2012 State of the Industry: Waterjets

Forecast: The metal fabrication sector will continue to recover faster than metal cutting sector, with strong opportunities and more investment in higher end machine tool applications in the aerospace and medical markets.

Dr. John Cheung
CEO, OMAX Corporation
Manufacturer of abrasive waterjet cutting machines that perform precision cutting of metals, composites, glass, ceramics and other materials for both the metal cutting and metal fabrication sectors.

CURRENT STATE OF BUSINESS
In my opinion, the state of the manufacturing industry has been stable and increasing since 2010, and I believe this trend will continue throughout 2012. We serve the metal cutting and metal fabrication sectors. Based on our experience and on several economic forecasts of those two manufacturing segments, the fabrication side is recovering at a higher rate and showing the most growth potential. This upward swing could be the result of more automotive projects coming into the U.S. Additionally, the fact that fabrication that deals with larger parts makes outsourcing manufacturing overseas costly, inconvenient, and time consuming.

The aerospace and medical sectors also seem to be experiencing a lot of activity. Both of these segments require complex, tight tolerance work, which U.S. manufacturers tend to keep onshore to better monitor quality. Additionally, as baby boomers age the medical industry is seeing an increase in the manufacturing of hip and knee joint replacements as well as stints and implants.

Our country’s aircraft is getting up there in years, requiring an increased need for replacement parts. Also, the next generation of planes need all-new parts that incorporate advanced materials and even more complex and tighter-toleranced parts than ever before.

MAJOR TRENDS
During the coming year, we see more and more manufacturers looking into higher end machine tools. Companies want to streamline their efforts and increase their productivity using advanced and versatile machine tools that can machine entire components, complete from beginning to end, in single setups. And while such cutting-edge equipment carries a higher price tag, it allows manufacturers to produce higher quality complex products faster, which, in turn, makes those companies more competitive and profitable in the long run.

We also find people are embracing machine tool automation more than ever. As a result, machine tool builders will need to continue developing new ways in which their customers can conduct production runs with as little labor involvement as possible. We have been working hard to increase the automation of its abrasive waterjets. We are pushing full speed ahead on all fronts to maintain its position as the leading provider of precision-engineered, computer-controlled, multi-axis abrasivejet systems.

CRITICAL ISSUES
As of right now, it appears the manufacturing industry is running separately from the rest of the economy. While the retail and construction industries lag, manufacturing is experiencing positive momentum. Unfortunately, no one has a crystal ball that can predict how long this upswing will last, especially when looking at the financial problems we are seeing across the globe.

Banks are starting to tighten up their credit, which puts limitations on what manufacturers can do to keep up with the times and grow their business. It’s hard to tell exactly how the world’s financial crisis will impact manufacturing stateside, but it’s up to all of us to be proactive and keep U.S. manufacturing a national priority.

Additionally, OMAX and manufacturers everywhere are finding it increasingly difficult to find highly trained workers. While unemployment is high in this country, there are a lot of jobs out there for skilled machinists and operators. Unfortunately, very few people have the proper training to fill all of these positions. As is the case with all manufacturing companies, we cannot afford to have our manufacturing operations come to a standstill simply because we can’t find skilled labor. To avoid such a situation, we are proactive and continuously advancing our employee-training program.

We have adjusted the level of experience required for entry-level positions, and now focus on recruiting competent, hard-working individuals who are willing to learn our business – training them from the ground up. These individuals evolve into dedicated and highly skilled employees, and we’ve found this to be effective in exposing people to lucrative careers in manufacturing that may have never before considered working in the industry.

PERSONAL INSIGHTS
Even though U.S. manufacturing is stable and increasing at the moment, our industry can never rest on its laurels. We need to continuously innovate and improve our operations to stay competitive on a worldwide scale. We must also constantly monitor anything and everything that has to do with our businesses and be ready to take action accordingly.

OMAX Corporation, 21409 72nd Avenue South, Kent, WA 98032, 800-838-0343, Fax: 253-872-6190, www.omax.com.