Manufacturers Continue to add Capacity, Facilities and Technology

The manufacturing sector in the United States, albeit navigating bumps in the road, continues to expand and did so for the 26^th consecutive month in July. “Sentiment remained optimistic regarding demand, with six positive growth comments for every cautious comment,” said Timothy Fiore, CPSM, CPM, and chair of the Institute for Supply Management’s Manufacturing Business Survey Committee. He is referring to the comments shared by the committee’s panelists for the July ISM Report on Business.

“Four of the six biggest manufacturing industries — petroleum and coal products; computer and electronic products; transportation equipment; and machinery — registered moderate-to-strong growth in July,” Fiore noted.

An example of growth in the machinery sector includes the recent grand opening for Ingersoll Machine Tools Inc.’s new manufacturing, assembly and testing center in Rockford, Ill., marking what the company called the arrival of a new era for American machining and manufacturing. “We will be helping drive the growth of American manufacturing, creating innovative private-public partnerships, and strengthening our economy,” said Chip Storie, CEO of Camozzi Machine Tools Division. (Ingersoll is part of the Camozzi Group.)

The Ingersoll project features new buildings, updated facilities and the largest machine tool to date, the MES 4, the largest and most productive 5-axis MasterMill^TM ever built. The development includes a 40,000-square-foot technical center that provides additional contracting abilities to serve the company’s partners. The technical center also features the addition of extensive testing and measurement equipment to meet the needs of customers such as the U.S. Navy and the groundbreaking Giant Magellan Telescope, which supports the next generation of an optical infrared observatory, predicted to alter space exploration.

Metal Formers Weigh In

While machining companies strive for new heights, metal fabricators are also hard at work paving the road to success. The organization representing North America’s metal forming industry, the Precision Metalforming Association (PMA), conveyed in its July business conditions report that the industry forecasts little change in business conditions during the next three months. They also report that for the past three months, industry members experienced drops in daily shipping levels. The decrease reflects supply chain challenges, noted PMA President David Klotz. PMA members testified at the U.S. International Trade Commission’s hearing on how Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs impact U.S. industries and their ability to obtain resources at globally competitive prices.

The PMA assists member companies in other ways, including the FABTECH trade shows. This year’s FABTECH will be held November 8-10 in Atlanta, which will bring together metal formers, fabricators, welders and finishers at a one-stop venue to meet with suppliers and industry peers to be inspired and learn the latest innovations to support improvements in productivity and strengthen the bottom line.

This issue features a sneak preview of FABTECH 2022, providing a glimpse of the automation, equipment, software and services companies can implement to meet economic uncertainties head on.

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