Kickstart: Automation, labor shortages, supply chain complicate a 2022 forecast

Forecasting what the year will bring is always difficult, especially during a pandemic. (Just ask anyone who made plans for a big event in late January only to see it spoiled by the arrival of the omicron variant.)

But the National Association of Manufacturers and its Manufacturing Leadership Council are making an attempt to define critical issues facing U.S. manufacturers, asking: "What's Ahead in 2022?"

NAM, which recently named Dow Inc. CEO and Chairman Jim Fitterling as its board chairman, said manufacturing has shown resiliency, with production 2 percent higher at the end of 2021 than it was in February 2020, according to Chief Economist Chad Moutray. Moutray expects the economy to grow 4 percent in 2022.

However, some big hurdles remain, including a labor force that is not likely to return to pre-pandemic numbers. That's due to people aging out of the workforce and people with young children who are worrying about a lack of child care and schooling, Moutray said.

We should expect more use of automation and Industry 4.0 investments to help companies cope with workforce shortages. At the same time, supply chain kinks are likely to continue, so expect officials in Washington to propose legislation to help solve those issues.

Automation also is playing a part for medical industry suppliers who are facing increased demands for diagnostic tests, meaning that they need to be able to produce more swabs and other components.

Lanco Integrated, which makes equipment used by the makers of home antigen tests and other diagnostic tools, conservatively estimates its seven medical diagnostics manufacturer customers are assembling about 700 million COVID-19 diagnostics tests annually, Kevin Herbig, account manager at Lanco Integrated, told Plastics News reporter Sarah Kominek.

And they want new machines "as soon as they can get it."

The story is part of this week's Plastics in Health Care special report in PN, most written by Sarah. You can find links to all of the stories here.

When I'm in the office, I'm pretty happy if I can manage to keep everything neat and tidy in my cubicle, and maybe put a photo or two on the walls.

So let's take a moment to celebrate those who manage to completely transform what would otherwise be a functional, if drab, setting. Consider this story from Simple Modern, a company that creates and sells water bottles — both stainless steel and plastic — lunch bags, tumblers and other housewares.

CEO Mike Beckham posted a thread on Twitter that went viral, featuring a new employee who asked for permission to personalize his cubicle. His efforts, as you can see above, go well beyond anything they expected.

The employee, Lucas Mundt, recreated a mountain cabin in his cubicle, complete with a "wooden" floor and paneled walls, a stuffed deer head on the wall (not a real deer head that has been stuffed, but a stuffed animal), a "fireplace" and a "window" depicting a serene mountain lake.

You can read the thread here, including a brief video tour from Mundt. Beckham also said that Simple Modern "will be instituting a workspace personalization and decoration budget for each employee."

If you or any of your co-workers have some awesome cubicle environments you're willing to share, drop me a photo via email at [email protected] or on Twitter, @PNRhodaMiel.