July / August - Minnesota Precision Manufacturing Association

David Brooks of the New York Times
offered an interesting take recently
on globalization and its effects on the
economy, especially the manufacturing
sector.
While most people assume
manufacturing is fleeing to Asia, U.S.
manufacturing output has increased
over recent decades. Since 1980, the U.S
share of global manufacturing output
has actually increased slightly, according
to the Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI
research firm.
Thanks to new technology and
innovation, manufacturing productivity
in the United States has doubled in the
past two decades. That’s not to say that
we haven’t lost jobs. But consider the
case of China, which shed 25 million
manufacturing positions between 1994
and 2004 – 10 times more than the
United States, according to Brooks.
Clearly, manufacturing still matters
in the United States and shouldn’t be
counted out.
I bring this up because the Minnesota
Department of Employment and
Economic Development (DEED)
launched the Framework for Integrated
Regional Strategies (FIRST) grant
program last year to help the state remain
competitive in the global economy.
Among the beneficiaries of this effort
will be manufacturers around the state.
Before I get to that, however, some
background is in order. FIRST was
started after a series of listening sessions
around the state. One of the things that
we learned during those meetings was
that regions often fail to marshal the
collective brainpower and skills of their
business executives, government officials,
educators, workers, entrepreneurs and
other community leaders.
The idea behind FIRST is something
I like to call sustainable collaboration.
The program brings together local leaders
to develop a strategy for economic
development and growth in their regions.
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To get the process started, DEED
awarded grants this past winter, between
the amounts of $45,000 and $50,000,
to the top nine proposals in the state.
Ideas came in from every corner of the
state. A group in southwestern Minnesota,
for example, plans to capitalize on that
region’s strength in renewable energy
– especially wind power and ethanol
production – and other green resources
and technology. One of the goals of a
group in Stearns and Benton counties is
to develop strategies for retaining that
region’s pool of college graduates.
Many of the FIRST proposals
mentioned manufacturing, saying they
wanted to develop strategies for keeping
manufacturing competitive in their
regions and for attracting skilled workers.
One example was a proposal from the
TwinWest Chamber of Commerce. The
chamber, which represents 10 cities in the
western suburbs (places like Plymouth,
Golden Valley and St. Louis Park) was
awarded a $45,000 FIRST grant in part
for its plan to work with local precision
manufacturers.
Manufacturing remains an important
sector in that part of the Twin Cities,
accounting for 14.5 percent of the jobs,
according to 2004 statistics. At the same
time, 4,000 manufacturing jobs were lost
in the region from 2002 to 2004.
Given the job losses, it is ironic that
many precision manufacturers in the
western suburbs are frustrated because
they can’t find enough qualified, skilled
workers. The shortage is a threat to
business growth and development in
the region, according to the TwinWest
Chamber.
Fortunately, TwinWest has a solution.
With the help of the FIRST grant,
chamber executives are bringing together
local manufacturers, educators and other
community leaders to identify workforce
deficiencies and to develop courses at
local colleges to fill in the gaps. The
process will include Hennepin Technical
College and Dunwoody College of
Technology and local manufacturers,
such as Acrylic Design Associates in
Plymouth, Intermet Die Cast in New
Hope and Rotation Engineering &
Manufacturing in Brooklyn Park.
TwinWest hopes to have the “gaptraining”
program ready to go by this
fall or early next year.
If I have learned anything in my
many years of government service, it’s
that there are always new and better ways
of doing things. And for every problem,
there is a solution. You just have to look
hard enough.
While the aim of the TwinWest effort
and many of the other FIRST plans is to
help local manufacturers, the overall goal
is to keep Minnesota competitive globally.
And that’s something that matters to
everybody. PM