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Ten years ago on June 6, 1997, the U.S. Department of Commerce awarded a federal grant to create a Manufacturing Extension Partnership center in the state of Washington. Named Washington Manufacturing Services (WMS), its mission was to assist the 7000+ manufacturers in the state remain competitive and profitable, and keep manufacturing jobs in Washington.
Today, WMS has a team of 16 professionals working out of field offices across the state, and provides manufacturers with assistance, education and resources to make them more productive and competitive in today’s global economy. In the last decade, WMS has assisted over 1000 Washington manufacturers. These companies reported that the investment in WMS’s services returned nearly $120 million in sales, 36 million in cost savings and tremendous productivity gains.
Much has changed in the manufacturing industry during the ten years since WMS’s inception. September 11th dramatically impacted aerospace, turning a booming industry into a struggling one, but one which is now having a resurgence. Other things have changed as well:
Then (1997) and Now (2007)
Then: Manufacturers were reaping the benefits of an industrial resurgence. Many, however, were simply unprepared or unwilling to embrace the rapid influx of international sourcing and the globalization of the manufacturing sector.
Now: Domestic manufacturers now go head-to-head with low-cost international concerns, many who operate in state-of-the-art facilities funded by their governments. Sophisticated international competition has minimized vendor selection based on product or service quality alone. Instead, customers now require their vendors to dramatically increase the value proposition wrapped around their core product or service.
Then: The concept of Lean Manufacturing was beginning to be recognized by U.S. manufacturers as a tool necessary to compete.
Now: Companies across all industries are embracing Lean Manufacturing, perhaps the most effective set of process improvement techniques that has been introduced to U.S. manufacturers. WMS has assisted companies in implementing Lean in a wide spectrum of industries including: electronics, food processing, wood products and lumber, aerospace, and job shops. WMS is now working with both manufacturers and the service industry to implement Lean techniques in administration and office environments.
Then: Manufacturers faced a shortage of skilled workers.
Now: Manufacturers continue to face a skills shortage. To help address this issue, WMS is promoting Dream It. Do It., a national campaign launched by the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) which is designed to promote manufacturing as an exciting career path for young people.
To help us kick off our ten-year anniversary, WMS is launching a new web site. Our completely redesigned web site was designed to provide Washington’s manufacturers with the manufacturing resources they need and the information they require in an easy-to-use format. Visit our new site at the same address, www.wamfg.org.
