Author: Fastener News Desk

2018 First Quarter Manufacturers’ Outlook Survey   At the NAM’s September board meeting, President Trump declared tax reform would be “rocket fuel” for the economy. Indeed, in the first survey since enactment of the historic tax reform bill, 93.5 percent of respondents registered a positive outlook for their company, the second highest level recorded in the survey’s 20-year history. Additionally, optimism among small manufacturers registered its highest level ever recorded with a reading of 94.5 percent.   Read More Optimism is High Following Tax Reform   Tax Reform Fuels Manufacturing Growth and Investment     “Empowered by tax reform...

There’s a very old parable, thought to have originated in the Indian subcontinent, of six blind (or blind-folded) men asked to describe an elephant. They reach different conclusions depending upon which part of the elephant they touch: Side – it’s like a wall Leg – it’s like a tree Trunk – it’s like a snake Tusk – it’s like a spear Ear – it’s like a fan Tail – it’s like a rope The point is that people have the tendency to project their partial observations to represent the entirety of something.  Each man was “correct” in their assessment, they...

NOVI, MI — Manufacturing faces an even larger shortage of skilled workers as older employees retire over the next few years, the head of SME said in a speech today. “Call it the ‘Silver Tsunami,’” Jeff Krause, executive director and CEO of SME (Dearborn, MI), said during an address at the HxGN LOCAL Automotive Summit in Novi, MI. “Manufacturing companies need a succession plan,” Krause said. “How do you attract and retain millennials?” Many factory jobs are held by Baby Boom generation workers who are retiring from the workforce. For example, the Center for Automotive Research (Ann Arbor, MI)...