UPFRONT A Letter from Advanced Manufacturing Media’s Editor in Chief


NOW PLAYING: MANUFACTURING’S NEXT ACT


T


he global manufacturing in- dustry is always changing, and today, that very simple truth


has given the United States an un- precedented opportunity to reclaim global leadership in manufacturing for the remainder of the 21st century. The United States has been second


in world manufacturing output since 2010, when China officially ended America’s long reign as the world leader in making things, which began at the turn of the 20th century. While the decline in US manufac- turing has led to the closure of more than 65,000 factories, and wide- spread economic devastation across this country, it’s time to dry your tears and roll up your sleeves. Because the rules of the global manufacturing game are changing before your eyes. With every passing day, the race


to the bottom of the pay scale in manufacturing is coming to an end— thanks to a host of smart new manu- facturing technologies and how they are being integrated together like never before. The Fourth Industrial Revolution is underway. Essentially, the digital revolution


that has transformed so many in- dustries—from music and books to shopping, travel and banking—has just begun to make inroads in manufac- turing with plug-and-play new ma- chine tools and technologies that are already beginning to reinvigorate the US manufacturing sector and the eco- system of knowledge it takes to make all the complicated products that we enjoy, and that protect us. It’s not just us at SME who think so either. In launching this new mag-


4


azine, we surveyed more than 800 manufacturing professionals repre- senting a wide range of company sizes, industries and job titles about their attitudes, current practices and plans for this new digital revolution in manufacturing. We asked them when they believed manufacturing would see significant


about what this change might mean for themselves and their company. Regardless of where you find your- self on this spectrum, I strongly encour- age you not to bury your head in the sand. You don’t want to be that travel agent from, say, 1996 who didn’t think the Internet would impact their busi- ness, or that newspaper executive who


OF THOSE SURVEYED, 87% BELIEVE SMART MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGIES WILL RESULT IN SIGNIFICANT CHANGES WITHIN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS.


changes because of this merger of the physical and cyber worlds, and 43% said within the next 12 months or: “It’s happening now.”


Another 44% said these changes


would happen in the next 1–5 years. Only 13% said the change would take six years or more. The fact that we are launching Smart Manufacturing speaks to our belief at SME that this change is, in fact, happening now. If you don’t know much about what this smart manufacturing era means for you and your business, don’t worry. You are not alone. Our research shows that a little over one-third of companies are behind in this area, and 42% are just keeping up with all the changes. Only 22% of those surveyed believe their companies are leading in this area.


Don’t be surprised if you feel a little unsettled about what’s coming either. While most of those surveyed said they were excited and eager to learn more, a little less than half re- ported feeling concerned and anxious


believed reading stories on a computer was a fad or even the head of a big de- partment store who thought customers would never buy clothing online. This isn’t all about optimizing


production within your existing shop or factory either. The day is com- ing when manufacturers might buy their million-dollar machine tools online—maybe they’ll just simulate a production run rather than do a real one—where shops might share ma- chining capacity over an asset-shar- ing service online (not unlike Uber or Airbnb), or when you can control a factory from a smartphone. What’s more, big OEMs like Boe- ing or GM might someday want, or demand, to see all of their suppliers’ live production data coming off their machines so they can have complete digital transparency through their supply chain. The kind of change that’s coming


to manufacturing has the potential to be just as disruptive and mean- ingful as it was to all of those other complex sectors.


Spring 2016


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70