Rebuilding American Manufacturing
My grandfather could make anything from nothing. On the farm if you needed a beam for the barn you hooked up the mules, went out in the woods, felled a tree, drug it back, squared it with a hand adz and hoisted it into place. There was plenty of food but no cash and nowhere to buy a beam even if you had the cash.
That direct, hands-on problem solving and ingenuity marked the thinking of generations of Americans and developed our country into a manufacturing powerhouse. We designed, built and exported goods around the world. Our products set the standard for quality and dependability.
What’s more, there was a balance of wages and prices so the people who worked in the factories could afford to buy the items they made.
As everyone knows, that has changed.
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Incognito Marketing today announced that it has been hired by Magnum Tool Company to create professional marketing media presentations for trade show lead generation.
Colorado Springs-based Magnum Tool Company Inc. is comprised of two separate, fully integrated turnkey precision machine shops servicing medical, aerospace and high-tech industries. The companies will work together to develop marketing programs to support Magnum Tool Company’s lead generation efforts and to position the company for growth during these challenging times.
“I met Greg Snyder through a local industry group,” said Mike Long, Sales Manager with Magnum Tool Company. “Greg brought Graham Productions in on the project and once I saw their joint presentation, I was sold immediately. In fact, I wrote a check right then to get things started.”
“Magnum Tool Company recognized the need to stay current, stand out and compete effectively in today’s marketplace. That meant their PowerPoint slide show was no longer enough,” commented Greg Snyder, president and CEO of Incognito Marketing. “We are very pleased to be helping Magnum Tool Company upgrade their trade show marketing presentation and provide them with a powerful, captivating film that stands out and gets results.”
Magnum Tool Company put their new video to the test at a recent trade show. “We received an outstanding response. Very high profile prospects were stopping by to watch the video. One corporate procurement director watched it two times and determined we were a good fit just from the video,” Long added.
Business that went overseas is coming home.
Supply chains are becoming more continental and regional as soaring transportation costs outweigh relative labor costs worldwide.
This is the result of several factors:
1. Transportation
Transportation (fuel) costs have become a larger factor than cheap labor. It is more economical to have suppliers re-locate near manufacturers and to invest in more numerous, smaller distribution centers than to chase low cost labor to distant locations.
An article on the front page of June 13, 2008 Wall Street Journal read:
Stung by Soaring Transport Costs, Factories Bring Jobs Home Again
Shipping cost per container has increased by 300% since 2000
Transit times are tied to inventory