Help Wanted

July 30, 2018

One of the most critical facing all independent manufacturers is the lack of qualified workers. With the U.S. unemployment rate at 3.9 percent and expected to hit 3.5 percent in 2019, the issue will only become more challenging for all of us.

As independents, we don’t have the same tools available to us as the integrated makers. We can’t shift work to plants where employees are more available. I overheard an interesting comment that many of the integrated companies have shifted work to Mexico, not for the lower labor costs, but just because they have workers available there.

We need to change the paradigm of what defines a successful business. In days past, the number of employees you had defined how successful you were. More employees meant more success. We now need to change the gauge of success to how few employees you have. “I am able to convert X MSF of corrugated material with only X employees.” We need to do more with less. The answer, of course, is automation.

Because of the resources and the amount of machinery that integrated producers purchase, they are able to better dictate to the machine manufacturers what they need to automate their segment of the business. As independent manufacturers, we also need automated solutions that are focused more on our quick-turn, niche projects that the integrated manufacturers don’t want to touch.

But how can we get these automated solutions developed by our smaller independent plants in isolation? I argue that we can’t unless we all work together to bring the automated solutions to the independent production floor. Only through our strength in numbers can we define what machinery is needed and what we would pay for such an automated solution, and partner with one of AICC’s greatest assets (our Associate members) to develop those solutions for our membership.

This is not an easy task, but it is a necessary task for the survival of the independent. If, as an Association, we don’t address the workforce issue with a variety of solutions for our members, survival will be a difficult task except for our strongest independent members. But I need your help to do this.

We need to define what automation is needed on our plant floors and work together to define the specs of the machinery, what you would pay for this machinery, and how many machines you would buy. If our Associate members can bring that information to their management, I know that they can get the support to move forward.

If you have any ideas about what part of your production floor needs to be focused on for automated solutions, please email your ideas to helpwanted@aiccbox.org. We are also open to any other ideas you might have to help with our worker shortage. Only with our strength in numbers will we be able to overcome this challenge.