Kickstart: Finding the right touch in a tricky economy

Think of the U.S. economy like a car — a car with very sensitive brakes, says Plastics News Economics Editor Bill Wood. "The brakes on this model of this car are very touchy, and you don't know how much to apply."

Now change the image of the car with touchy brakes for the economy and the Federal Reserve as the driver. Rather than putting a foot on the brake pedal, the Fed has been increasing interest rates to try and slow the rate of inflation without spinning out into a recession, Bill said during the Numbers That Matter Live webinar Jan. 31.

"But to do what they need to do requires a certain amount of pain," he said. "People lose jobs when the Fed applies the brakes. The trade-off is that if they didn't apply the brakes, more people would be hurting more, but later."

Expect another rate hike when the Fed meets today, Bill said. Decreased demand as a result of rate hikes in 2022 are being felt now as companies reduce their workforce and slow growth plans.

"This rapidly decelerating growth in the economy is going to be unsettling," he warned.

PN subscribers can see an archived version of the webinar here.

Connecticut mold maker Westminster Tool Inc. introduced its new metal 3D capabilities with an event at its Plainfield shop attended by state, local and economic development leaders.

Westminster says the Mantle beta machine is among the first of its kind. It received a grant from the Additive Manufacturing Adoption Program (AMAP), supported by Gov. Ned Lamont, with participation from the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development, the Connecticut Manufacturing Innovation Fund and the Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology. Westminster was one of six recipients to receive an AMAP grant.

The live demonstration on Jan. 19 showed "Mantle's unique hybrid additive process building a hardened H13 injection mold cavity with conformal cooling for a complex automotive part," Westminster said in a news release.

Congressman Joe Courtney, D-Conn., and Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz attended the event, Westminster's first public event since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Let's face it, the sport of luge probably doesn't get much attention in the U.S. outside of the Winter Olympic games every four years. But competition continues beyond the Olympic spotlight, and that means a need for regular investments in technology and materials.

For USA Luge, that means relying on corporate sponsors such as Dow Inc., which renewed its status as the "official technical partner" of the U.S. luge team through 2026.

The Midland, Mich.-based materials company has worked with USA Luge since 2007.

"The Dow partnership has brought a new level of analysis and understanding of how science and technology improve the environment that we operate in," Gordy Sheer, director of marketing and sponsorship of USA Luge and Olympic silver medalist, said in a news release. "Their direct, hands-on collaboration with our team has elevated our sliders' ability to perform stronger in races from the outset, and we are looking forward to continuing our teamwork with them."