Manufacture Smarter Blog

1/9/2015 - THE CENTER
The New Year has officially rung in, and with it, comes a time for contemplation. For Michigan’s manufacturers, 2015 is an opportunity to start with a blank slate. Yes, it’s time to begin anew. More than that, it’s time to make a comeback. So what do we mean by that?

12/31/2014 - THE CENTER
Manufacturing has been in the news frequently in the last few months and 2014 has seen intense scrutiny and support for the industry. The Manufacturing Innovation blog posted a Retrospective on U.S. Manufacturing today that highlighted key trends for this year. 

12/19/2014 - THE CENTER
SEO is the process of improving your website’s visibility on search engines such as Google, Bing and Yahoo. SEO is very technical and a tricky thing to understand initially. So we’ll try to provide you with a little “SEO 101” to get your feet wet with the topic.

12/12/2014 - THE CENTER
We are hearing about prospects for major changes in material specifications coming down from automotive OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers. The shift is primarily due to regulations requiring big gains in vehicle fuel economy. These changes may also impact non-automotive industries as demand for new, stronger and lighter materials increases.  

12/5/2014 - THE CENTER
If you’re the smaller guy in the locker room of U.S. manufacturing, you have nothing to be ashamed about. In fact, you should embrace your size because bigger doesn’t necessarily mean better in the world of manufacturing. Here are five ways that smaller Michigan manufacturers can stay toe to toe with the big guys in town.

11/28/2014 - THE CENTER
In 2010, American Express founded Small Business Saturday to help businesses with their most pressing need - getting more customers. The day encourages people to shop at small businesses on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. The single day has grown into a powerful movement, and more people are taking part than ever before.

11/21/2014 - THE CENTER
Additive manufacturing is becoming a “hot topic”. The manufacturing process was actually developed in the 1980’s, but hasn’t really picked up interest until the last few years or so. Since then, it’s sometimes more commonly referred to as “3D printing.” 

11/14/2014 - THE CENTER
There are some great reasons to buy locally, and not just because we believe Michigan makes the best items around (though we do!)  First, let’s do the math.

11/7/2014 - THE CENTER
Well, if you’re not an active member of LinkedIn right now, it’s time to start feeling a little foolish. Don't worry though – it’s never too late to join! LinkedIn is the premiere social media site dedicated to business networking and currently boasts 332 million members.

10/31/2014 - THE CENTER
As technology and other advances make the world seem smaller and smaller, it’s more important than ever to prepare in advance for potential service disruptions. As stated last week, we want to ‘remove the blindfold’ before entering the obstacle course.