|
 |
Greetings!
Hello Friends and Business Partners.
Well it's been a while since the last Avanti newsletter. I wanted to make sure we had enough pertinent material to report as I'm not a real big fan of constant nonsense emails. Hopefully, you find our material to be informative and beneficial.
It seems business in general is great for some and still poor for others. I think we can all agree that the economy is better but still not where it needs to or should be. Some of the articles I have included summarize the economic condition in detail and give advice on where we might be headed. Indications from the PMPA (Precision Machined Products Association) insist that our industry is alive and strong directly from its members. Avanti shares in this current climate condition as we are busy with steady backlogs and order volume. Lead times remain bearable in most cases running 3 to 5 weeks.
Most Raw materials in general seem to have stabilized close to or at all time highs at least for the time being. We are seeing price increases relative to finishing processes such as plating, passivating & anodizing. This seems to be mainly caused by energy consumption & fuel cost.
One major concern we have is the rising cost of machinist labor & insurance premiums. Because our industry is strong there is a shortage of qualified machinists. The past 10 years has been tough with regards to training kids and school curriculum deficiencies and discontinued metal working programs. Our industry is not prepared as a result to handle growing domestic manufacturing. It's pretty hard to make parts when there isn't the help to run the machines! Avanti is taking measures to expand our in house training programs and get involved more with the TMA (Tooling & Manufacturing Association of Illinois) to help us expand our visibility towards training and recruiting now so that were better prepared to service our customer's needs for the future. Steps are currently being taken to educate our existing work force as well as recruiting new machinist candidates. If you know of anyone looking to pursue a machinist career and has some experience please forward them to our website for further details. www.avantiengineering.com
In one of our recent newsletters I mentioned that Avanti Engineering will be changing our parts washing process from manual labor to automated. We are expected to receive our new equipment the first week of August. Our new process will allow Avanti to supply a higher degree of clean, damage free, protected dry parts like never before. We will be having a slight learning curve with regards to parts washing come August 2011 so keep this in mind and certainly provide us with your feedback good or bad in the near future. I think you will be pleased with the improved cleanliness on top of our quality components.
Thank you for reading our newsletter and for your business and or consideration to be a machined parts supplier to your organization. We appreciate any referrals and opportunities you can give.
|
 |
|
Manufacturing in America: US Set for a 'Manufacturing Renaissance'
By BEN FORER  May 13, 2011 In the next five years, the U.S. will experience a "manufacturing renaissance," according to a new analysis. As wages in China increase, flexible work rules and government incentives in the U.S. will make America one of the cheapest places to manufacture goods in the developed world, the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) analysis suggests. "If the trend plays out, I think you'll see manufacturing growing and expanding in the U.S.," said Michael Zinser, one of the authors of BCG's analysis on manufacturing. "What we're expecting is that companies will step back and rethink their networks, rethink their supply chains." Chinese wage rates likely will continue to grow by 15 to 20 percent year over year, Zinser said. When the increase in wages is combined with the increasing value of the yuan, the wage gap between the U.S. and China is narrowing rapidly. "China is no longer expected to be the default low-cost manufacturing location for those companies who are looking to supply the U.S. market," Zinser told ABC News. "What we would expect to see is a convergence in terms of the wage rates to what we're seeing in the U.S. today." Read More |
|
" Made in America " : The Comeback
U.S. exports hit a record $173 billion in March, up 15% from a year-ago and 37% from 2009. The good times for "Made in America" are just getting started, according to a new study from The Boston Consulting Group (BCG).
In fact, BCG predicts 2015 will be a tipping point of sorts, when global manufacturers will view the U.S. as equal to if not better-than China, senior partner Harold Sirkin tells me in the accompanying video.
"We're not saying the world's going to suddenly change and U.S. companies are going to manufacture here for shipment to China," Sirkin says. "But the U.S. will be a very important place if you're going to sell into the U.S."
In making this seemingly outrageous forecast, Sirkin cites the following:
- Rising wages in China plus the strengthening yuan are eroding China's cost advantage vs. the U.S.
- America's "very productive, motivated and flexible workforce" is attractive to employers and all aspects of U.S. society - including unions and state governments -- are "focused on creating jobs."
- Intangibles such as the length of the supply chain and the challenges of communicating over multiple time zones work to the advantage of the U.S Read More
|
|
As always, thank you for your business and your interest in Avanti Engineering, Inc. and for taking the time to stay in touch with us by reading our newsletter. If you have any suggestions for improving our newsletter by including specific information, please let me know. Thanks Again! Best Regards, Rocco BrattaAvanti Engineering, Inc.630-260-1333 "Great ideas come from Avanti Engineering, Inc., just give us a chance to help." |
|
