Viewpoint: Technology drives the future for Lansing manufacturers
As manufacturing leaders, we cannot remember a time when the American people were this enthusiastic about manufacturing. The increased public attention is welcome news. But some headlines, imply that the best days are behind manufacturing in the United States.
So let’s be direct: They are wrong. We are competing, growing, innovating and winning. And if our policymakers can deliver on some of our priorities, we are on the verge of a manufacturing jobs surge.
Manufacturing is changing, causing some big growing pains. To adapt to a changing world, many places that were once dependent on a single industry are diversifying, as the sheer variety of U.S.-manufactured products skyrockets.
Lansing is a prime example. Outsiders looking at Michigan think of automotive companies and their suppliers, which, indeed, comprise a re-energized source of job creation. But Lansing isn’t just an offshoot of the Motor City. In addition to auto sector innovations, its companies are pioneering applications for the futuristic material graphene, producing advanced aluminum components for the aerospace industry and making circuit boards for the burgeoning Industrial Internet of Things, while expanding employment opportunities along the way.
These and other technological developments are helping to “recession-proof” the state and “future-proof” careers, whether that’s in the aluminum or plastic sectors we represent, or other advanced manufacturing platforms. Manufacturers, business incubators and workers have driven Lansing into tomorrow. Now policymakers need to help us take the next step forward.
In this regard, it is good to know that manufacturers have allies. Years ago, when we began our advocacy efforts in Washington, it could be difficult to get some leaders to talk about manufacturing. Perhaps nothing changed more in last year’s election than this.
Today, manufacturing receives top billing, all the way to President Donald Trump. We’re looking at business-friendly leadership, promising great things on taxes, regulations, infrastructure and other issues essential to the millions of men and women who make things in America.
For example, there is broad agreement that the tax code is a barrier to growth. The corporate tax rate is too high and the rules too outdated and complicated, driving investment and earnings away from our shores. Fixes like those being worked out between Congress and the president can reverse the flow.
The regulatory environment is also stifling the economy. President Trump has responded with a “two for one” executive order, whereby two regulations must be eliminated for every new one introduced. A similar approach has been successful in controlling bureaucratic overgrowth in the United Kingdom since 2005. There is reason to hope for similar outcomes here.
“Two for one” is just a start, however. We need additional smart reforms. America must slice through the regulatory morass with surgical precision, cutting away unnecessary bureaucracy while saving vital protections for workers, consumers and the environment. Cost-benefit analysis, commercial viability assessments and reliance on science should determine which regulations should stay and which, most urgently, need to go.
As important as policymakers will be, grassroots support for manufacturing is even more essential. To achieve our goals, we will need to engage public officials, especially when ideological disagreements threaten to derail positive change.
Those who went to the polls with manufacturing on their mind must remain active so that our elected leaders stay focused. Manufacturing isn’t just about technological advancements or GDP numbers —it’s about the American Dream and the people dreaming it. For them, manufacturers must succeed.
Heidi Brock is President and CEO of the Aluminum Association. Bill Carteaux is president and CEO of the Plastics Industry Association. Carteaux is chair and Brock is immediate past chair of the National Association of Manufacturers’ (NAM) Council of Manufacturing Associations. The NAM was in Michigan this month on its nationwide 2017 State of Manufacturing Tour.