WASHINGTON DC – The Manufacturing Institute and Deloitte’s new report, “Taking charge: Manufacturers support growth with active workforce strategies,” examines the workforce challenges that manufacturers are facing as well as the investment and skills likely required to drive continued growth across the industry. The U.S. manufacturing industry has emerged from the pandemic on a strong
PLYMOUTH – The Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center has announced it has become the sixth state to join CONNEX, designed to strengthen the local and domestic manufacturing supply chain in Industry 4.0. Michigan joins Missouri, Kansas, Florida, Oklahoma and Utah. In each state, the platform is managed by an MEP center to provide a coordinated approach
GRAND RAPIDS - Manufacturers that supply the defense industry will need to adhere to a new set of uniform cybersecurity standards in order to bid on contracts from the U.S. Department of Defense. Despite how profoundly this measure could potentially affect their operations, a large majority of West Michigan manufacturers remain indifferent to the matter,
WASHINGTON DC – The National Association of Manufacturers released its Manufacturers’ Outlook Survey for the third quarter of 2021, showing manufacturers remain mostly optimistic in their economic outlook (87.5 percent, down from 90.1 percent in Q2). Consistent with Wednesday’s Bureau of Labor Statistics report showing a record 889,000 job openings in manufacturing, respondents named workforce
WASHINGTON DC – The National Association of Manufacturers released its Manufacturers’ Outlook Survey for the second quarter of 2021. “Attracting and retaining a quality workforce” and “rising raw material costs” remain manufacturers’ biggest concerns for the second straight quarter. Despite those concerns, manufacturers predicted some of the highest expected growth rates in the survey’s history
GRAND RAPIDS— The West Michigan economy remains on a positive footing, although time will likely show January was the peak of the COVID-19 recession recovery, and now most manufacturers have returned to near-full operations, although a number of challenges remain. “Although the automotive parts suppliers represent many of the recovered jobs, parts shortages are inhibiting auto
GRAND RAPIDS - As details on a recent cybersecurity attack against Grand Rapids-based office furniture giant Steelcase Inc. begin to surface, local manufacturers of all industries and sizes may want to take notice. The ransomware attack on Steelcase, which shut down its global operations for two weeks, was a stark reminder of the growing number and sophistication
SOUTHFIELD — Lawrence Technological University and the City of Southfield have entered into a formal partnership to launch the Centrepolis Accelerator. Housed on the campus of LTU, the Centrepolis Accelerator will broaden and replace the small business and entrepreneurial support services provided by the LTU Collaboratory in recent years, leveraging the city’s focus on driving
TROY – Cloud ERP developer Plex Systems announced Tuesday it has acquired Industrial Internet of Things connectivity technologies provider DATTUS. Terms were not announced. DATTUS solutions connect manufacturing equipment and sensors to the cloud, manage high-volume data streams, and analyze in-motion equipment data to optimize performance, reduce costs, and ensure uptime. The acquisition is expected
GRAND RAPIDS - By making a significant investment in cybersecurity, West Michigan manufacturers can avoid having their sensitive information getting into the wrong hands. Just ask Jessica Dore, a principal in technology risk management in Grand Rapids at accounting and consulting firm Rehmann LLC. Dore works on the firm’s Corporate Investigative Services unit that performs cybersecurity
