Innovation and Technology

In an interview with Nick Pinchuk, you will start with JFK, meander through Ralph Waldo Emerson and the New Testament, meet Mother Teresa along the way and find out only at the end that he helped send the Viking probe to Mars. And let’s not forget another achievement: he delivered his own child in the backseat of the family car.

The Snap-on chairman and CEO, an executive committee member and stalwart supporter of the NAM, sat down for a very wide-ranging interview with NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons at the NAM’s recent board meeting, at which he received the Manufacturing Icon Award. Here are some of the highlights.

Starting with Kennedy: When asked how he got into manufacturing, Pinchuk cites Kennedy’s 1961 speech promising that the U.S. would put a man on the moon by the end of the decade. Pinchuk was one of the “millions of young people” who pursued STEM careers because Kennedy inspired them, he said.

• He then found himself shipped to Vietnam after a stint in the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps. His experience in the army later helped launch him into management at Ford, when the company was looking for someone who could “run something 24 hours a day”—just as he had in Vietnam.
• He “parlayed” that experience into a business degree, then rose fast in two other organizations—United Technologies and Carrier. His experience in Vietnam helped a second time, leading Carrier to choose him to run its Asia operations.
• Finally, Snap-on came calling, looking for someone with international experience. “On a day in which the board of directors likely had too much wine,” Pinchuk joked, “they decided to give me the CEO job.” 

The life lesson? “I probably am sitting here because I went to Vietnam. It could never have been planned.” Pinchuk said. “I’ve made friends in many countries. I’ve opened factories. I’ve met two canonized saints of the Catholic Church and actually a lot of presidents. They weren’t part of a life plan. They were opportunities that arose in which I was prepared and privileged to participate.”

• And here’s another thing he didn’t exactly plan: while driving his wife to the hospital at 4:30 a.m. after she went into labor, he found himself forced to “pull into an empty parking lot and run around, open the door and play catch.” 

Purpose: Timmons and Pinchuk discussed the necessity of upskilling the workforce, and in the course of explaining why a sense of purpose is so important to workers, Pinchuk mentioned the time he met Mother Teresa.

• “I talked to her, and she said a bunch of things to me that changed my life. She said, here’s an example that might be useful to you. I was walking down a street with some of my sisters and a beggar got up from the curb.”
• “This was someone I would usually consider to be the subject or focus of my mission to help. The beggar walked over and gave me a coin of little value. And she said, you know why? It’s because he could find respect in the fact that he helped Mother Teresa. Purpose. Purpose is everything.”

On strategy: When asked about his successful 20 years at Snap-on, Pinchuk said, “I believe that an organization’s strategy best emanates from what actually works for it. And so if you understand what works for you, what’s inherent in the DNA and the capabilities of the people, then you say to yourself, ‘Well, that should be my strategy.’”

• “We have people who send me pictures of small Snap-on toolboxes with ashes of their loved ones in them because the loved ones believed that among the most important things in their lives were Snap-on tools,” he continued. “We cannot break that faith.”
• “Therefore, we have to know who we are. And, that is, we are those who give working men and women the means, through the use of Snap-on tools, to declare they’re doing something special and to signify the pride they have in their profession. Making Snap-on worthy of that belief is the core of our strategy.”

The last word: Timmons concluded the conversation by thanking Pinchuk for his support of the NAM and the Manufacturing Institute, saying, “We’re so grateful for your unwavering service to the NAM and your industry. You’re a true model for business leaders in America.”

In an interview with Nick Pinchuk, you will start with JFK, meander through Ralph Waldo Emerson and the New Testament, meet Mother Teresa along the way and find out only at the end that he helped send the Viking probe to Mars. And let’s not forget another achievement: he delivered his own child in the backseat of the family car.

The Snap-on chairman and CEO, an executive committee member and stalwart supporter of the NAM, sat down for a very wide-ranging interview with NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons at the NAM’s recent board meeting, at which he received the Manufacturing Icon Award. Here are some of the highlights.

Starting with Kennedy: When asked how he got into manufacturing, Pinchuk cites Kennedy’s 1961 speech promising that the U.S. would put a man on the moon by the end of the decade. Pinchuk was one of the “millions of young people” who pursued STEM careers because Kennedy inspired them, he said.

• He then found himself shipped to Vietnam after a stint in the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps. His experience in the army later helped launch him into management at Ford, when the company was looking for someone who could “run something 24 hours a day”—just as he had in Vietnam.
• He “parlayed” that experience into a business degree, then rose fast in two other organizations—United Technologies and Carrier. His experience in Vietnam helped a second time, leading Carrier to choose him to run its Asia operations.
• Finally, Snap-on came calling, looking for someone with international experience. “On a day in which the board of directors likely had too much wine,” Pinchuk joked, “they decided to give me the CEO job.”

Read the full story here.
 

Yesterday, NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons announced recent changes to the organization’s leadership team.

Newhouse to senior advisor: Last month, NAM Senior Vice President Aric Newhouse announced he would step back from his day-to-day management responsibilities of the policy and government relations teams on July 1. Newhouse will now serve the NAM as a senior advisor.

Aligning advocacy: Managing Vice Presidents Chris Netram and Jordan Stoick, respectively, will lead the NAM’s best-in-class policy team and government relations team. To further combine the strengths of the NAM’s government relations, public affairs and communications operations, Stoick and Netram will report to NAM Executive Vice President Erin Streeter.

• Over the past few years, Streeter has led engagement with all of the NAM’s external stakeholders, overseeing advocacy campaigns and key relationships with the White House and members of Congress, while continuing her leadership of communications, marketing and brand reputation.
• “I’m excited about what this means to further integrating our advocacy efforts,” said Timmons following the announcement. “These changes will elevate the leadership and expertise of our best-in-class policy professionals.”

Membership:  NAM Chief of Staff Alyssa Shooshan will take on the role of senior vice president of membership in addition to her current roles of overseeing the executive office and the board initiatives teams. Jeff Pierce will increase his focus on sponsorships, issue advocacy development and new member growth as the senior vice president of strategic development. Pierce’s leadership has been instrumental in the rapid growth of sponsorships and other new revenue streams, and he will continue to lead their expansion.

• These changes bring the membership and board initiatives teams into closer alignment. They also recognize the demand from NAM members to grow operational and thought leadership programming.

The last word: “As Aric steps back after 16 years, he leaves a record of accomplishment widely recognized by his peers in the association community,” said Timmons. “From being named CEO Update’s Association Lobbyist of the Year in 2016, to The Hill naming him a ‘top lobbyist’ for many years, to his most recent inclusion in Washingtonian Magazine’s Top 500 Influential list, his wisdom, influence and bipartisan approach are legendary.”

• “There are two things any high-performing organization looks to achieve in these moments of change: continuity and improvement. And that’s what this leadership will deliver—to continue advancing the competitiveness of manufacturers in the United States.”

Yesterday, NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons announced recent changes to the organization’s leadership team.

Newhouse to senior advisor: Last month, NAM Senior Vice President Aric Newhouse announced he would step back from his day-to-day management responsibilities of the policy and government relations teams on July 1. Newhouse will now serve the NAM as a senior advisor.

Aligning advocacy: Managing Vice Presidents Chris Netram and Jordan Stoick, respectively, will lead the NAM’s best-in-class policy team and government relations team. To further combine the strengths of the NAM’s government relations, public affairs and communications operations, Stoick and Netram will report to NAM Executive Vice President Erin Streeter.

• Over the past few years, Streeter has led engagement with all of the NAM’s external stakeholders, overseeing advocacy campaigns and key relationships with the White House and members of Congress, while continuing her leadership of communications, marketing and brand reputation.
• “I’m excited about what this means to further integrating our advocacy efforts,” said Timmons following the announcement. “These changes will elevate the leadership and expertise of our best-in-class policy professionals.”

Membership:  NAM Chief of Staff Alyssa Shooshan will take on the role of senior vice president of membership in addition to her current roles of overseeing the executive office and the board initiatives teams. Jeff Pierce will increase his focus on sponsorships, issue advocacy development and new member growth as the senior vice president of strategic development. Pierce’s leadership has been instrumental in the rapid growth of sponsorships and other new revenue streams, and he will continue to lead their expansion.

• These changes bring the membership and board initiatives teams into closer alignment. They also recognize the demand from NAM members to grow operational and thought leadership programming.

The last word: “As Aric steps back after 16 years, he leaves a record of accomplishment widely recognized by his peers in the association community,” said Timmons. “From being named CEO Update’s Association Lobbyist of the Year in 2016, to The Hill naming him a ‘top lobbyist’ for many years, to his most recent inclusion in Washingtonian Magazine’s Top 500 Influential list, his wisdom, influence and bipartisan approach are legendary.”

• “There are two things any high-performing organization looks to achieve in these moments of change: continuity and improvement. And that’s what this leadership will deliver—to continue advancing the competitiveness of manufacturers in the United States.”

UL Solutions broke ground on its North America Advanced Battery Laboratory in Auburn Hills, Michigan, yesterday—with the NAM in attendance! The new facility will offer testing and certification for EVs and industrial batteries, a crucial step in establishing EV-ecosystem hubs.

A Charlotte, North Carolina–based company that started life as a paper mill is now the world’s largest lithium producer—and “a key cog in a tight global supply chain for battery metals used in electric cars, smartphones and other applications at a time when governments are pushing to electrify their economies,” according to The Wall Street Journal (subscription).

What’s going on: Albemarle is one of the few companies that can produce lithium at a competitive cost, thanks in large part to its 2015 purchase of a lithium producer in New Jersey.

• The global lithium market has grown an enormous 2,900% since that purchase, to $48 billion from $1.6 billion.
• To keep up with demand, “Albemarle has embarked on new acquisitions and capacity building,” including an ongoing bid to purchase Australian lithium miner Liontown Resources.
• Last month, Albemarle—which also mines lithium at operations in Nevada and Chile—announced plans to double the capacity of a lithium hydroxide plant in Western Australia in which it has an 85% stake.
• Lithium is also used in “industrial-scale batteries that can store energy from solar panels and wind farms and smaller ones for residential use.”

Competing with China: The company’s “integrated approach has put it at the center of Western efforts to diversify supply lines” to counter China’s dominance in the electric-vehicle market.

• “China has emerged as a global leader in EV production and is spending billions to boost its access to lithium-mine production globally. Meanwhile, it dominates the business of refining lithium extracted elsewhere in the world. The West is trying to catch up.”

What’s next: Last fall, the Department of Energy gave Albermarle a grant of nearly $150 million to produce EV batteries.

• In March, the company said it would spend more than $1.3 billion on a lithium-processing plant in South Carolina.

Some manufacturers are reconsidering their dependence on China in the face of growing security concerns and worries about potential military conflicts, according to The Wall Street Journal (subscription).

What’s going on: “Executives are plotting alternate supply chains or devising products that can be made elsewhere should China’s hundreds of thousands of factories become inaccessible. That prospect became more conceivable, they said, after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine prompted companies to sever ties with Russia, sometimes taking huge write-downs.”

• China’s government recently banned key Chinese firms from purchasing products made by U.S. semiconductor firm Micron Technology, saying the company posed a national security risk to China.

Why it’s important: “China’s access to raw materials and ability to produce components for finished goods remains unmatched, and its dense supplier networks have yet to be replicated elsewhere.”

What manufacturers are doing: Some manufacturers that rely heavily on China for revenue and inputs are using extra discretion when it comes to their data and intellectual property in that country.

• Manufacturers’ caution levels have risen since April, when China revised an espionage law that lets its authorities inspect the facilities and electronic equipment of any companies they suspect of spying.
• Some manufacturers are aiming to assemble new supply chains to circumvent China. These companies are “brac[ing] for higher prices and slower service than [they receive] in China” but “won’t be cut off by the threat of war or a trade embargo.”​​​​​​​

How will AI change the work you and your employees do? The Manufacturing Leadership Council—the digital transformation arm of the NAM—is helping manufacturing leaders figure out the opportunities created by new generative AI technologies, including ChatGPT.

Recently, the MLC held a Decision Compass discussion to help manufacturers learn how to take advantage of these new tools safely and effectively.

The participants: The conversation was led by two members of West Monroe’s Center of Excellence for AI: Ryan Elmore and David McGraw. Elmore and McGraw shared their expertise and addressed questions from manufacturers throughout the call.

The use cases: AI is a diverse and complex tool that is likely to have a lasting impact on manufacturers across the United States. According to McGraw and Elmore, there are a range of applications for the technology, from supply chain optimization and production planning to predictive maintenance issues. 

The workforce impact: According to Elmore, AI will also transform the manufacturing workforce.

• Some roles that involve repetitive tasks like data processing could be adjusted or eliminated, while some new jobs will be created around tasks like prompt engineering, which ensures AI programs deliver the most useful and accurate results. Most importantly, however, existing jobs will likely be modified to account for new tools.
• “Some are going to go away, some are going to be created, but the vast majority is going to change mentality, change infrastructure, change the way we work,” said Elmore.

Prompting success: Elmore and McGraw emphasized that the key to using generative AI effectively is developing useful prompts. How you ask AI programs for information, and what data you provide, will determine the quality of the output. They provided a few broad guidelines:

• Keep it simple: Your prompts should be detailed, precise and as succinct as possible.
• Data matters: The better and more detailed your data, the better your output will be.
• Keep it human: Generative AI still requires a human to determine the reliability of the output. Manufacturers shouldn’t plan to use outputs blindly without keeping a human in the loop.
• Share safely: Assume anything you put into AI that is not behind a paywall is not private. Only use data that you’re comfortable with others viewing.
• Follow up: If you receive outputs that don’t make sense, or that indicate some sort of failure, ask the program for more context and problem solving to assess whether the output is accurate or beneficial.

Safety first: AI can also be used in negative ways—for example, by cyber attackers attempting to gain private information from you using software that mimics the voice of someone you know.

• Elmore and McGraw emphasized that manufacturers using AI should consider providing trainings so employees can recognize and guard against safety issues.

The last word: “I think most importantly, you’re only limited to your imagination,” said McGraw. “There’s really a lot of use cases that can be solved with this technology.”

Learn more: Want to find out more about how digital tools are changing manufacturing? The MLC will delve deeper into these issues at this year’s Rethink Summit, taking place June 26–28 in Marco Island, Florida. Learn more and register here.

How will AI change the work you and your employees do? The Manufacturing Leadership Council—the digital transformation arm of the NAM—is helping manufacturing leaders figure out the opportunities created by new generative AI technologies, including ChatGPT.

Recently, the MLC held a Decision Compass discussion to help manufacturers learn how to take advantage of these new tools safely and effectively.

The participants: The conversation was led by two members of West Monroe’s Center of Excellence for AI: Ryan Elmore and David McGraw. Elmore and McGraw shared their expertise and addressed questions from manufacturers throughout the call.

The use cases: AI is a diverse and complex tool that is likely to have a lasting impact on manufacturers across the United States. According to McGraw and Elmore, there are a range of applications for the technology, from supply chain optimization and production planning to predictive maintenance issues.

The workforce impact: According to Elmore, AI will also transform the manufacturing workforce.

• Some roles that involve repetitive tasks like data processing could be adjusted or eliminated, while some new jobs will be created around tasks like prompt engineering, which ensures AI programs deliver the most useful and accurate results. Most importantly, however, existing jobs will likely be modified to account for new tools.
• “Some are going to go away, some are going to be created, but the vast majority is going to change mentality, change infrastructure, change the way we work,” said Elmore.

Learn more: Want to find out more about how digital tools are changing manufacturing? The MLC will delve deeper into these issues at this year’s Rethink Summit, taking place June 26–28 in Marco Island, Florida. Learn more and register here.

Read the full story here.

The Creators Wanted Tour, a joint project of the NAM and the Manufacturing Institute, set new records at the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing”: the Indianapolis 500.

By the numbers: The tour’s 17th stop, generously sponsored by Snap-on, allowed nearly 1,600 young fans and their families to experience modern manufacturing firsthand.

• In addition, more than 72,000 students and career mentors signed up online to learn more about manufacturing careers.
• So far, more than 10,000 students have taken part in the immersive experience since its launch in October 2021, with 84% of participants reporting an improved view of modern manufacturing careers. Online signups have now surpassed 1.3 million.

What they’re saying: “‘Creators Wanted’ is a critical message to all young people, parents, caregivers and educators across our country,” said Snap-on Chairman and CEO Nick Pinchuk, who is also an NAM Executive Committee member and MI board member.

• “Snap-on is proud to bring the Creators Wanted Tour to the [Indianapolis Motor Speedway] and the Indianapolis 500, showing younger race fans and their families that manufacturing is an exciting place where the opportunities are many, the careers are rewarding and the lives are filled with the pride of being part of something greater than yourself,” he continued.
• NAM President and CEO and MI Chairman of the Board Jay Timmons added, “The world’s largest single day sporting event met the nation’s largest manufacturing campaign—and it revved up enthusiasm about modern manufacturing in a big way with more students and their families.”

Behind the scenes: Alongside the Creators Wanted experience at Fan Midway at the IMS, fans were also treated to a number of other interactive exhibits.

• These included Snap-on’s “Makers and Fixers” tent; Honda’s racing simulator and vehicle fleet; the IMS Kidzone where kids raced on their own track; and FactoryFix’s activities and resources to help people find their path into manufacturing careers, including its work through CreatorsWanted.org.
• “Seeing folks at Indy curious about our Creators Wanted campaign was such a great confirmation of the research and testing we did to arrive at the name for this effort,” said NAM Executive Vice President Erin Streeter. “When parents and kids asked us about the type of creators we need in manufacturing, it just showed how spot-on our message really is.”
• The NAM video team captured some of the fan sentiment with this video.

The big picture: “These tour stops often serve as the first interaction individuals have with the NAM and the MI, and the impression is powerful,” said NAM Managing Vice President of Brand Strategy Chrys Kefalas.

• “People see us actively promoting manufacturing careers and aiding job seekers, reinforcing our commitment to U.S. competitiveness. These meaningful personal interactions create lasting impressions and underscore the industry’s value.”

What’s next: After a thrilling Indy 500, where more than 300,000 attendees who saw Josef Newgarden secure a dramatic victory, the tour looks forward to its next stop at the SkillsUSA National Leadership & Skills Conference in Atlanta, Georgia, June 20–22.