MADE HERE
By Fallon, Bill | |
Proquest LLC |
"What did you just get out of it?" he asked.
The response: "Cause for optimism in manufacturing."
And with the passion he obviously possesses for making things, Lisk, an engineer who takes notes on graph paper, offered a "Eureka!" response: "You got it!"
Regionally, as three manufacturers attested in a
Across a two-hour program, a consistent theme was of a fresh breeze on the factory floor. As was repeated several times: Gone is the dim lighting; gone are the medieval whips.
Manufacturing is now lean, clean and technically driven. It is also savvy, as evidenced by
Auray credited an in-house survey of a decade ago as an attention-getter and, perhaps, object lesson in modern manufacturing. "The survey said we were going from a great company to a good company," he said. "Good just isn't going to cut it in a place like
Hiring a nimble workforce is key, but today's manufacturing worker, too, must mimic the industry. Workers must be adaptable and, unlike the drone workers embodied in
The demand is real for such talent, as
Saint, who employs 20, said the work is there, but the work force can be wanting. She cited an in-house test that regional high school graduates routinely fail and said, "If you can find a tap-and-die worker without a job right now, then you know that person is not very good at what they do. Because if you are good, you have a job."
Lisk said, distilling life and history, "If you think about it, there's manufacturing and there's agriculture. You make something grow out of the ground or you make something by using resources to make it. Everything else is just shuffling money."
Auray, Saint and Lisk constituted the panel. A measure of enthusiasm for their expertise surfaced at night's end when they were swamped by audience members with questions after the official Q-and-A session was called on account of time. Hardly idle chatter, those who came forward included
Event moderation is usually a supportive role, but not so this night. At the podium to the panel's left stood
That commission in December will deliver a "comprehensive report" to Gov:
The commission's focus includes "existing resources and infrastructure and their ability to secure and enhance
"Those are the drivers that we need to use to move forward."
Copyright: | (c) 2014 Westfair Communications |
Wordcount: | 668 |
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