Media partner Manufacturing Engineering recently sat down with Bryon Deysher, President and CEO of Methods Machine Tools and John Tucker, Vice President and President Business Groups of Kennametal Inc. to get their take on the future of manufacturing. The article, titled, “imX Experience Partners Discuss Manufacturing Trends,” appears in the June 2011 issue and features an expanded view on manufacturing and each company’s ties to imX and the future of the industry.

Manufacturing Engineering: What is the market looking for in new machine tool technology?

Bryon Deysher: The market is trending more toward production on demand, the theme we are using for imX. We are seeing more requests for small-lot production, for part-off complete, for multitasking, and five-axis machining capabilities. Our customers are looking at minimizing cost, and reducing setup time.

John Tucker: Turnkey solutions are really one of the important ways that we can provide value to our customers. Turnkey solutions, applications engineering, and test cuts, for example, are being pushed down from the customer, giving us a greater role in helping them make their machine tool selections.

ME: What is being done to educate the customer about how to get the best performance out of their manufacturing technology?

Deysher: As much as this is an Internet-oriented society and people are going there to get information, the machine tool business is a people-oriented business. It requires us to provide our customers with knowledge-based solutions.

Tucker: Our application-engineering expertise can aid and assist our customers in how to properly apply the cutting tool in terms of feeds and speeds that optimize tool life and performance. We are also participating in technology seminars with our machine tool builders and distributor partners at their locations.

ME: How can we attract young people to manufacturing?

Deysher: We have to promote how innovative our industry is. This isn’t a dirty business any more. It’s an industry where people can be challenged, grow, and be successful.

Tucker: We see our relationships in terms of research and development and partnering with universities as a key component of our product innovation process. We see that as an important element to develop interest in cutting tools and the challenges we face in always improving our product.

ME: What are you planning for imX, what technologies and educational activities will be showcased?

Deysher: At imX, our theme is production on demand. There is a high degree of need for small-lot production, especially in the aerospace and medical industries.

Tucker: Our imX participation will focus on our ability to enhance productivity with selection of the right tool and machine process to drive productivity and profitability.

To view the full article, visit http//www.sme.org/manufacturingengineering

Education is the Answer to Future American Manufacturing Workforce

The American manufacturing workforce has been dealt several blows over the past few years due to overseas outsourcing, a global recession and a skills shortage among incoming employees. Education is the answer to all three thorns in the industry. Globally integrated companies are at an advantage when laying the foundation for education in the metal cutting industry: companies can position themselves as thought leaders and provide accessible resources to those entering the workforce.

Sandvik Coromant combats this looming issue with a three-pronged approach: Smart Events, Technical Training courses, and partnering with industry associations including the National Institute for Metalworking Skills. Smart Events are our free educational seminar series hosted at technical centers across the country. The series addresses solutions and best practices for milling, threading, aerospace and titanium machining, and development tools for building a more informed, profitable workforce.

Smart Events

At a recent Smart Event, Bridging the Skills Gap, the Director of NIMS Steve Mandes, presented the importance of maintaining a globally competitive manufacturing workforce. The news was promising: manufacturing activity has grown for 20 consecutive months, employment in manufacturing increased by 200,000 in the last year and by all counts, manufacturing is leading the U.S. economy out of the recession. For this reason, it is of the utmost importance to ensure skilled labor enters the industry and education is the driving force.

Technical Training

Sandvik Coromant technical training courses support industry development with application knowledge and fundamental, theoretical know-how broken down into four main training levels. Our Technical Guide and Application Guides serve as supportive, more in-depth material. These guides outline important product- and application-specific information on choosing the right tools; employing the correct machining methods; tooling maintenance, productivity and optimization.

NIMS Skills USA

Our dedication to education and development of the American manufacturing workforce is furthered by our partnership with NIMS and participation in Skills USA. The institute is a vital partner in addressing the major concern of a skills shortage in U.S. manufacturing. Sandvik Coromant supports Skills USA National Championships. Skills USA fosters education and communication between students, teachers, and industry leaders.

imX: Focus on Customer Engagement, Interaction and Education

As a global leader, Sandvik Coromant has an unmatched depth of metal-cutting knowledge and expertise to share with the industry. We work in close cooperation with not only customers, but industry partners. imX will be the industry’s most significant networking opportunity due to its focus on customer engagement, interaction and education.

We are looking at imX as a platform to collaborate with top-level manufacturing executives and partners, improving processes and innovating new ways of working together. Our continued commitment is on helping customers achieve higher efficiencies and maximize profits. We stand behind this mission: Your success in focus.

The imX will be the first time an event will bring together leading industry experts to specifically focus on the needs of the manufacturing industry. The event shows a commitment to providing economic growth and job opportunities in the United States and ensures easier navigation to help manufacturers find the solutions they are looking for in one place.

Sandvik Coromant imX eXperience partner

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions about Maintaining U.S. Manufacturing Competitiveness

As the unemployment rate continues to weigh heavily on a turnaround in the U. S. economy, the national conversation seems to have turned, once again, to the manufacturing industry for analysis and answers.

And why not? Those of us who work in the industry know how important U.S. manufacturing is! Yes, it makes up 21% of the global manufacturing economy, and at $1.6 trillion in annual revenue accounts for 11.2% of GDP. Manufacturing employs some twelve million workers or 9% of the U.S. workforce down from a peak of about 19 million workers in 1970 or about 21% of the workforce. U.S. manufacturing workers are twice as productive as workers in the next ten economies. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, unit labor costs have declined 40% relative to the average unit labor cost of fourteen countries that are major competitors in global markets.

Still we know that many jobs have been outsourced overseas, but we now know that the trend to send part production for some items overseas is reversing because of low quality, high energy and transportation costs and wages that are beginning to increase. From 2005 to 2010, wages in China increased 69% and are expected to continue to increase about 17% annually.

As work continues to be re-shored back to the U.S., jobs will certainly follow. GE has announced that it will bring some appliance production back to the U.S. Caterpillar is bringing some excavator production back to Texas, NCR is bringing ATM production back and those are just a few of the re-shoring efforts by big name companies. There are thousands of small and medium-size manufacturers that are bringing parts production back as well.

Over the last couple of years since the end of the most recent economic downturn, U. S. manufacturing has added nearly a quarter of a million jobs back to the economy according to the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), but there is a disconnect between the unemployment rate today when we know that many jobs in manufacturing are going unfilled because employers need a skilled workforce and are unable to find qualified candidates to meet their needs.

President Obama recently announced a major expansion of Skills for America’s Future, an industry-led initiative to improve industry partnerships with community colleges and build a nationwide network to maximize workforce development strategies, job training programs, and job placements.

The Manufacturing Institute, the affiliated non-profit of NAM, announced an effort to help provide 500,000 community college students with industry-recognized credentials that will help them get secure jobs in the manufacturing sector. The Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME), the American Welding Society, (AWS) and the National Institute for Metalworking Skills (NIMS) are included in this credentialing program.

The President also announced an effort to develop a new credentialing system that works for industry and will give students the opportunity to earn manufacturing credentials that will travel across state lines and be of value to a wider range of employers.

A number of community colleges across the country that are part of the National Coalition of Advanced Technology Centers (NCATC) already have outstanding programs in place to supply industry with a qualified workforce, but more is needed and the President’s plan will be helpful, although it will take time.

To bridge the skills gap now, many companies are increasing expenditures in new capital equipment to become more productive and increase their global competitiveness by taking advantage of the continuation of Sec. 179 tax incentives. President Obama first proposed temporary 100% expensing for capital investments last September. The new law enacts the President’s proposal by increasing bonus depreciation to 100% for new equipment purchased and placed into service after September 8, 2010 and through December 31, 2011.

This September, while many American companies join with educators on solutions for workforce development and re-training efforts, they will also attend the imX event and Learning Labs for insight and answers about how they can innovate, become more productive and more competitive in the global marketplace.

Positioned as the Epicenter of Innovation, imX is the forum that will provide a preview of the technologies that this revived workforce will manage in the coming resurgence of U.S. manufacturing.

Peter Borden, President

AMTDA