BLOG

To those of you whose children play sports, it is a lively chant shouted by cheerleaders, but today’s mold manufacturers have to be more aggressive than ever to secure new business opportunities to survive—and thrive—in this time of economic uncertainty. Some target a new industry. Some constantly update equipment and technology. Custom Mold & Design—a producer of fully interchangeable, fast-cycling, high-precision injection molds—decided to add a division to increase its customer base and offer its customers a one-stop shop as CMD Express, focusing on quick-turn, low-cavitation tooling. Read their story for ways to think outside the box.

Wikipedia defines a blog “(which is a blend of the term web log) as a type of website or part of a website that is supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Although not a must, most good quality blogs are interactive, allowing visitors to leave comments and even message each other. It is this interactivity that distinguishes them from other static websites. In that sense, blogging can be seen as a form of social networking. Indeed, bloggers do not only produce content to post on their blogs but also build social relationships with their readers and other bloggers.”

So for MMT’s Blog we want to focus on the interactivity. We want to create discussion and start conversations to continue building the community we’ve brought together through MoldMaking Technology magazine since 1998. And a hot-button topic that touches all of us is the continual number-one cited challenge to the moldmaking industry today: finding, hiring and retaining a skilled workforce for the present and future.

I’ve always felt that the manufacturing industry as a whole has gotten a bad rep. Growing up parents, family and friends did not talk about the trades. And tech schools were something “those other kids” did.  And the moldmaking industry has it even tougher because it’s hard enough to explain that the product that person is holding (and with which he could not live without) was designed and built by a person, let alone that one essential aspect of making that product involves the engineering and manufacturing of another critical component—a mold!

So while “those kids” were on their way to learning a valuable skill, we were pushed into—almost expected to enter—the world of academia. Now I am not putting down college, I am just asking, why weren’t we also pushed to explore the trades too??
 

I happen to think it is largely a marketing problem. This industry—as technology-driven, skills-laden, financially-rewarding, opportunity-rich, idea-provoking and problem-solving as it is—does not market itself that way to the generations to come. On this note, I want to share with you a video from an Austrian moldmaker that one of my editorial advisory board members shared with me. It does an excellent job of making this industry look and feel like an exciting and rewarding field to be a part of. Check it out!
 

 

The U.S. currently runs a negative trade balance with the world. This means we are a net importer. Our trade relationship with China has been a serious problem for moldmakers and many other industrial sectors. The other glaring trade issue is the amount of foreign oil imported into the U.S. As a country, we are addicted to both cheap Chinese-made goods and oil. These addictions are bad for our economy, but more importantly, they are bad for our national security. An addiction is another way of saying “uncontrolled demand.” These addictions were the result of uncontrolled aggregate demand. There are many ways in which our addictions are expressed, so there are many things we could choose to do to correct them. Not engaging in foreign trade is not one of the things we should choose. What we should do is learn to limit our consumption of the products to which we are addicted. Energy independence will not be achieved by digging more wells or by building more pipelines, though these activities might be marginally helpful. What we need to do is demand products that promote energy efficiency and the development of alternative energy products. We do not have a production problem, we have a consumption problem. Our trade problems with China are not the fault of the Chinese. They are a WE problem, not a “them” problem. Our economy can benefit greatly from globalization and expanded trade agreements. But we must first take care of business at home by making better use of the power of our aggregate demand.

During uncertain economic times and limited travel budgets, it becomes challenging to keep abreast of the latest developments in both software and equipment technologies. They are ever-evolving. Recently I participated in a What’s New in NX 8 Tooling webinar presented by Siemens PLM—albeit not actively since I do not have and mold design experience! I was impressed at the webinar moderator’s level of experience and the way he presented the material. It was extremely hands-on and the participants gleaned valuable information on how to better do their jobs. Contact both your software and equipment providers to ask if they present webinars. You may be surprised at how willing they are to educate!

Every year, Americans demand more government services than they pay for. Thus we have chronic budget deficits at every level of government. As a society, we are addicted to government services that we do not pay for. To cover these deficits, the Federal government has borrowed trillions of dollars. This process is no longer sustainable.

Politicians have avoided solving this problem because it has not been possible to make the decisions that are required and then get elected or re-elected. The aggregate demand for services purchased with credit and then paid for by somebody else at some future date is out of control. This will be one of the central themes of the election year, but it will likely be overshadowed by the promise from both parties to create jobs.

Jobs created by politicians are often not good. Many times (not always) they are not good for the economy, and they are not good for the people who have them. Aggregate demand can create jobs. Properly focused aggregated demand can quickly create large numbers of excellent jobs. In fact, aggregate demand is really the only way to solve the jobs problem. Thoughts?