Posted May 5, 2015
By Devin Steele
CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Annual Meeting of the South Carolina Manufacturers Alliance (SCMA) packed a big punch in a half-day meeting at The Mills House here recently.
Speakers covered topics ranging from the importance of manufacturing to attracting talent to union organizing to the economy and much more. Among those speakers was John Ferriola, president of steel producer Nucor, Charlotte, N.C. Like his predecessor at Nucor, the outspoken Dan DiMicco, Ferriola demonstrated his ability to candidly champion the importance of a strong U.S. manufacturing base.
SCMA Annual Meeting
Manufacturing issues take center stage
Ferriola opened his remarks by mentioning that Nucor has grown exponentially since its humble beginnings in the 1960s in Florence, S.C., where Sanborn Chase founded steel joist manufacturer Vulcraft Corporation and was later sold to Nuclear Corporation (now Nucor). Today, the company is the second largest steel producer in the U.S., and the largest of the “mini-mill” steelmakers. It is also North America’s largest recycler of any kind.
“As a company, and frankly me personally, Nucor used to think that all we had to do was make great steel at a low cost and the rest would take care of itself,” he said. “And when it came to competing in the marketplace, this was true. But as we grew, we kept encountering forces outside the steel market that had a significant impact on our business. And we came to realize that public policy plays an important role in shaping how we do business, both for the good and for the bad.”
As such, Nucor took up the cause for domestic manufacturing more than 15 years ago and has been a strong, vociferous advocate ever since, as explained on its website. And fortunately, he said, groups such as the SCMA exist that recognize that all manufacturers have a shared interest – to work together to urge elected officials and community leaders to promote an environment that is supportive of manufacturing.
“The reason this is so important is that manufacturing has always been the backbone of the American economy,” Ferriola said. “Manufacturing generates the most economic activity than any sector of the economy. We pay higher wages than other sectors. We generate more tax revenues than other sectors. And we make more investments in local infrastructures than anyone else. Without manufacturing, we lose the ability to create and sustain real and lasting wealth for American workers.”
Ferriola pointed out that, from the late 1990s until the recession of 2008-09, more than 135 manufacturing jobs (nearly 40 percent) in South Carolina were lost and more than 6 million manufacturing jobs disappeared nationally. The sector began to recover some beginning in 2010, but the state still has a 100,000 manufacturing job deficit and the nation is still behind by 5.3 million jobs from about 15 or so years ago.
“That is a tragedy,” he said.
He then delved into the meat of his presentation by pointing out five key factors he sees shaping manufacturing in the future. They are:
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Closing the skills gap
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Free and fair trade
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Government regulation
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Infrastructure
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Energy revolution
He went on to explain each area in detail before concluding: “These are the areas I believe we need to focus our efforts to achieve the success we expect and we need to have in the 21st century. We must work together to make sure that manufacturing continues to drive our economic engine.”
Tackling the skills gap
SCMA members also heard from Nick D’Antonio, program manager for The Manufacturing Institute, who covered, “Strengthening the Human Capital Pipeline: The Path to World-Class Manufacturing Talent.” He discussed the struggle to find qualified manufacturing employees and later laid out ways the issue is being addressed.
Derick Close (L) of Springs Creative Products Group, with Giff Daughtridge
Roger Schrum (L) of Sonoco Products, with Giff Daughtridge
Barnet Polymers, LLC
Derick Close (L) of Springs Creative Products Group, with Giff Daughtridge
Textile companies earning SCMA's Excellence in Corporate Responsibility Award:
The skills gap costs the U.S. 11 percent in lost earnings, or $4.6 million annually, he said. And the chasm is only widening, he said, adding that 3.4 million manufacturing jobs will need to be filled over the next decade as 2.7 million Baby Boomers retire.
Finding qualified talent is an uphill battle, he added, pointing to the image problem of manufacturing.
“Every day, we combat the misperceptions,” he said. “And the young folks don’t have a misperception – they don’t even have a perception (of manufacturing). We know today’s manufacturing is not your grandfather’s manufacturing, and we need to tell people this. As a whole, we want it in our community – we just don’t want our kids doing it.”
Manufacturers need to think beyond immediate needs, D’Antonio said.
“Your workforce is getting older and the short-term fixes are doing more harm than good,” he said. “The time for solution is now. I tell people to think beyond what you need immediately. You need to be the solution.”
D’Antonio went on to explain how The Manufacturing Institute and others are working to help solve the problem, with a focus on three pillars: image, quality and policy. Image pertains to creating a positive perception of manufacturing careers, and initiatives such as the institute’s “dream it. DO IT.™” program and its Manufacturing Day aim to achieve this.
Quality entails redefining manufacturing education, not only to develop baseline skills such as reading, writing and math but to certify students in such areas as safety, quality practices, manufacturing processes and production. He provided examples of such certification programs.
And policy constitutes engaging dialogue and action through such means as research reports, the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) and the institute’s Advanced Manufacturing Partnership (AMP) 2.0 program.
Other speakers
SCMA members also heard from:
• Terry Dunn, president of Positive Management Leadership, Inc., who covered strategies of union organizers;
• Bill Strauss, senior economist with the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago; and
• Cheryl Stanton, director of the S.C. Department of Workforce and Education (DEW).
During its business session, Lewis Gossett, SCMA president & CEO, gave a legislative update; and Sara Hazzard, SCMA’s vice president of government relations, provided an update on a workforce initiative.
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