Skilled Labor

FEATURE ARTICLES | 2019-07-01

Heat-Treat Trends

The U.S. heat treat industry is in the middle of a labor shortage. Here's a look at what companies in the industry are doing about it.

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2018-03-15

What About Worms?

It is difficult to know where to start when writing about worm gears, because this market segment has defied “standardization” within the United St...

PUBLISHER'S PAGE | 2018-03-01

Training the Next Generation

Last issue, when I went over the results from our annual State of the Gear Industry survey, I was being too nice. Sure, there's still a lot of optimism about the business climate. Gear manufacturers are mostly busy. For most, 2018 looks like it will be at least a little better than 2017. But there are dark clouds ahead, and they've been building for some time.

PUBLISHER'S PAGE | 2018-01-01

We'd Grow Faster If We Could

It's probably no surprise to anyone that the majority of the gear industry had a pretty good year in 2017, and that most gear manufacturers are expecting a pretty good 2018 as well. After all, most major economic indicators - including the ones that focus on the manufacturing sector - have been positive for some time.

FEATURE ARTICLES | 2018-01-01

2018 State of the Gear Industry

Results from our annual survey of gear manufacturers reveal that business is good, but the skilled labor situation is not.

FEATURE ARTICLES | 2018-01-01

Solutions for Your Process Engineer Shortage

As you might imagine, I talk to many gear industry people through the course of my day-to-day activities. And there is one question that I hear over and over again. "Joe, we need an experienced gear process engineer. Do you know anyone who's available?"

TECHNICAL ARTICLES | 2017-01-01

Repair of Large, Surface-Degraded Industrial Gears - a New Approach

This paper presents a new approach to repair industrial gears by showing a case study where pressure angle modification is also considered, differently from the past repairing procedures that dealt only with the modification of the profile shift coefficient. A computer program has been developed to automatically determine the repair alternatives under two goals: minimize the stock removal or maximize gear tooth strength.

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2014-02-21

Times Haven’t Changed That Much

FEATURE ARTICLES | 2014-01-01

Learn to Work, Work to Earn

Apprenticeship programs are back in the USA - sort of.

FEATURE ARTICLES | 2014-01-01

The Sales Pitch

Kaukauna, Wisconsin may hold the secrets to solving the problem of our skilled labor shortage.

FEATURE ARTICLES | 2012-11-01

Manufacturing and Pursuit of the American Dream: Reality or Fool's Quest

It wasn’t so very long ago that a high school-educated, able-bodied person with a will to work typically had little trouble finding a decent job in manufacturing. Whether at an area job shop, an OEM plant or auto plant—work was to be had. Work that paid well enough to marry, buy a home, feed, raise and educate a family—with even enough left over for a modest retirement pension.

ADDENDUM | 2012-03-01

The New Now: U.S. Workforce Sustainability

Faithful Addendum readers are accustomed to finding upbeat, whimsical and oddball stories about gears in this space. What follows is not about gears, exactly. Rather, it is, as opposed to the usual bleak news about America losing its manufacturing mojo—a look at a positive, hopeful development in that regard.

FEATURE ARTICLES | 2009-01-01

The Replacements - Taking Steps to Strengthen the Future Skilled Workforce

For years, politicians, educators and business leaders have generated various ideas to revitalize U.S. manufacturing and engineering. These include manufacturing initiatives, internal training programs and an emphasis on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in the classroom. The declining expertise in these fields, however, continues to be a growing problem in every facet of manufacturing and engineering.

VOICES | 2007-01-01

Challenges and Opportunities in the Gear Industry

We asked Fred Young, president of Forest City Gear Co., to answer some of the gear industry's burning questions.

FEATURE ARTICLES | 1997-11-01

Capitalizing on Your Human Capital

A fundamental characteristic of the gear industry is that it is capital intensive. In the last decade, the gear manufacturing industry has been undergoing an intense drive toward improving and modernizing its capital equipment base. The Department of Commerce reports that annual sales of gear cutting equipment have increased nearly 60% since 1990. While this effort has paid off in increased competitiveness for the American gear industry, it is important to remember that there is another capital crucial to manufacturing success - "human capital."

PUBLISHER'S PAGE | 1995-03-01

Finding Tomorrow's Leaders Today

The passage last year of both NAFTA and GATT has gone a long way toward leveling the playing field for American manufacturers and other hoping to compete in the global economy. Add to this news the fact that the domestic economy keeps growing, and it seems as though good times are ahead for the gear industry.

FEATURE ARTICLES | 1994-05-01

The Tech Prep Approach to Worker Training

"More than half our young people leave school without the knowledge or foundation required to find and hold a job." according to a 1991 report from the U.S. Dept. of Labor. A huge gap exists between the needs of employers (especially in manufacturing) and the training received by most high school students.

PUBLISHER'S PAGE | 1994-05-01

Getting With The Program

Getting and keeping a work force capable of meeting the demands of the 21st century is one of the key challenges most U.S. manufacturers face today. That's not even news anymore. I - and others - have been talking about it in editorials and speeches for ten years now. It's also not news that the job is a tough one and that industry-wide response often has not been particularly effective.

VOICES | 1992-07-01

Investing in Ourselves is the Key to Revitalizing American Manufacturing

Popular wisdom has it that manufacturing in the United States is no longer a viable entity. We are told that quality is poor, skilled labor is difficult to obtain, if not impossible, demand is low, and the government is helping to discourage business. So what should we do, give up?