Page 88 - MetalForming October 2016

As an industry we have done a horrendous job of promoting careers in manufacturing. We have allowed people to hold a negative perception of these careers, rather than dispelling myths by sharing the truth.
customers; we are struggling to find skilled workers to fill job opportunities —positions such as tool and diemakers, designers, quality technicians and press operators. Filling current job openings with this degree of qualification is not easy. However, I know that when can- didates entering the workforce choose careers in manufacturing, we can pro- vide them with the financial backing to have excellent lifestyles. This is not something that is widely known by the general public or by those entering the workforce.
We’ve Recovered from the Downturn
For a time in the 2000s, it was scary to be in manufacturing. With occur- rences like 9/11, the emergence of China as a large manufacturing nation and the great recession of 2008, U.S. manufacturing surely was on the decline. Today’s landscape is much dif- ferent, however. The economy has sta- bilized and many sectors, including automotive, have recovered. Most
It’s time to turn the tide.
BY AARON WIEGEL
My Fellow Manufacturers:
I am writing in response to Metal-
Forming magazine editor Brad Kuvin’s editorial in the August 2016 issue, to go on the record stating that I disagree with the “disgruntled” MetalForming reader who owns a small centerless-
Aaron Wiegel is president, Wiegel Tool Works, Inc., a precision stamper spe- cializing in electrical automotive tight- tolerance terminals, complex lead frames and busbars; www.wiegeltool- works.com.
grinding shop. The reader states: “Manufacturing has been in a decline or recession...with everything made overseas and wages stagnant in manufacturing. Who can make a living
in this industry anymore?”
Personally, I see this from an entirely
different perspective, and here’s why. My family owns a metal-stamping com- pany located just outside of Chicago. We’ve been in business for three gen- erations, since 1941, and like many others in our industry we are struggling. However, we are not struggling to find
86 MetalForming/October 2016
www.metalformingmagazine.com