Page 24 - MetalForming July 2013

25 Years of MetalForming
MetalForming covered the migration of manufacturing from the traditional rust belt to southern states in a January 2008 Special Report. It began: “The wide- spread use of air conditioning; increased mobility due to creation of the national highway system and other modes of transportation; the weather. Any and all of these reasons, and many others, have contributed to steadily rising population in the Southeast United States over the last half century.”
Manufacturing’s Migration South
MetalForming covered the migra- tion of manufacturing from the tradi- tional rust belt to southern “right to work” states in a January 2008 Special Report. It began:
“The widespread use of air condi- tioning; increased mobility due to cre- ation of the national highway system and other modes of transportation; the weather. Any and all of these rea- sons, and many others, have con- tributed to steadily rising population in the Southeast United States over the last half century. Mirroring the popu- lation, economic fortunes also have risen in a region that at one time was the nation’s poorest. With city, county and state governments onboard, man- ufacturing has found a home in the Sunshine Belt, promising jobs, rev- enue and long-term economic stabil- ity for inhabitants.”
Following the upward trend, and also a major contributor, was the auto- motive industry, led by transplant OEMs setting up shop in Alabama, Mis- sissippi and other nearby states.
Of course, with the OEMs came their suppliers—transplant and domestic.
Leaning on Lean and Green
Then the economy swooned, beginning in 2008, and in response many looked at lean manufacturing as a way to reduce costs—and labor input. In February of 2008 we pub- lished an article on motivating the shop floor in a lean transition. What was needed was a fresh approach to company culture.
“Becoming a lean, world-class com- pany requires overcoming organiza- tional inertia,” the article said. “Often overlooked are outdated cultures, inef- fective management skills, untrained workers, bureaucratic red tape, and traditional pay-and-reward systems
In February of 2008 we published an arti- cle on motivating the shop floor in a lean transition. “Becoming a lean, world-class company requires overcoming organiza- tional inertia,” the article said. “Often overlooked are outdated cultures, inef- fective management skills, untrained workers, bureaucratic red tape, and tradi- tional pay-and-reward systems that do not fit. In transitioning to lean manufac- turing, factories, systems and organiza- tions must be streamlined.”
that do not fit. In transitioning to lean manufacturing, factories, systems and organizations must be streamlined. Lines of communications must be opened and barriers between depart- ments dismantled. Manufacturers must put an end to the ‘we’ve always done it that way’ argument. For the lean tran- sition to be successful, employees must be highly involved in assuming new skills and responsibilities.”
Green manufacturing also surfaced to top of mind around this time, as part of a lean strategy as well as a way to reduce costs. Along with the popular green strategies such as implement- ing more energy-efficient lighting, met- alformers began to look closely at reusable packaging products. Reusable packaging, as an alternative to wooden pallets or corrugated-cardboard boxes, was seen as a way to reduce waste and the nonvalue-added labor for setup and breakdown of the boxes, and to improve warehouse-space utilization as well as worker safety, since ergonomi- cally designed containers can ease han- dling. Reusable packaging also can improve product flow in terms of safe and efficient transfer of parts and sub- assemblies to the customer.
Smarter Motion Controls for Presses
The last half of the decade also was an exciting time in the controls indus- try, where, in particular for hydraulic presses, we welcomed improved posi- tioning and force control that paved the way to higher part quality and pro- ductivity, and reduced maintenance costs. Adding closed-loop electro- hydraulic motion controllers with posi- tion-pressure/force-control capabili- ties became popular for making new hydraulic presses excel or for enabling older machines to function like new. And, retrofitting open-loop control sys- tems with these controls provided another dimension of control to increase productivity, improve quality and decrease maintenance costs.
New controls also improved the ability of metalformers to gather, track and analyze production data in real
22 MetalForming/July 2013
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