The difference Americans and those who seek to represent us.

As an American and as a manufacturer that has to earn a buck in this climate of spiraling Health costs and probably escalating taxes, I worry about where Washington is taking us. I can't take credit for this little story, but I will pass it along to you since it clearly points to why we need sweeping changes in the cast of characters that we send to our Capital in the name of "representing we the people"

.

A small town had a local barber shop, and one day the florist from down the street and walked in to get a hair cut. He sat in the chair and the barber proceeded to give him his usual hair cut.After the cut, he asked about his bill, and the barber replied, 'I cannot accept money from you, I'm doing community service this week.The florist was pleased and left the shop.
When the barber went to open his shop the next morning, there was a 'thank you' card and a dozen roses waiting for him at his door. 

Later, a cop came in for a haircut, and when he tried to pay his bill, the barber again replied, 'I cannot accept money from you, I'm doing 
community service this week. 
The cop too was happy and left the shop.          
 
The next morning when the barber went to open up, there was a 'thank you' card and a dozen donuts waiting for him at his door. 

Then a Congressman came in for a haircut, and when he went to pay his bill, the barber again replied, 'I cannot accept money from you.  I'm 
doing community service this week.'  The Congressman was very happy and left the shop. 

The next morning, when the barber went to open up, there were a dozen Congressmen lined up waiting for a free haircut. 

And that, my friends, illustrates the fundamental difference between the citizens of our country and the politicians who run it.

         Just a short commentary on who we sent to Washington from:

                           The "Wiz"

What's this Blog all about

The idea is one that I’ve had for a very long time and tried to get working when I was the CHAIRMAN of the Machine Tool Builders trade association.

I want the Blog to be a place where potential Customers can come and ask questions and get some direction. The real objective is to direct them to the Lake County Technologies web site “where the advice is always free”. On the Lake County web site (under construction) our effort will be to develop the concept for design, tooling, automation or production with the customer and then recommend potential suppliers if the customer requires help in that department. With this effort, I am counting on my reputation being good enough that people will respect that I shoot straight, and that the referral will be genuinely directed to where the customer can get the “Right” help.

So where does all this go?

I’m not completely sure but so far I have been able to match my customers with some of my suppliers.  I set up my parts maker with a customer that needs production parts. One of my customers now makes parts for another customer as a result of working with Lake County Technologies (LCT-Inc.). The objective is to create within LCT-Inc. “Your Network to Manufacturing Excellence”.

This whole idea is one that many of you have heard me talk about over beers; Every one in this industry thinks that they are the only ones that can build that Rocket-ship to the moon. We all know that's not exactly true and that if we all worked together it would be more productive and profitable for everyone; but no one is willing to take the first step…....until now.

I’m taking the first step, and I want to promote the blog and the web site as THE PLACE TO GO FOR MANUFACTURING QUESTIONS: automation, machining, sourcing, etc. We have a custom molder, a fastener source, a stamping source, an Asian Tooling manufacturer, and the current network can get you wheels, casters, special fasteners, and investment cast parts at prices that beat the competition by 50% if volumes are over 500 parts/yr.

That’s my entire story and that’s what Lake County Technologies is all about. It used to be Lake County Equipment, but we have found in the last 6 months that we do a lot beyond EQUIPMENT. We’ve done turn-arounds, and project management, installed MRP and even helped emerging companies get their accounting systems set up. We hope to shortly have an accounting (CPA) firm as a blog contributor. We are really trying to be the one stop where YOU (Mr. emerging/struggling/new MANUFACTURER) can get not just answers, and not just consulting, but YOU can get RESULTS.

So, you get on the blog, and respond or author anything that you want as long as it’s not too commercial. I would recommend that you respond to the Lake County Technologies “The Network that Works”.

Thanks for your interest; I really think that this idea can work and that we can make the USA stronger and bring back manufacturing to our shores. We can’t do it alone: we can only do it as a team or network and by working together.

Innovation and Value creation

I recently attended a meeting of the the American machine tool trade association. The organization is called the Association for Manufacturing Technology or AMT. The industry is down this year, largely as a result of the economy. The Association and all its members are looking for ways to generate revenue. I was fascinated with a presentation that made the point that manufacturing is the only way to generate revenue producing products that are transportable through time and space. A "widget" made here has a value and it can be shipped anywhere, anytime and it will always have a value.

The presentation went on to demonstrate that if the resources available to make "widgets" are fixed, the only way generate more revenue is through higher productivity, or Innovation. The machine tool industry is all about productivity enhancement; higher speeds, faster feeds, easier programming, and unattended operation, all to improve productivity. But, the low cost solution for revenue growth just might be Innovation. Clever ideas and creative vision can both increase productivity and launch new "widgets" with more function and more features that more people are willing to buy.

The incubator for American ingenuity has long been small business and it's no different for manufacturing. The American entrepreneur has been coming up with better ways to build products faster, better, and cheaper since before the industrial revolution. It wasn't really easier in the old days, but the global economy has changed the landscape of the competitive market place. With foreign countries subsidizing labor and materials as well as assisting in the penetration of key markets, the small and emerging manufacturing companies in the USA need to change the way that they have traditionally worked.

To be an entrepreneur has long meant that you were your own boss, the captain of your ship, and that command was often a lonely thing. Today's demand for competitive prices has driven overhead down so that internal resources are often not available. The company with the clever concept, may not have the engineering staff to design it, the manufacturing know-how to build it, or know where to find the help to bring the idea to market and create the value and sustainable growth that the innovation should bring. Today's business leader needs to find ways to network in order to find manufacturing solutions that make dollars and sense.

Being the "Captain of your own ship" can no longer mean steering the boat with no help. Finding the right part, or partner to help create the solution is more important than ever, because getting to market with the right idea at the right price is a matter of timing. As some wise old guy once said "The Opportunity of a Lifetime must be seized within the Lifetime of the Opportunity".

Without knowing where to find the pedal, the "right" material for the rod, or how to   mold the seat, America would still be standing and waiting.

Innovation @ Work