Bob Simpson, a former executive at Milacron Inc. and Siegel-Robert Automotive Inc., shared his thoughts about U.S. manufacturing with IndustryWeek in a Q&A interview posted on the magazine's Web site today. Simpson was interviewed prior to the November election. Here's what he had to say about what he's hoping for from Washington:
If you take a look at U.S. manufacturing, it's a world of vanishing boundaries. While we talk about the [weakening of the] U.S. dollar, in some ways it's helped us export more of our equipment. It allows us to introduce more technology out there. When we talk with people from China, Japan, India, Russia and various European countries here [at IMTS], they all want the technology that we have in the United States. Every one of them. So we're hoping that with whatever new administration that we have that we can help the U.S. manufacturing base become a global leader with the type of equipment and technology that we have here.He also had these comments on the future of U.S. manufacturing:
My kids are 24, 22 and 20, and whatever I can do to help make their future brighter, that's what I want to do. It's encouraging to see the projects that people are working on, and why they're working on it, whether it be in the aerospace industry or medical equipment or automotive. People are asking us things like: "How do I make myself or my business more profitable? How do I gain access to India or China or somewhere else overseas? How do I improve this manufactured part?" We hope the technology and the know-how and the testimonials of other companies will encourage people to consider their options, and U.S. manufacturing again catches fire.Simpson is president of the Association for Manufacturing Technology, a trade group that sponsors IMTS, the International Manufacturing Technology Show.
