The New American Manufacturing Renaissance

I am blessed to be in a unique situation. Being born in the late 80s, I am fortunate to toe the line in our industry: I have enough experience and time in to be respected by the seasoned veterans but I’m young enough to still connect with the youth. As one of the most prolific orators of our time, Jermaine Cole from Fayetteville, N.C., once put it, “I'm dead in the middle of two generations… I'm little bro and big bro all at once.” Having worked my way up through virtually every position at most every type of shop, I’ve gotten a unique view into many sides of the industry. I’ve been at major powerhouses with the newest technology and latest and greatest machines. I’ve been at the small job shops with little work, machines older than me and no heat or A/C. During my time, I’ve watched as once-lauded, abundant American manufacturing jobs left our inner cities to go out to the suburbs. Then I watched it leave the suburbs to go overseas.

I’ve seen our industry turn away from its spirit of innovation, and collaboration, towards a scramble for contracts and margin-shrink. Companies turned from creators to competitors — dirty ones. I’ve watched once-proud American manufacturers leave our great industry for foreign corporations. I’ve watched others that were beacons in their cities, providing for families for generations, uproot and move operations out of our borders. I’ve witnessed the industry as a whole lose its power and get shuffled to the bottom where it slowly staggered to stay alive. The prowess, swagger and bravado of the words “Made in the USA” dissipated. High schools, community colleges and even technical colleges and trade schools started to shift their attention and budgets to other trades. This dried up our workforce and slowed the pipeline of skilled, innovative workers needed to continue to push us forward. I watched machines stand empty. Shops started to drastically lower requirements and hiring standards to get people to just operate the machines. Things were getting bad.

But then came the computers.

With cheaper, more powerful computers came connected devices; algorithms and machine learning; automation and robots. I felt the shift. Meanwhile, I watched our workforce fight against adopting new technology. I often heard rumblings of not wanting new machines (ones that would increase productivity and repeatability, and decrease safety risk) and how robots were going to take our jobs. In many places, there was almost a downright refusal to upgrade or update anything in fear of these seasoned machinists and programmers having to relearn and upskill to new technology. The attitude was, “Why do we need this fancy new equipment when the way we’ve been doing it works still?”

It baffled me. I watched them upgrade their homes, vehicles, TVs, phones and more. But their careers? Don’t even speak on it. As a matter of fact, in the spirit of being accepted in the fraternal order of the machining trade, I would often bite my tongue and wrestle my inner excitement for how quickly our industry was advancing. It was before the term Industry 4.0 was coined, let alone accepted, but I could see it in our future and it was one of the foremost reasons that I stuck it out and stayed in manufacturing.

And then came the renaissance.

I was once referred to as the Leader of the New American Manufacturing Renaissance, a title that I do not take lightly. In this industry, I’ve worked hard and endured a lot, but I’ve always held the future of American manufacturing above everything. Having this platform has allowed me to travel our great nation and see firsthand the beginning of what will be the greatest comeback story ever told.

As a teacher, I get to watch as more seats in my classroom get filled each semester by the next great American manufacturing leaders who are excited about new technology and the ability to create.

I’ve seen skillsets shift from skilled workers to smart workers and see firsthand the impact that has on the acceleration and adaptation of things like artificial intelligence, augmented and virtual reality and CAD/CAM. I get to watch teenagers draft 3D models and navigate the depths of programs like Mastercam with ease, mastering skills that were once rarely acquired, especially so early. I am also fortunate to be a part of a new wave of creators like Jake Hall, Tony Gunn, Eddie Saunders and Will Heally III who are leveraging social media platforms to bring new awareness and access to our industry. Through these same digital platforms, we are able to share our skills and our industry.

Even though there is still a major opportunity in our field to diversify, more female executives like Nicole Wolter at HM Manufacturing, as well as digital platforms like Mavens of Manufacturing, bring women manufacturers to the forefront. People of color in powerful positions like Jesse Salazar at the Department of Defense and Montez King at NIMS belong in these positions; their contributions are equally important to the health and continued growth of our great sector. This is a major part of attracting the next generation of manufacturing professionals as the workforce in our country is rapidly diversifying. Couple that with the pandemic forcing people to look for more stable careers and skillsets that will enable them to make better wages. Attracting those looking to switch careers is an opportunity we would be imprudent not to capitalize on.

In addition, I get to see the new influx of makers and innovators finding access to the software and Prusa 3D printers, creating new industries and jobs that once never existed. Digital marketplaces like Xometry are making it easy to get in the industry and make a living. ERP systems like ProShop are making shops more efficient, opening up margins and increasing shops bottom lines in ways they didn’t know were possible.

Let’s embrace this New American Manufacturing Renaissance as the next level. This is an exciting time for our country, our industry and our future.