Earlier this year I wrote that manufacturing “can again become a jobs engine with the launch of thousands of new manufacturing businesses, a wave of middle-market companies across diverse industries. What we lack in large we’ll make up for in volume, in hot sectors like food and beverage, advanced contract manufacturing and lifestyle and consumer […]
Like a left-right combination from Muhammad Ali, Colorado manufacturing was staggered this month by two reports that portray a struggling sector. What to make of the news? Conexus Indiana’s 2016 Manufacturing & Logistics Report Card for the United States gave Colorado a ‘D’ grade for overall manufacturing sector health. The report grades states in eight […]
Manufacturing may never again be the U.S. employment engine it once was, defined by big industrial brands, employing thousands of people for generations. But the sector can again become a jobs engine with the launch of thousands of new manufacturing businesses, a ground-up wave of middle-market companies across diverse industries. What we lack in large […]
Colorado Springs is a city in search of a new economic brand. As solid as its bedrock industries are, there’s growing sentiment that defense and tourism alone shouldn’t define the city’s economic prospects, that there’s more here, and if Colorado Springs is to attract new industry, compete for skilled labor, and keep it’s best and […]
Elon Musk’s very public recruiting pitch this week for manufacturing talent was a call to arms, not only for Tesla but for U.S. manufacturing. Let’s hope Musk not only finds the talent to replace his two recent high-profile departures, but that good things come from the publicity. As more innovators of Musk’s ilk run headlong […]
Colorado’s largest company was a finalist as were other signature manufacturing and supply-chain brands, but middle-market companies flashing process and product innovation stole the show at the inaugural Colorado Manufacturing Awards April 6 at Denver’s brilliant ART Hotel. The awards were organized and presented by CompanyWeek and Manufacturer’s Edge with help from CACI, the Colorado […]
The quiet food revolution that began in Colorado and places like Portland, Oregon, a couple decades ago ain’t so quiet anymore. As the Boulder Daily Camera surmised earlier this year, “Food is the new tech, and Boulder is its Silicon Valley.” At the center of Colorado’s nationally renowned ecosystem is Naturally Boulder, a trade group […]
Newspapers are in trouble and in the race to find financial footing in digital media, publishers are cooking up all manner of revenue opportunities. A favored tactic is to develop specialty or niche publications, content developed to appeal to advertisers first. Some do it better than others and manage to create interesting, entertaining content, or […]
“I am really, totally committed to bringing back manufacturing.” –– Hillary Clinton, campaigning in Ohio Most every candidate running for president has pledged to support U.S. manufacturing. Apparently one thing we agree on is that too much has been lost by outsourcing so much manufacturing in so little time. Ask consumers, businesses, you name it: […]
Enter manufacturing into the GOP presidential debates. Is it reasonable for Marco Rubio to criticize Donald Trump for manufacturing his clothing line in China and Mexico and not the United States? Yes and no. As we’ve chronicled the past two years, it’s simply not feasible for most high-volume apparel brands to locate primary manufacturing in […]