The 2nd Annual Advanced Manufacturing Summit was held on Tuesday, April 29, 2014, at the DCU Center in Worcester.  Massachusetts has experienced a "great renaissance" in manufacturing, Governor Patrick told  the sold out crowd of five hundred conference attendees during a lunch-time address. "Let's keep this industry thriving and the job growth coming," he said.

The governor announced an energy initiative, funded by MassDevelopment, which will help manufacturers across the state decrease energy costs by creating a bulk power-purchasing group. The group hopes to negotiate favorable rates with electricity and natural gas supplies, and manufacturers will be able to access free evaluations of energy efficiency measures and onsite renewable opportunities.

Harry Moser, a manufacturing industry executive who founded The Reshoring Initiative which is an industry-led effort to bring manufacturing jobs back to the United States after years of outsourcing them to countries with lower-cost labor, also spoke at the event. Moser discussed how labor costs have begun to rise, especially in China. U.S. manufacturers are seeing that, based on all direct and indirect costs, or "total cost of ownership (TCO)," it's now making more sense to bring many jobs back to the U.S. He predicted that in two to three years, TCO will be higher for importing goods from China than producing them within the U.S.

"A lot of the companies didn't do the math," Moser said, noting they didn't take into account factors such as transportation, travel to a supplier's operations and keeping inventory. He urged manufacturers in the ballroom to gain access to U.S. import data, specifically the names of the companies buying products from foreign suppliers, and ask them about their total costs as a way of nudging them to buy domestically.

In addition to the luncheon speakers, NEM staff participated in break out groups discussing innovation, exporting, capital investment, and emerging technologies in the Massachusetts manufacturing arena.

For more information visit ReShoreNow.org and MassMEC.com.

North Easton Machine Company was recently awarded a $41,500 grant from the Workforce Training Fund to help train twenty five employees and create job opportunities for four additional staff over the next two years. This project is funded by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development. The grant program is administered by the Commonwealth Corporation.

North Easton Machine Company received one of sixty-six training grants awarded by the Patrick Administration. The grants will be providing Massachusetts employers with training for a combined 4,631 employees and the creation of 453 jobs over the course of the next two years.

Paul Diamond and Paula Martel of NEM with Mike Thompson from MassMEP

North Easton Machine's training partner for this two year project will be Mass MEP. Mass MEP is part of a national network of fifty nine centers that provide assistance to small and midsize manufacturers. For the past 20 years, the MEP has been working with manufacturers to realize cost savings, new sales, and retained sales. MEP provides companies with services and access to public and private resources that enhance growth, improve productivity, and expand capacity. North Easton Machine and Mass MEP will be focused on Lean Manufacturing and skills training to help workers excel within our facility and give management new leadership and training techniques which will help us to achieve Next Generation Manufacturing. The training is anticipated to begin within the next several weeks.

The Southeastern 

Vocational Technical School Advisory Board met on 

April 8, 2014.  

 

NEM was represented by Vice President, Paul Diamond.  Reports were made on software improvements, machine repairs, and health/safety/wellness concerns.  The program currently has five students working in co-operative positions, and reports two of the seniors are heading to college.  Staff member, Linda Rodzilla, was introduced to the board.  She requested business partners submit a 3-5 year wish list of equipment needs to the program.

The Advisory Board put forth a number of recommendations including improvements to the school's website, painting the shop room floor, addressing safety issues including the fire suppression, air quality, eye protection, and noise.

The group will meet again in the Fall. The Advisory Board is hopeful that they will receive feedback from the School Committee on action items at that time.