Blogs
Ready. Fire. Aim. Duh?!
December 16, 2011 10:05 am | by George F. Brown, Jr., Chief Executive Officer, Blue Canyon Partners | CommentsAs businesses look toward 2012, many are developing ambitious plans in order to achieve their growth and profit goals. In conversations with many organizations, I hear of four themes that are included in many of these plans. First, while globalization has been going on for quite a few years, many firms are planning to elevate activity levels. They know that most of the growth in their markets will take place in countries like China and India.
The Whole World Is Watching
December 15, 2011 9:37 am | by Chris Fox, Associate Editor, PD&D | CommentsWhere do your moral standards and ethics sit when the whole world is watching? As technology exponentially advances on a daily basis we are becoming increasingly interconnected. Whether it’s Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, YouTube, or any of the various social applications, the world is at our fingertips, and everybody else’s, as we often seem to forget. The real question here is: where do we draw the line? Or can we?
Who’s Investing In America This Christmas?
December 14, 2011 11:25 am | by Joel Hans, Managing Editor, Manufacturing.net | CommentsNot all American manufacturers are off-shoring or closing down, and with the holiday gift-buying getting more frenzied, we ought to keep them in mind.
Making Design Personal, Again
December 13, 2011 9:50 am | by Meaghan Ziemba, Associate Editor, PD&D | CommentsHow do we teach creativity? How do companies equip their design professionals and encourage creative collaboration with each other and their customer?
Who Will Pay For The Great Patent War
December 7, 2011 9:46 am | by Mike Schmidt, Associate Editor, Manufacturing Business Technology | CommentsSomething tells me the motivation behind fighting these patent battles isn’t to protect the ability to offer the best product at the most reasonable price.
Balancing Our Trade Is Not Protectionism
December 6, 2011 9:25 am | by Mike Collins, Author, Saving American Manufacturing | CommentsThe losers in the ongoing policy of financing trade deficits are small and midsize American manufacturers, manufacturing workers, taxpayers, and environmentalists.
Does Starbucks Create Jobs For USA?
December 1, 2011 11:05 am | by Rachel Leisemann Immel, Associate Editor, IMPO | CommentsIs Starbuck's "Create Jobs for USA" campaign an honest attempt to sell more American-made products, or just a bunch of hot air?
Putting A Band-Aid On A Broken Arm
November 23, 2011 10:08 am | by Chris Fox, Associate Editor, PD&D | CommentsFunding for oil cleanup is like a perpetual band-aid, especially when we could be pushing for proper containment and reduced consumption.
Your New Manufacturing.net
November 17, 2011 8:29 am | by Jeff Reinke, Editorial Director, Manufacturing.net | CommentsWe’ve rolled out a new design and embedded a new content management system that will preserve our standing as the leading site for manufacturing information.
The $100,000 Haircut
November 16, 2011 8:31 am | by By Anna Wells, Executive Editor, IMPO | CommentsManufacturers, especially those reaching a consumer market, sometimes run the risk of being held hostage by something as insignificant as a haircut.
Words To Lose Your Job By
May 12, 2011 5:10 am | by Anna Wells, Executive Editor, IMPO | CommentsWe do the best we can to portray ourselves in the most flattering light, but we need to be cautious of the immediacy of web marketing and social media.
2016: The End Of The Age Of America
May 9, 2011 9:54 am | by Lauren Kiesow, Associate Editor, Manufacturing.net | CommentsIs it possible to completely disregard the fact that The International Monetary Fund estimates that “The Age of America” will come to its end in 2016?
Sue Me
May 6, 2011 5:56 am | by David Mantey, Editor, PD&D | CommentsThe ability to sue is a cultural stopgap in a time when more individuals need to take more responsibility for their actions.
Get Your Sustainable Nonsense Out Of My Backyard
May 4, 2011 8:15 am | by Kim Ukura, Associate Editor, PD&D | CommentsNew Jersey began installing solar panels in residential neighborhoods across the state. Should ugly but socially good products trump an investment in product design?
Fight Over Fracking
May 4, 2011 5:00 am | by Paul Livingstone, Senior Editor, R&D Magazine | CommentsIs a single documentary enough to encourage the entire natural gas industry to abandon fracking?
Feeling The Pinch
May 2, 2011 6:38 am | by Lauren Kiesow, Associate Editor, Manufacturing.net | CommentsI can’t seem to avoid reading articles or seeing reports about companies who are being forced to raise prices because the cost of raw materials has increased.
Re-Kindling Your Passion
April 4, 2011 6:56 am | by Joel Hans, Associate Editor, IMPO | CommentsWe all become too comfortable with the way things work now, or the ways they used to work in the past. When we get comfortable, we get complacent.
Mitigating Purchasing Sabotage
April 4, 2011 6:49 am | by Anna Wells, Executive Editor, IMPO | CommentsI knew that supplier consolidation was becoming more prevalent in the manufacturing space, but I was not quite aware that there is sometimes pushback associated with it.
Ruminating Over Rare Earths
March 18, 2011 8:49 am | by Lauren Kiesow, associate editor, Manufacturing.net | CommentsWhat do iPhones, catalytic converters, and glass polishers have in common? If you guessed the usage of rare earths in these products, then you’re correct.
How Long Is Too Long?
March 9, 2011 7:50 am | by Anna Wells, Executive Editor, IMPO | CommentsI assume there must be a sweet spot where your existing assets can be sold as used goods to other manufacturers, but how and when do you determine this?
