{"168971":{"#nid":"168971","#data":{"type":"external_news","title":"Manufacturing key for rebound of Georgia Economy","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBy Michael E. Kanell\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs workers came back from their late-morning break, a symphony of production began to play.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBeneath a large American flag, the Alpharetta factory rang with the sounds of press brakes, turret punches, laser cutters and welders. The thump of metal sheets being pounded, the sizzle of others being sliced and the rhythmic scrunch of metal folded cleanly at the edges \u2014 as if it\u2019s paper \u2014 harmonized with the hoots of forklifts backing, braking and prowling the floor.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt is the music of manufacturing. And it doesn\u2019t come cheap.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe turret punch and robotic press together run about $1 million, said Bruce Hagenau, president of Metcam, the \u003Ca title=\u0022Click to Continue \u0026gt; by Text-Enhance\u0022 href=\u0022http:\/\/www.ajc.com\/news\/business\/manufacturing-key-for-rebound-of-georgia-economy\/nSw5M\/\u0022\u003Emetal fabricator\u003C\/a\u003E with 180 workers. \u201cTo be competitive, you have to invest a lot of money in equipment.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThat\u2019s because some competitors \u2013 like those in Asia \u2013 can count on cheap labor. Others \u2013 like those in Europe \u2013 are highly automated.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor Georgia, it matters that companies like Metcam can figure out a way to stay even. As the state\u2019s post-recession economy struggles for traction, manufacturing has offered a welcome \u2013 if modest \u2013 boost.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EManufacturing accounts for barely 8 percent of the state\u2019s jobs. In the past two years, it has added more than 10,000 jobs.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMoreover, many experts say manufacturing plays extra loud: The jobs tend to pay better than average. Manufacturing companies must buy lots of materials \u2013 much of it purchased locally. Production also increasingly depends on good technology, so manufacturing spurs innovation.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAnd when it comes to improving the trade balance, shifting the flow of dollars from out to in, manufacturing is the story, said Gretchen Corbin, the state\u2019s deputy commissioner for global commerce.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cManufacturing represents 92 percent of the state\u2019s exports,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd I think we have small and large companies expanding in manufacturing.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThat recent expansion comes against a backdrop of massive change.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAfter World War II, more than 30 percent of the nation\u2019s jobs were in manufacturing. In the following generation, millions of jobs were lost to both low-wage regions of the globe and automation.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe result has been fewer opportunities for high school \u003Ca title=\u0022Click to Continue \u0026gt; by Text-Enhance\u0022 href=\u0022http:\/\/www.ajc.com\/news\/business\/manufacturing-key-for-rebound-of-georgia-economy\/nSw5M\/\u0022\u003Egraduates\u003C\/a\u003E, but also more productivity. U.S. manufacturing produces goods of greater value with fewer workers.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPositions are now more likely to require technical knowledge. And companies are more likely to value innovation, efficiency and a smaller workforce than the past generation\u2019s repetitive mass production with mobs of workers.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBright Light Systems makes specialized lights for airports, rail yards, caves and 60-foot high poles. The company has only four employees, \u003Ca title=\u0022Click to Continue \u0026gt; by Text-Enhance\u0022 href=\u0022http:\/\/www.ajc.com\/news\/business\/manufacturing-key-for-rebound-of-georgia-economy\/nSw5M\/\u0022\u003Ehiring\u003C\/a\u003E manufacturers in Georgia and California for production, said Brad Lurie, CEO of the Cumming-based company. As the business grows, the company plans to expand its in-state manufacturing.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe lights are designed to be very bright, but far more efficient than older lights. To continue innovating, Bright Light wants to be near researchers and other technology companies, he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOur uniqueness is in our design \u2013 it\u2019s our intellectual property,\u201d Lurie said. \u201cTechnology is a key factor in why I want to put a business here.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile Georgia manufacturing benefits from relatively low costs, that is not enough to keep most high-value manufacturing competitive. Many of those companies are fueled with research from nearby universities and powered with well-educated employees.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor instance, the Center of Innovation for Manufacturing \u2013 one of six such centers under the Georgia Department of Economic Development \u2013 has worked with 1,879 companies in the past three years, aiming to help growing companies find expert guidance. Underscoring the importance of a research institution, the center itself is located on the Georgia Tech campus.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI think the meat of what we do is bringing manufacturers together with people who can solve their problems,\u201d said John Zegers, center director.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe center, which has an annual budget of just $233,000, can also offer modest, matching grants to promising companies that need a little capital.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor example, Cumming-based New Frequency, which employs 15 workers, makes wireless sensors. The company\u2019s premier product is attached to animal traps, allowing them to be monitored from afar, instead of requiring a daily visit to the site.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe company wants to add software that would improve how the sensor communicates what\u2019s happening with the trap \u2013 technology that would be useful for other markets, too. The center has provided $30,000, slightly less than half the project\u2019s cost.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe developed the software to a certain level, but Georgia Tech had the expertise to take it further,\u201d said CEO Todd Moran. \u201cIf we were developing it ourselves, it would be a half-million-dollar project.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENew Frequency also had an offer from the state of Virginia, a grant that could have been as much as $2 million \u2013 and no need to match it. Yet the company went with Georgia\u2019s, Moran said: \u201cIt was much less money here, but we wanted the relationships with Georgia Tech that this would give us and that the other offer wouldn\u2019t give us.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cGeorgia Tech has some expertise that we simply didn\u2019t have. They know where things are going, they have a vision, they have experience with other projects. It is like having an IT staff that you didn\u2019t have to pay for.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe company expects to add 40 jobs over the next five years.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAnother source of help is the state\u2019s Manufacturing Extension Partnership, part of a 60-group network under the National Institute of Standards and Technology, that works with roughly 1,000 companies a year, said director Chris Downing.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt is a combination of what could be considered education and coaching,\u201d he said. \u201cThe focus is on small, medium-sized manufacturers that are not, in general, being served by the larger consulting firms.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThat kind of networking has a long history of both success and failure, said Lesa Mitchell, vice president for innovation and networks at the Kauffman Foundation, which studies and promotes small business.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis country has tried these things for over a century \u2013 giving access to expert networks,\u201d Mitchell said. \u201cThat always works, if you have the right people.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe number of jobs added by these small companies pales compared to the kind of splash made by recent high-profile announcements like those of Caterpillar or Baxter to build large plants in Georgia.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EYet the nurturing of small business could be the better bet long-term. Some research studies point toward home-grown, \u201corganic\u201d growth as a better source of long-term economic health than recruiting a handful of large companies from elsewhere.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut for small companies to have a big impact on the economy, there have to be a lot of them. And the obstacles for manufacturing are higher than for many other businesses, said Mitchell.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cManufacturing tends to be very capital-intensive, so if you are an entrepreneur, even getting through the early stages is very difficult,\u201d she said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAnd for manufacturing companies, the fight to survive and the need to spend never end.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMetcam, for example, is in its 23rd year and hopes to hit $30 million in revenue by the end of next year. Standing in front of Metcam\u2019s two laser cutters one morning last week, CEO Hagenau warned a visitor to beware of the sparks cascading onto the floor. He mused out loud about the newer \u201cfiber lasers\u201d that work faster while using less energy than the two, 10-year-old machines in front of him.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOne of those could replace both of these,\u201d he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EManufacturing Jobs in Georgia\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFactory employment in the state has rebounded slightly since hitting bottom two years ago.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EYear \u2013 Number of Jobs\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E2005 \u2013 451,600\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E2006 \u2013 445,100\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E2007 \u2013 427,900\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E2008 \u2013 404,600\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E2009 \u2013 349,200\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E2010 \u2013 347,100\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E2011 \u2013 350,900\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E2012 \u2013 357,500\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENote: Figures are for September of each year.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESource: Bureau of Labor Statistics\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27243","created_gmt":"2012-11-06 22:25:41","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 02:26:06","author":"Tina Guldberg","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","publication":"big tech","field_article_url":"","publication_url":"http:\/\/www.ajc.com\/news\/business\/manufacturing-key-for-rebound-of-georgia-economy\/nSw5M\/","dateline":{"date":"2012-11-03T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2012-11-03T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"155831","name":"Georgia Tech Manufacturing Institute (GTMI)"}],"categories":[{"id":"42941","name":"Art Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"215","name":"manufacturing"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}