Anyone with an interest in the health of the manufacturing sector – whether that be workers, stakeholders or government officials – has an opinion on how best to help the industry.
Unfortunately, the loudest voices in the room can sometimes drown out the more impactful ones; therefore, trade has taken a front seat of late — leaving manufacturers, and their already well-structured support system, waiting on the latest trade news.
The impression this gives to the general public is that the success or failure of the manufacturing industry is purely an economic puzzle: how to add more capacity and sell more goods by removing financial barriers or adding friction to global competition.
But this ignores the fact that so much of the industry’s success — or failure — hinges on the grassroots efforts of the folks running these businesses, as well as the industry groups that help guide them.
IEN’s editorial team hosts a weekly podcast – a panel that I’m fortunate enough to be involved in. We review the top stories from our website each week, taking a deeper dive into the circumstances of these events and their implications. It’s not uncommon for the podcast to cover compelling and novel technology developments as well as factory openings and, of course, closures. And it’s the details around plant closures that really illustrate just how hard it is to run a manufacturing business, and how failure for many is just one bad quarter, recall or shortage away.
That’s why I think that it’s important to take stock of the efforts of industry groups from time to time — to point out exactly how much dirty work is being done by the “dot-orgs” who count manufacturers, distributors and supply chain professionals among their members.
Among them:
AEM (Association of Equipment Manufacturers) spent 16 weeks last year on a journey via the “Manufacturing Express” – a bus tour across 80 locations, 22 states and over 13,000 miles, with the goal of “telling the stories of the 2.3 million men and women of the equipment manufacturing industry.” In August, the 2025 tour will hit 22 manufacturing sites in Texas alone. Besides celebrating the equipment makers, AEM initiated a contest available to the 8,500 manufacturing workers who joined the festivities at one of the tour stops. If they completed the “Manufacturing Challenge,” an interactive, online game designed to educate and inspire players about the equipment manufacturing industry, participants were entered to win a brand-new Ford F-150. William Corwin of AEM member company Grote Industries was the recent grand prize winner.
AME (Association for Manufacturing Excellence) in May hosted the Hampton Roads 2025 Lean Summit, a Virginia gathering of professionals from the Southeast. The summit offered inspiring keynotes, hands-on workshops, as well as facility tours in the hopes of helping manufacturing boost and sustain its standards. In addition, AME recently offered lean yellow belt certifications and a workshop on the Theory of Constraints, offering attendees the knowledge needed to achieve operational excellence.
NAM (National Association of Manufacturers) has long-been a leader in industry research, and offered some of the first reputable data from manufacturers on impending trade environment changes back in March. But it doesn't just cater to the board room; NAM also facilitates positive change for manufacturing workers with programs like its Manufacturers Retirement & 401(k) Savings Plan, an initiative that brings an economy of scale by allowing many small and medium businesses to participate in a larger 401(k) plan. This offers administrative and compliance oversight and spreads the fees across many firms, allowing businesses to offer these retirement benefits who otherwise wouldn't able to do so on their own.
NIST MEP (National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership) encouraged manufacturing sector workers to include their children in the annual Take a Child to Work Day in April. In support of our industry, NIST celebrates this day each year with hands-on labs and demonstrations, featuring exciting and emerging technologies like automation, lasers and 3D printing. Furthermore, the MEP National Network has long promoted MFG Day, an annual event that serves as “an opportunity for manufacturers to highlight what's taking place on factory floors across the country and to energize a future pipeline of skilled workers.”
MEPs have participated in MFG Day in the past by hosting, coordinating and promoting events, and this year's event is scheduled for October 3.
While these associations continue to do their part in supporting the industry, manufacturers can also benefit from attending trade shows. A few in the near term might be worth your time, including:
- Fabtech: North America's Largest Metal Forming, Fabricating, Welding and Finishing Event; Sept. 8-11 in Chicago.
- NSC: National Safety Council Congress & Expo; Sept. 15-17 in Denver.
- The AME St. Louis 2025 International Conference; Oct. 6-9, St. Louis.
- The Assembly Show; Oct. 21-23 in Rosemont, Ill.
It’s been a strange few months and, by and large, the industry is begging for clarity on what the next few years hold from a trade perspective. That said, there are many industry champions who would no doubt urge you to stop waiting around and leverage some of the resources available now. Sometimes, it might feel like we are without agency, but the leaders of the organizations mentioned above might beg to differ.
AAM (Alliance for American Manufacturing) President Paul Scott recently spoke about the need for a comprehensive strategy that amounts to more than just trade action, stating, “There is still much more work to do.”
