October 2012

10/26/2012 - THE CENTER
It’s the nature or nurture question for business. How much does the environment shape the workforce? OSHA regulations and workforce safety issues aside, are there things that a company can do to improve employee performance and product output? This goes beyond cleanliness, which we would file under workforce safety.

10/22/2012 - THE CENTER
In an era of global competition, smaller manufacturers face challenges above and beyond the challenges that larger, more established companies face. By definition, small manufacturers are companies making less than $10 million in revenue annually. Based on numbers from the latest Michigan County Business Patterns, roughly 92.28% of Michigan’s SMMs or 11,423 of Michigan’s 12,378 manufacturing establishments meet this criterion.

10/12/2012 - THE CENTER
Kermit may have had it right when he sang “it’s not easy being green,” but it may be profitable. More and more companies are finding that what used to promise only incremental change can now improve margins by 10% to 15% and in a lot less time. The environmental payoff is immediate, but for companies struggling to stay afloat, it can’t just be about recycling and reducing waste.

10/5/2012 - THE CENTER
National Manufacturing Day is Friday, October 5, 2012.  The day was designed to expand the knowledge about and improve the general perception of manufacturing careers and emphasize manufacturing’s value to the U.S. economy.