00am
Mankato
More information
State of Manufacturing Poll Regional Event
February 23, 2012
1:00pm-2:00pm
Worthington
More information
State of Manufacturing Poll Regional Event February 27, 2012
9:00am-10:00am
Alexandria
More information
State of Manufacturing Poll Regional Event
February 27, 2012
1:00pm-2:00pm
St. Cloud
More information
Conference-Heating the Midwest: Building the Vision
April 25-27, 2012
Eau Claire, WI
More information
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