The two tricks to move forward to a healthy economy

I believe it is no exaggeration to say we depend on manufacturing export trade to survive – in our current standard of living. From the precision machining of components for medical devices to building energy-efficient power, transport and communication infrastructures, engineering and manufacturing allow modern society to exist.

Moving forward

We tend to forget that; and Craig Hodges (responsible for the overall business performance of Microsoft’s U.S. Manufacturing and Resources Sector) in an article for impomag.com brings us back to the basics:

There are just two key driving forces of manufacturing: (1) the technology and (2) the manpower behind the scenes.

• Together they are able to “streamline processes, create cost-saving efficiencies and enable collaboration on new products”.

• Together they serve as “key competitive differentiators in the global marketplace”.

• Together they “drive growth out of the recession”.

“I take this as positive proof that building a strong advanced manufacturing sector is not impossible, but very much worth pursuing,” MIT President Susan Hockfield says. In addition to new business practices and continued strength in education, Hockfield added, “A key hope for progress lies in tapping unprecedented new manufacturing technologies.”

Talent, Investment and Infrastructure are the key elements in Innovation.

So manufacturers AND technical schools, colleges and universities “must recognize that the capabilities being outsourced could in part be replaced by forward-looking, technology-enabled manufacturing.”

Both industry and education must invest now in cutting-edge manufacturing technology to re-build a sustainable healthy economy.

In the end, without the right public and private partnerships, especially in education, the talent necessary to sustain innovation will not be developed, and the manufacturing plants enabling our economic growth will get built elsewhere.

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