Recently, a proposal has been made to alter and modify the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC). Adopted by 42 states within the U.S. alone, the code is designed to encourage energy conservation and limit the use of inefficient products and resources so as to preserve resources and provide economic stability and viability for all energy applications. While annual revisions allow the code to develop along with ever evolving technology, this particular change takes a step back. Though the intention may be to conserve energy and promote stability and safety in commercial, industrial and even residential settings, this particular proposal may actually eliminate a quiet, environmentally friendly and highly efficient source of heating, namely electrical resistance heating. [Continue Reading Article]

In the past decade the number of cellular phones and mobile devices, as well as personal computers and laptops in use around the world has sky rocketed. With more access to and acceptance of the internet than ever before, online advertising has become a crucial component of most industries. The success of these campaigns has been relatively easy to determine. Track the destination URLs resulting from these specific ads to see how many result in request for quote form submissions or inquiries for information. In fact, up to 84% of online marketers do just that, looking at an ad’s click through rate to track the success of a Web-based campaign. While this information is valuable, it leaves many companies unaware of one of the largest areas for generating leads based on internet advertisements. Not even e-mail or request for quote submission forms can match the successful sales generated by one of the oldest means of customer service: the in-bound phone call. Leading Pay-Per-Click companies specializing in online marketing, such as ReachLocal and Top Spot, state that over 60% of internet leads are generated by phone, but still this avenue for revenue is too often overlooked. [Continue Reading Article]

Lean manufacturing—if you’re in industry, I’m sure you’ve been hearing this concept a lot in recent years. It claims to be a systematic approach to identifying and eliminating waste while at the same time, improving the product and maximizing customer value. While it may be true that the recession and mainstream environmental concerns may have something to do with Lean’s new found popularity, it’s actually not a new concept, but rather the business model of many established and successful companies, including Ford, Johnson & Johnson and Lantech. Lean has been in development the last 5 to 6 decades, and the official term was coined in the early 90s. If switching to lean means a higher quality product and higher efficiency and significant savings, why isn’t every company doing it? [Continue Reading Article]

With Earth Day less than a week behind us, the importance of environmentally friendly practices is still fresh in the minds of millions across the country and even around the world. The fervor of this global holiday unfortunately tends to wane as the year goes by. Slowly many slip into the comfort of old habits and relax on earth saving resolutions. This familiar pattern repeats year after year, until now. Now, several industries have made a permanent commitment to going ‘green.’ Studies project that nearly 70% of new jobs in the near future will come from the plethora of manufacturers across the board who are taking advantage of the growing market for green. While some go green by choice and others are pressured by enhanced government regulation, everyone benefits, including the manufacturers and an economy in recovery. [Continue Reading Article]

Many companies worldwide, large and small, rely on a business model called contract manufacturing, better known as outsourcing. The concept is simple—two companies divide the manufacturing and sales/marketing aspects of a business. One is a hiring firm, who comes up with the product specifications and brand. They then sign a contract with a contract manufacturer, the firm that produces and packages the components and products. In short, it’s a business agreement made to save time and money, as well as streamline the manufacturing process and provide a better made product. Here’s an example: A soft drink company has come up with a new recipe. They have it made by an established soda processing plant, who deals with buying the ingredients and managing the labor while they focus on branding the soda and making commercials and ads to sell it. [Continue Reading Article]

Social media is taking over the world. 3 out of 4 Americans use sites like Facebook, YouTube, Digg and Twitter to talk to their friends, write blogs, post pictures and communicate with people within their social networks. If Facebook were a country, it would be the 4th largest, just behind the US, and YouTube gets almost 40 million visits a month! Social media has become a huge powerhouse of communication, and it wasn’t long before businesses started noticing. Recently, the B2B presence in social media has steeply increased—according to a study done by Business.com, over 70% of B2B companies, large and small, use at least one form of social media. [Continue Reading Article]

I think we can all agree that the last year hasn’t exactly been a walk in the park for any business. Unemployment hit double digits, the GDP shrank, and manufacturing revenues decreased by almost 11%. But that was 2009. After ringing in the new year, the big question on everyone’s mind, especially in manufacturing is this: will 2010 get any better? A small turnaround started late last summer with GDP expansion pace of more than 5% in the 4th quarter of ‘09, and economic activity expanded every month since August in the U.S. manufacturing sector. Tiny numbers, but still, we’re seeing growth for the first time since 2007. Now, the glass may not be half full quite yet, but the water is starting to flow. Most forecasts are leaning on the optimistic side for this next year—90% of predictions state that 2010 will be the same or better than 2009. [Continue Reading Article]

Tape is a simple, inexpensive, everyday product that every single person uses for a wide range of applications. Featured on the desk, tool belt and handy drawer of just about everyone, masking tape, Scotch Tape, duct tape and electrical tape were all invented by American companies in the first half of the last century. Inventors experimented with new materials and built their ideas off of their predecessors to start a chain reaction of adhesive innovation. [Continue Reading Article]

The full range of today’s hydraulic presses is some of the most powerful and versatile manufacturing equipment. Achieving the highest compressive force of all the power presses, these machines are crucial for the forming and molding of a wide spectrum of materials: metals, plastics and composites, rubber, wood, and laminates. From deep drawing essential parts, such as tanks and fenders, for the production of motorcycles to creating 2,640 plastic credit cards per hour, the manufacturing realm would be lost without hydraulic presses. The scrap metal processing industry also relies on shear hydraulic press force to smash discarded cars and such into compact, manageable squares of reusable material for pop cans, paper clips, etc. [Continue Reading Article]

ChangeWave’s latest corporate survey shows the U.S. economy continuing to recover, but compared to the major improvements seen last quarter the rate of recovery has slowed. The August 24-September 2 survey of 3,006 corporate respondents shows a slight improvement in third quarter sales. Signs of progress have also occurred in sales pipeline projections and in capital spending going forward. Yet while the overall picture still points towards an end to the U.S. recession, the slowing rate of improvement is a key issue that needs to be watched closely. Importantly, the current survey also shows no further easing of the U.S. credit crunch – even though we had picked up clear improvements in our previous survey. The best that can be said at present, is the credit crisis does not appear to be getting any worse. [Continue Reading Article]

German-based forklift truck manufacturer Jungheinrich AG will have no trouble meeting the stricter emission standards laid out by the EPA and federal legislation. On the contrary; this company is already poised as one of the country's leading manufacturers of powerful, 100% electric material handling lift trucks, and a recent distribution agreement with Mitsubishi Caterpillar Forklift America (MCFA) will soon make Jungheinrich a household name in industrial material handling. Mitsubishi Caterpillar, including Cat and Mitsubishi lift truck brands, currently occupies more than 10% of the North American market for forklift trucks. Jungheinrich, which has a more modest 1.2% share in the market, will be benefiting from MCFA's larger share in an exclusive distribution deal which will close all of Jungheinrich's independent distribution and sales, including non-MCFA dealers and Jungheinrich's North American headquarters and distribution center in Richmond, Virginia. [Continue Reading Article]

To be sure, outsourcing is not always the best option. The US manufacturing industry's obsession with outsourcing over the last several decades has led to some major economic problems here at home, although it was very profitable to the companies shipping their manufacturing overseas at the time. Nevertheless, manufacturers and service providers specialize for a reason, and companies can often benefit by relying someone else's expertise to perform certain processes. Your company may be the absolute best when it comes to manufacturing urethane casters, but affordably fitting those casters on a shelf in a space-efficient, attractive, easy-to-open package is probably not your strongest suit - unless you're a contract packaging provider. While contract packaging certainly isn't for everyone (environmental test chamber manufacturers, we're looking at you), it can provide huge benefits for manufacturers tied to consumer industries. Here are a few benefits other manufacturers have found: [Continue Reading Article]

As the recession has worn on, businesspeople have become increasingly skeptical of "good" news. Most have not been willing to trust in occasional spikes in the manufacturing index or consumer market at the cost of precious dollars and scarce optimism - and understandably. "[I]s it insane to hold off on optimism when you're not sure whether another customer could bite the dust?" asks bag manufacturer Kevin Kelly in a May Newsweek Web Exclusive. The economy can do a lot in two months, however, and the early signs and tentative predictions of improvement that were made earlier this spring have held steady. Economic reports from July confirm that although the job market probably won't bottom out until mid 2010, the recession is indeed coming to a close. The ISM manufacturing index for July indicates manufacturing may be out of the red by the end of the month: July's index was 48.9, a full 5 points up from June and 1.1 points away from indicating positive economic growth. Confirming this market trend is a recent Reuters survey finding "large US industrial manufacturers are far more optimistic about domestic and global economics than they were three months ago". 43% of respondents indicated they were optimistic about this upcoming year's economy, a huge rise since last quarter's poll. More respondents also indicated plans for new hires, new investments and business expansions than in previous recession polls. A large number of manufacturing industries saw positive growth last month, among which were mineral products, paper and printing products, transportation equipment and appliances. [Continue Reading Article]

“Going Green” is a popular term nowadays. Usually it refers to an individual or a company promoting itself as operating in an environmentally friendly manner, whether though the use (or re-use) of materials, processes or utilities. When I was asked if I wanted to “go green” recently, I thought I would be reviewing a new lubricant for machinery or using some recycled materials. Little did I know I would be camping outdoors with a group of teenaged Girl Scouts and fellow female CEOs for a week entitled CAMP CEO in Connecticut! CAMP CEO is a program offered by the Girl Scouts of Connecticut to provide older Girl Scouts ages 15-17 the opportunity to learn professional skills from senior level women executives in a fun, casual camp setting. In this case, the term GREEN refers to both the outdoor experience and also the Girl Scouting organization. [Continue Reading Article]

In 2005, Google introduced a "nofollow" method for changing the way search engines view links leading in and out of websites. Before the "nofollow" tag, all hyperlinks from your site to other sites "leaked" pagerank - which is, to put it very simply, a measure of how much authority your site has. This translates directly into how often your site is found by search engines like Google, and as every SEO nerd knows, Google love = visibility, and visibility = business. Regular hyperlinks pass along the pagerank your website has built up by dividing that rank proportionally between themselves. Think of it like inviting friends over for cookies. If you have 3 friends over for cookies and you made 9 cookies, those three friends will eat three cookies each. However, if you invite 9 friends over, each will only take one cookie. But the end result is the same: they took your cookies. [Continue Reading Article]

Two weeks ago economists were far more optimistic about the state of the US economy than they had been in a year. An average of over 75% of economists who were polled in a number of surveys predicted the end of the recession to hit before 2010. Let's check back in and see if these positive trends were a fluke or if they're here to stay. ChangeWave's second and third quarter Corporate Report reads "U.S. Economy Stabilizes - Longer Term Outlook Showing Dramatic Improvement." In essence, more companies are meeting their revenue plans, hiring new staff and predicting positive returns for the next quarter. As to exactly how many more, just take a look at the dramatic dip in the graphs below. [Continue Reading Article]

ISO Certification - Don’t Go It Alone! When companies attempt to achieve ISO certification, they quickly realize it requires a huge company-wide effort. Also, the improper implementation of industry compliance can over-complicate processes and increase costs, which diminish the value of an ISO 9001:2000 certification. Bear in mind that the motivation behind this official recognition is to enhance the value and market strength of the company. This is done with a well-documented and followed set of procedures that define the processes resulting in the delivery of quality products and services. With continuous improvement imbedded in ISO requirements, obtaining the certification demonstrates a commitment to quality that lowers overall costs. This reflects a positive image to customers and the company’s stakeholders. Most firms struggle in completing this effort. A viable solution for companies getting it done right, and in a timely manner, is to enlist an experienced expert to help them implement their ISO 9000-based quality system. This case study provides an example of how this was done…and in record time. [Continue Reading Article]

Last Friday we reviewed some statistics from Alliance News & Info, among other sources, indicating that our economic plummet may be coming to a close. Recent reportings from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) support this with similar findings, although the ISM is far more hesitant in declaring an end to the recession. "The decline in U.S. manufacturing is continuing to slow," reported Area Development Online on Tuesday. [Continue Reading Article]

The good news begins with business IT spending. According to yesterday’s Alliance News & Info, “U.S. corporate IT spending [is] in the process of rapidly stabilizing”. Twenty-four percent of participants in ChangeWave’s latest survey said they expect their company’s IT spending to decrease or flatline; sure, 24% doesn’t sound good to IT equipment manufacturers, but it sure beats the last survey’s 41%. Reversely, 15% of participants said they expect increases in their company’s IT spending, a 5% increase from the last survey, and a sigh of relief for technology manufacturers who’ve been watching demand plummet for nearly a year. [Continue Reading Article]

Chinese company Suntech, a heavyweight in global solar manufacturing, announced its plans last week to build another solar cell manufacturing facility here in the States, although they won’t decide where for another six months. Clearly these companies see an economic advantage to solar manufacturing here in the United States. Along with new tax breaks and federal incentives for renewable energy manufacturing, companies like Schott and Suntech see the benefits of setting up manufacturing close to customers – which means they’re anticipating an imminent demand in the US for solar energy. In the wake of losing hundreds of domestic manufacturers and hundreds of thousands of manufacturing jobs to the recession, pumping up the US solar manufacturing industry looks like a pretty great idea. [Continue Reading Article]

March’s ISM index read 36.3, and economists had only forecast a reading of 38.4 for April, a solid 1.6 points below how April's index reading turned out. Bottom line: manufacturing activity is rising – and it’s rising faster than anticipated. To put it differently, the U.S. manufacturing economy has gone from January through March’s 1.3% decrease in GDP to last month’s much-improved 0.3% decrease. Financial experts say there’s a good chance our GDP in this year’s second quarter will be positive. According to ISM’s Manufacturing Business Survey Committee chair Norbert J. Ore "After six consecutive months below the 40 percent mark, the PMI ... shows a significant improvement...While this is a big step forward, there is still a large gap that must be closed before manufacturing begins to grow again." [Continue Reading Article]

Included in President Barack Obama’s historical inauguration speech was a striking statement on his vision for the future of our energy industry. “We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories.” Perhaps this statement sounds a little over-the-top to you – a little too epic. But honestly, what could be more epic than shifting the world’s energy source from petroleum to wind energy, solar power and compressed air? So far it seems President Obama is making good on his word. According to an article published today in the Washington Bureau, the U.S. Interior Department has “cleared the way” for domestic offshore wind farms by finalizing guidelines. Projects are being considered for constructing wind farms off the United States’ Atlantic coast, namely Rhode Island and Massachusetts. A project long delayed by the previous administration’s procrastination in laying out legislative guidelines for offshore windfarms (and by the Kennedy family’s distaste for having the view from Martha’s Vineyard off Cape Cod marred by wind turbines), it looks like a shift from offshore oil fields to offshore windfarms are soon to be underway. [Continue Reading Article]

In honor of this week's "Green Week" celebration, we've compiled a list of 8 companies listed on our sites who demonstrate a strong commitment to environmental sustainability, health and personal safety. These guys think it's easy being green. [Continue Reading Article]

In industry, where off-the-shelf solutions are a rarity, you need an algorithmic solution - simple, reliable, repeatable - that allows you to react quickly to that prospective customer's needs... [Continue Reading Article]

As budgets get tighter and you take on more responsibilities, Full Service Manufacturers are available to give you the help you need. A Full Service Manufacturer (FSM) has the personnel and expertise to help you control costs... [Continue Reading Article]