April 2011 - Control Global
April 2011 - Control Global
April 2011 - Control Global
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I N P R O C E S S<br />
Manufacturing Execs Optimistic<br />
Senior management at U.S. manufacturing companies are significantly<br />
more optimistic about their own companies’ growth<br />
than they were just last November, according to a Grant Thornton<br />
LLP survey in February. Nine of 10 managers (91%) report<br />
that they’re optimistic about their companies’ growth in the<br />
next six months, up from 81% in November.<br />
As for the economy, 60% believe that the U.S. economy<br />
will improve in the next six months, up from 49% in November.<br />
However, those planning to increase hiring in the next six<br />
months saw a drop to 44% in February from 49% in November.<br />
“We believe that the decrease in expected hiring despite<br />
an overall high level of optimism is because manufacturing<br />
executives feel some uncertainty about the future of manufacturing<br />
in the United States,” said Wally Gruenes, Grant<br />
Thornton’s national managing partner for Consumer and Industrial<br />
Products and a member of the board of directors of<br />
the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM). “They believe<br />
that the U.S. government has no plan to make American<br />
manufacturing more competitive in order to create more<br />
good-paying jobs. Rather than spending scarce resources on<br />
employees, manufacturing executives are spending on capital<br />
equipment purchases and technology to improve productivity<br />
and lower costs in an effort to be more competitive<br />
globally.”<br />
The survey was conducted Feb. 8-23, <strong>2011</strong>, with 70 senior<br />
executives from U.S. manufacturing companies. To see all the<br />
survey findings, please visit www.GrantThornton.com/BOI.<br />
PULS Suzhou Wins LEED Gold<br />
PULS’ Eco-Complex, the Munich-based DIN-rail power<br />
supplies manufacturer’s Asia-Pacific headquarters, has earned<br />
a LEED Gold Certification. The building, opened at the end<br />
of last year, is located in the Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP)<br />
some 80 km west of Shanghai on a 14,000 sq-m plot, and its<br />
shape mimics that of the PULS DIN-rail.<br />
The LEED certification is awarded by the U.S. Green<br />
Building Council. Certified buildings must meet LEED<br />
standards in six areas—health and comfort, material, location<br />
quality, water and energy use and innovation. The<br />
PULS building is one of only five in China that have won<br />
LEED gold certification. It has also won the SIP Award for<br />
Energy Saving and Sustainability.
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