My Own Kind of Networking

Kurt Nordlund, president of Seco Tools NAFTA, welcomed attendees at the beginning of the event.

Networking is an activity that is hard to define. It’s more purposeful than hobnobbing; more sincere than schmoozing. Meeting new people who can do things with you or for you to mutually benefit from, is networking at its best. Doing this kind of networking is one of the reasons why I attended “Making Manufacturing a Priority,” this year’s inaugural event for the committee that directs “Automation Alley,” a long-standing government/industry initiative, which seeks to boost manufacturing in southeastern Michigan.

Hosted by Seco Tools at its North American headquarters and technical Center in Troy, Michigan, this event drew more than 100 attendees representing a variety of manufacturing companies from the region. Speakers, roundtable discussions, several tabletop exhibits and machine tools running in the showroom comprised the “program” for this late afternoon-early evening event and gave it just enough structure for lively yet focused participation. There was also plenty of time for networking, which, according to Seco, provides a commercial-free forum for manufacturers and their suppliers to meet and discuss topics important to them.

Click here for details about some of the people I met and the things we talked about.