Manufacturing Sector Fell Into Contraction In November.

The Institute for Supply Management reported 12/1 that its index of manufacturing sector activity dropped to 48.6 in November — the gauge’s first slide into negative territory in three years.

October’s reading had barely remained positive, at 50.1. Reuters (12/1) reported that economists had expected the index to come in at 50.5. In a statement ISM economist Bradley Holcomb said, “Ten out of 18 manufacturing industries reported contraction in November, with lower new orders, production and raw materials inventories accounting for the overall softness in November.”

Bloomberg News (12/1, Stilwell) reports that the contraction of the manufacturing sector was “at the fastest pace since the last recession as elevated inventories led to cutbacks in orders and production.” 12/1’s ISM report “showed factories believed their customers continued to have too many goods on hand, indicating it will take time for orders and production to stabilize.” According to the AP (12/1, Boak), the index result reflected strengthening of the dollar “and low oil prices cutting new orders and hurting production.”

In a separate measurement of manufacturing activity, analytics provider Markit Economics reported that its monthly gauge of the sector rose 0.2% to 52.8. Markit chief economist Chris Williamson was cited by Business Insider (12/1, Oyedele) as saying that manufacturing growth “remains encouragingly resilient, which is all the more impressive once headwinds such as the strength of the dollar and malaise in overseas markets are taken into account.”

Associates Corner: Crowley Fabricating and Machining Co., Inc

Crowley Fabricating was established in 1985 and has recently received AS9100 and ISO 9001 certifications and are ITAR registered. They have the ability to receive and send encrypted documentation. 

Their customer base consists of 60% Commercial, 35% Prime Contractors and 5% Department of Defense customers, and the company is proud of their very diverse customer base which has allowed them to continue to grow. Use of an MRP System allows Crowley to manage and standardize administrative activities and track all information on a real time basis

Crowley Fabricating has two manufacturing locations and one warehouse. Machining and offices are located at 403 N. Nanticoke Avenue in Endicott, New York. This location houses Sales and Manufacturing Engineers, Customer Service, Shipping/Receiving, CNC Programmers, and Administration Departments as well as twenty CNC Mills, seven CNC Turning Centers, Waterjet, Coordinate Measuring Machines (CMM), Cut-off Department and a Mechanical Assembly area.

Sheet metal fabricating is located at 2 N. Nanticoke Avenue in Endicott, New York which is two blocks away from the main office. Last year over one million dollars was invested in new state of the fabricating equipment such as a new Amada FOM2 NT 4000 Watt Laser Cutting System with Shuttle Table, a new Amada HD 1303 NT CNC 143 Ton x 122” Long Bed Press Brake, a new Amada ID 404ST Spotwelder, and a new Series 4 Pemserter for hardware insertion. Amada’s latest software, which is used by CNC Programmers to program the CNC sheet metal equipment, was also purchased. This software enables quick turn work. New equipment was added to help support their other sheet metal equipment such as Turret Press, Press Brakes, Timesaver, MIG and TIG Welding Equipment along with Assembly. Certification has been obtained to several welding specifications.

Crowley Fabricating is a certified Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business that has received numerous awards and recognitions for performance throughout the years.

Please contact Tom or Mike Crowley at 607-484-0299 or visit www.crowleyfab.com for more information.

Associates Corner: Endicott Research Group, Inc.

Endicott Research Group, Inc. (ERG) provides power solutions for backlight displays, general lighting applications, and LED retrofit opportunities. Products from ERG provide the power behind many of the illuminated products you see every day: the display at the gas pump may have an ERG inverter powering the light that illuminates it; ERG’s LED driver may be powering the sign of a local business; or your under-cabinet kitchen lighting may be powered by a dimmable ERG Lighting LED driver.

ERG began developing DC-DC converters in 1979 to power neon displays. That  all  changed  when General Motors was in need of a high-quality EL lamp to power the coach lamp in its “top-of-the-line” showroom cars. An exclusive relationship between GM and ERG became the cornerstone for growth into other substantial markets such as medical displays, point-of-sale, and defense. ERG continues to design and manufacture standard and custom solutions for CCFL and LED displays as well as DC-DC and EL applications.

In response to the recent explosion of LED technology in the general lighting markets, ERG created a division called ERG Lighting which is dedicated to applying expertise in LED driver solutions to general lighting applications such as street lights, refrigeration lighting, troffers, showcase, and downlights. ERG Lighting has also developed its own line of made-in-the-USA LED troffer retrofit kits for both commercial and residential lighting. They also offer contract manufacturing services that provide customers with leading-edge manufacturing processes. ERG prides itself on the ability to respond to changes in technology with innovative and cost-effective solutions for their customers.

ERG ships products around the world, but they are proudly engineered and built in the Endicott, NY facility which has served as headquarters for over 35 years. For more information about ERG or ERG Lighting, visit the websites at ERGpower.com and www.ERGlighting com, or contact Nate Burd at 607-754-9187 (nburd@ergpower.com).

Helping Students to Consider Exciting Career Choices

DCMO BOCES hosted a successful mentor and career day at the SUNY Oneonta campus. The event entitled It’s a Guy Thing invites middle school male students to develop a career goals framework and to connect with mentors. A similar event is held in the spring for female students. Responding to employment opportunities data, a manufacturing career workshop was introduced.

The Alliance for Manufacturing and Technology (AM&T) sponsored a Lean Manufacturing workshop led by Carol Miller, a Certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, and assisted by Kathy Peacock. The Lean management philosophy teaches five steps to reduce waste in a production process. Carol Miller customized the program using Lego™ pieces and led young students to work as teams, to improve production flow and achieve improved quality.

Martha Ryan, the event coordinator, commented about this resource, “When we introduce the Lean philosophy to young students, we provide a new tool to improve personal, academic and career performance. This is a tool they can apply now and in the future.” Ryan explained that the program teaches teamwork and communication which are two key employment skills sought by employers in the region. “We were fortunate to count on the support from AM&T to sponsor the program and their participation also ignited collaborations from other employers such as GE - Unison and Amphenol,” said Ryan about the ripple effect from AM&T’s support. The AM&T workshop was deemed the 2nd best by the students and best by the teachers.

Former educator and now successful business owner, Bruce Erath, opened the program with a clever Out Of the Box presentation. He guided boys to understand the importance of making the right decisions and to add value to everything they do. “We were fortunate to have Mr. Erath connect not only to students but also to the educators who shared excellent comments about the presentation’s relevance to current challenges faced by students,” said Ryan.

Students also benefited from a Financial Literacy presentation by Jim Caruso, Territory Manager at NBT Bank. Using an expense tracking document, Caruso coached students to understand the effect of compounded expenses, therefore, pointing out the benefits of saving. Educators in the audience applauded NBT Bank’s presentation and considered this introduction to be very important to young students. Beyond the call of duty, Caruso invited students to connect with him personally for questions. Parents can find more information and many resources for youth financial literacy at the NBT Bank website.

It’s a Guy Thing also featured hands-on workshops. Devoted professionals from Delaware Engineering, Catskill Regional Teacher Center, UHS - Chenango Memorial Hospital, and DCMO BOCES Technology Department, provided students with the opportunity to explore careers of the future. “Post-event surveys confirmed the student’s satisfaction with the interactive presentations. We value each of our presenter’s time investment as they delivered a first class workshop for our students.”

The It’s a Guy Thing Career Day event is presented by DCMO BOCES with the support of SUNY Oneonta. Funding and resources for this event were provided in part by our presenters and by The Voss Group, Chobani, Scoville-Meno Chevrolet, BCK-IBI Group, Leonard Bus Sales, James Jordan Associates, and Mirabito Fuel Group. The free event is open to 35 school districts in the DCMO and ONC BOCES. For more information on how to get involved in future mentoring events, visit the enrichment programs page at www.learnatboces.com.

5 Ways Technology Will Transform Our Lives in the Next 50 Years

By: John Culkin, Director of Information Management, Crown Records Management

What Will the World Look Like in 2065?

In 1965, NASA was working on some of the most challenging engineering, physics and computing problems known to mankind -- preparing to get a man to the moon.

In fact, the USB storage device you may have in your pocket has more computing power than it took to get Neil Armstrong to the moon and back.

It may come as even more of a surprise that every time you do a Google search it uses more computer power than could be dreamed of back in 1965.

This year Crown Worldwide is celebrating its 50th anniversary, and we’ve set a challenge to reflect on how the world might look in 2065.

Robots, Robots Everywhere!

Robotics will be at the fore. Driven by technological advances in sensors, computing and materials, biomimicry will inspire new abilities that make the car-building robots as antique as old steam trains today.

Changing demographics will be another factor pushing this development, as the population ages and needs caring for.

Hospitals are clean and controlled spaces, so expect robot nursing assistants to appear before your own robot chef in the kitchen.

Goodbye Silicon, Hello Bio-Computing!

The silicon age will pass into history as bio, quantum, DNA and photonic computers make today’s supercomputers seem primitive in some aspects.

Where the body’s nerves are severed -- such as spinal injuries -- bio-computers will help people walk again and the blind see.

An IBM Watson in Your Pocket!

Watson, the room-filling IBM system that beat the humans in the TV quiz show Jeopardy!, will eventually become “Pocket Watson.”

Today’s machine learning will evolve into instant speech recognition and, importantly, the content and semantics will be considered.

Looking at small screens will be as quaint as gathering around an old wooden cabinet wireless set.
Wearables will be the norm, and some people will want to be directly connected to computers with implants to monitor health and interact with computers to enhance their normal abilities.

Finally! Safer, Easier Driving!

Travel by car will be safer -- even if not faster for environmental reasons. A car will predict traffic delays and never get lost, it will talk to traffic lights and other cars to smooth the journey.

Google already has driverless cars, and Volvo has demonstrated platoon driving to allow driving very closely more efficiently.

Avoiding travel that is not emotionally worth it will finally start to be optional.

Telepresence for businesses will finally deliver on its promises with 8k quality pictures taking up an entire wall that display realistic imagery of your choice but also for virtual meetings -- like Skype on steroids -- in 3D.

Recent AM&T Activities to Promote Manufacturing Growth & Innovation

• Conducted Internal Auditor training at company in Ithaca, NY. Eight (8) employees were trained in the ISO 9001:2008 Standard, performed an internal audit, and prepared the internal audit report package.
• Conducted an AS9100c Internal Audit at company in Elmira, NY. Minor findings were noted in a summary report. The Quality Management System was deemed compliant and effective.
• Conducted an ISO 9001:2008 & ISO 14001:2004 internal audit at a company in Rochester, NY. Minor findings were noted in a summary report and their Quality Management System was deemed compliant and effective.
• Conducted a second 3-day 5S Workshop at a company in Endicott, NY. Eight (8) employees were trained on 5S lean methods and a kaizen event was conducted in the Pin Thru-hole production area. Upon completion of the workshop, all the area was reorganized for improved work flow. This increases through-put and results in improved quality.
• Conducted TWI Job Relations workshop at a company in Elmira, NY. Ten (10) employees were trained in employee relations to build their supervisory skills.
• Assisted a company in Endicott, NY with their preparation for AS9100 QMS. Procedures were developed and reviewed.
• Performed internal and management reviews at a company in Hammondsport, NY. Four opportunities for improvement were identified, documented and corrective actions were established.
• Conducted an internal audit and management review at a company in Hornell, NY. Identified one opportunity for improvement and closed out three prior non-conformances.
• Conducted an Internal Audit and Management review at a company in Endwell, NY and documented four opportunities for improvement.
• Conducted an Internal Audit, Management review and a process assessment at a company in Horseheads, NY. No concerns were noted.
• Completed a six-day Cellular / Flow Manufacturing event at a company in Elmira, NY, with a team of 10 people. The team designed a cell that incorporated all machining and assembly operations. The cell design and layout will reduce the manufacturing lead time by over 50%, and reduced the non-valued processing time by over 20%.
• Conducted a 5S: Workplace Organization Training Session at a company in Elmira, NY. Included was an overview of 5S and how to create a plan to implement 5S company-wide.
• Completed a five-day 5S and Visual Workplace event. The team created a workplace where everything is visually clear and controlled. As a result, the workplace will produce fewer defects, less waste, fewer injuries, and fewer breakdowns. These improvements will translate into lower costs and improved quality.
• Conducted a 5-day Scheduling and Capacity Planning process mapping event with a team of six people at a contract manufacturing company in Van Etten, NY. It is anticipated that when fully implemented, the plan will result in improved on-time deliveries and reduce wastes.
• Conducted multiple 2-hour training sessions in implementing Lean in a Low Volume-High Mix environment at a company in Elmira, NY.
• Navy Protégé Program---Negotiated additional contracts with Lockheed Martin to assist a local manufacturer projects under the US Department of the Navy Protégé Program.
• Participated in Lockheed Martin AS9100 review at a company in Endicott, NY. Results of the review were satisfactory.
• Provided Quality System Support services to a company in Endicott, NY. This effort is part of the US Navy Mentor Protégé program administered by Lockheed-Martin Corporation. 
• Conducted AS/ISO Internal Auditor Training for three (3) CFM employees - two (2) current Internal Auditors and one new Internal Auditor. An internal audit was performed as part of a practical exercise and an internal audit report prepared.
• Provided Quality System Support services to a company in Endicott, NY. This effort is part of the US Navy Mentor Protégé program administered by Lockheed-Martin Corporation.
• Mentored two (2) CFM Internal Auditors during an internal audit and assisted with preparing the internal audit report package.
• WDI---Continued to work with the Workforce Development Institute (WDI) and other economic development entities to maximize our impact on manufacturers in the Southern Tier. Assisted several companies with grant applications.
• Regional Economic Development Council (REDC) and Upstate Revitalization Initiative (URI)--- Attended multiple meetings and events to support Southern Tier REDC and URI efforts. Member of Clusters Workgroup.
• Center for International Business Assistance---Active member of the team that put together a proposal for submission under the URI grant application to establish the Center for International Business Assistance Center (CIBA) to be created at SUNY Binghamton. Co-author of ARC Grant to support the launch of the center.