With the average American factory employing between 10 - 15 workers, manufacturing is no longer about big conglomerations. It’s about small town Americana. You can’t get much more small town Americana than New Albany, IN, where the annual Metro Manufacturing Alliance (MMA) Summit was held last Friday.
As the nation’s leader in manufacturing jobs, Indiana has set the precedent for the nation as a right to work, low tax, low regulation state. The MMA is a One Southern Indiana forum where manufacturing owners and managers meet with their peers to discuss common issues, share successes, and present topics relevant to the industry. The “Momentum” Summit drew record-breaking attendance with more than 88 manufacturing company members from around the region, many from smaller businesses.
Drew Greenblatt, Chairman of the Small and Medium-Sized Manufacturers for the National Association of Manufacturers, stressed the positive outlook in manufacturing. Since the election, manufacturing optimism has risen from 56 percent to 93 percent - the highest it has been in more than 20 years.
This sentiment was echoed by Mark Holloway, CFA, at Stock Yards Bank. Holloway believes we will see
economic growth, but it will be a slow improvement in 2017 due to proposal implementation timelines.
Assistant Manager of Toyota’s Production Support Center, Dennis Dio Parker, presented KY FAME to the audience. FAME is an employer group that works with technical colleges to support the group’s present and future talent needs. KY FAME is the Northern Kentucky chapter of the FAME organization that has chapters in nine states and represented on more than 24 college campuses across the United States. FAME will educate over 800 students in the next school year.
The “Momentum” Summit closed with Chairman of the Metro Manufacturing Alliance, Bob Owings, reflecting on the MMA’s participation in recent years in programs that drive the next generation towards the manufacturing field, from Ford’s Next Generation Learning Model to Clark County’s PRIDE certification.
The general consensus is that the future is full of hope for manufacturing as collaborative organizations continue to develop to nurture and grow talent.
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