Solid Height - Spring Manufacturers Institute

tions (CMA) and the Manufacturing Institute of
the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM).
Economist Joel Popkin, the report’s author, stated,
“Though the U.S. accounts for 40 percent of all R&D
spending in the industrial world, we cannot become
complacent about this leadership position. The rapid
growth in overseas manufacturing is creating new
global centers with the critical mass necessary to
build their own innovation machines.”
According to the report, five factors indicate that
America’s innovation process is at risk:
1. Manufacturing output since the last recession
lags that of earlier economic recoveries – its 15%
growth is only half the pace averaged in recoveries
of the past half-century.
2. Manufacturing capacity remains underutilized,
slowing investment in new plants and equipment.
Since the last recession, total plant and equipment
investment has risen at half the pace averaged in
recoveries of the past half-century. Manufacturing
capacity has grown at less than one percent annually
(compared with five percent in the 1990s).
3. The U.S. share of global trade in manufactured
products has shrunk, falling from 13 percent in the
1990s to 10 percent in 2004. The U.S. now runs a
trade deficit in advanced technology products, and
the U.S. share of global trade in some of the highest
value-added export industries, such as machinery
and equipment, is falling.
4. U.S. manufacturing offers rewarding and
desirable careers for highly skilled workers. Yet
the perception that manufacturing employment is
unstable and lacks job opportunities discourages
new worker entry. While manufacturing continues to
pay better than other industries, the sector is experiencing
a broadening shortage of skilled workers.
5. America’s long-standing leadership in R&D is
being challenged. While the U.S. continues to spend
more than any other country on R&D investment,
U.S. growth in R&D has averaged only about one
percent per year, in real terms, since 2000.
“If the innovation process goes offshore, America
will lose much of its capacity to generate wealth and
a decline in long-term economic growth is assured,”
concludes Popkin.
Mahr Federal Inc., Providence, RI, has
announced that its ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation
by the National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation
Program (NVLAP) has been expanded to include
the company’s Field Service Group. Qualified Field
Service Group personnel will now be able to provide
accredited calibration services at customer
facilities. Customers can have large measurement
systems calibrated onsite with the added benefit of
accreditation.
Chromium Corrections/Clarifications
In the April 2006 issue of Springs, the article
“2006: the Year of RoHS” discussed the European
directive restricting hazardous substances, including
hexavalent chromium. The word “hexavalent”
was omitted from the sentence, “Pretty soon products
with cadmium, lead, hexavalent chromium
and other contaminants will be restricted in more
countries than not.”
It is important to note that chromium is an
essential element of stainless steel. The chromium
contained in stainless steel is not the same as the
hexavalent chromium cited in the RoHS directive.
Also in the April issue, the definition of stainless
steel on page 22 in the “Glossary of Wire Terms,”
says that 18/8 stainless steel contains 18 percent
nickel. However, the definition should read: “Stainless
Steel – A high-chromium steel, often including
nickel, which is resistant to corrosive and oxidizing
attack. The most well known type is 18/8, an
austenitic steel containing about 18% chromium
and 8% nickel.”
A recent research report by the AberdeenGroup,
“The Product Quality Benchmark: Achieving Quality
across the Global Manufacturing Network”
indicates that pressure from customers, regulatory
SPRINGS July 2006 33