十年可以改变很多事情. In 2011, when the NEW Manufacturing 所有iance released its first-ever Manufacturing Vitality Index, the economy was in a much different place than it is today. Then, many companies were just beginning to emerge from the Great Recession. 今天，大多数人都很强壮.

NEWMA released its 10th annual Manufacturing Vitality Index in December, 事实上, 这反映了许多公司的乐观前景. A robust 98 percent of respondents described their financial health as healthy or quite healthy. 类似的, more than 51 percent of respondents reported increased sales in 2019, 超过60%的人预计2020年也是如此, 61%的受访者预计会增加客户.

“In 2011, the alliance wanted to understand the vitality of manufacturers in the region. Manufacturing is the largest single sector of the economy in the New North. Nearly one in four workers is employed in 制造业, 是全国浓度最高的地方之一,杰夫·安德森说, president of Precision Paper Converters and outgoing NEWMA board chair. “Little did we know that 10 years later, we would still be doing this important study.”

While the 2020 study shows an overall strong picture, one familiar issue is tempering the outlook for most manufacturers: access to talent. 迈克Kawleski, public affairs manager for Georgia-Pacific and chairman of NEWMA’s communications task force, 说这个需求几乎涉及到每个位置. While manufacturers perennially need engineers and skilled workers, 他们也越来越需要普通工人, 他说.

At a press conference NEWMA held in December to announce the findings, many 制造业 leaders who attended expressed concerns about employability essentials such as attendance, 数学, 沟通及软技能.

Georgia-Pacific has 20 job titles available in Wisconsin alone, Kawleski说, and it needs to operate 24/7 to make products people need and use every day, 包括洗浴纸巾, 餐巾和纸巾.

“How do you keep machines running every minute of the day if you don’t have people to do that? 这是我们的挑战，”卡莱斯基说.

解决技能短缺问题, Georgia-Pacific is investing in automation and modernization and adding technology that can help upskill workers more quickly and seamlessly. It’s also partnering with educational institutions to offer opportunities such as co-ops, Kawleski说.

布拉德·奈, vice president of operations for Ripon-based 所有iance Laundry Systems, 说明对人才的需求, 在某种程度上, prompted the company’s move to purchase the Manitowoc Cranes building in Manitowoc. 公司正在打扫卫生。, painting and revamping the space in hopes of employing more than 200 at the approximately 300,000平米
马尼托瓦克的工厂.

“我们每天都缺100名团队成员. 我们有位置. 我们想填补空缺，但我们做不到，”奈说.

除了招聘工人, 所有iance has invested $85 million in capacity expansion in the last eight years. That investment will continue and includes automation and Industry 4.0 solutions that can help the company become nimbler and make decisions faster, Nye says.

When it comes to talent needs, Mark Lasky, CEO of Sadoff Iron & Metal and the newly named NEWMA board chair, says retirements are taking a toll at his company. It’s a situation that requires foresight and planning, 他说.

“People’s 401(k)s are allowing some of the baby boomer generation to feel more secure in retirement, where in 2011 when this was started and people didn’t feel so secure, 你看到人们工作时间更长. 现在你会看到人们说，‘我达到了我的目标. 我现在可以退休了，’”拉斯基说.

Sadoff needs workers in nearly every role from drivers to operations to accounting to IT, but its greatest need is for general and entry-level laborers. Lasky says the company hires for soft skills and will train those who are willing to learn.

这是研究中第一次, NEWMA asked respondents about their most successful recruitment tactics. Employee referrals and external job sites emerged as the top answers. 萨多夫的情况也是如此, where Lasky says the company uses sites such as Indeed as well as offering a monetary incentive for employee referrals.

In addition to the talent shortage, Lasky says Sadoff has taken a hit from tariffs. The scrap industry has been running counter cyclical to the 制造业 industry at large, 他说.

“制造商在增长。. With the pricing (for scrap metal) going negative throughout the year, that hurt us,” Lasky says.

为了平衡, Lasky says Sadoff has increased its investment in the electronic recycling and data destruction side of its business, 还在增长.

在奥什科什公司., 杰瑞德彼得森, 数字技术战略总监, says the company has gone all in on investing in digital 制造业 to streamline processes and help make employees’ jobs safer. Technology can improve team member experience and get employees the information they need to make better decisions.

在安全方面，一些奥什科什公司. employees use wearable devices that alert them if they’re making at-risk movements. A pilot project showed that sending notifications to employees helped them reduce at-risk movements by 40 percent. The company also uses automated guided vehicles to make sure the right parts are available to workers at the right time.

Digital 制造业 provides cost-effective solutions that help employees work safer and smarter, 彼得森说,.

“Automation is good in some cases, but automation is really expensive. 在很多情况下, 自动化流程, and you lose your flexibility in how you retool for new products coming in,他说.