Innovation and Technology

When service members leave the military, manufacturers are quick to say: “Come on over!” Military skills are usually a great match for manufacturing careers, which require attention to detail, technical abilities and creative thinking. And there’s no better matchmaker than the Manufacturing Institute’s Heroes MAKE America initiative, which since 2018 has been offering training certification programs and career courses to transitioning service members and veterans.

Today, HMA not only serves service members on military installations across the country but also has expanded its reach via a virtual training program.

Widening the reach: Now in its second year, the virtual training program has allowed HMA to impact service members on a national scale.

• For the first time, members from four branches—Army, Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy—are participating in the same class at the same time.
• Additionally, the geographic range of participants has increased to comprise students located far and wide, including in Alaska, Arizona, Delaware, Kansas and Kentucky.
• The program has reached more than 120,000 prospective students through local transition assistance, HMA’s LinkedIn and Facebook presence and the SkillBridge website.

How it works: HMA partnered with Texas State Technical College to create a virtual nine-week training and certification program.

• Participants earn nationally portable, industry-recognized Certified Production Technician certification as well as an OSHA 10 certification.
• Through Heroes Connect, HMA also partners with sponsors like Johnson & Johnson, The Caterpillar Foundation, Amazon, Howmet Aerospace, WestRock, Saint-Gobain, Atlas Copco, Cargill, FUCHS Lubricants Company, C.H. Guenther & Sons, Honda Foundation, Niagara Bottling and the NAFEM, PPI and SEMI associations to connect program graduates and members of the military community with manufacturers.

Read the full story here.

Manufacturers nationwide are taking steps to ensure a supportive and respectful workforce that values the varied talents and backgrounds of all employees. nVent—a manufacturer of electrical connection and protection solutions—believes that inclusion and diversity initiatives have the potential to positively impact every part of its business.

Inclusion and diversity have been a priority for nVent since it became a public company in 2018. By identifying strategic initiatives for its inclusion and diversity efforts, nVent has become a thought leader in the electrical manufacturing industry. Five years later, those initiatives have become a comprehensive strategy that is embedded in the company’s operations.

“We may not always have the answers,” said Chief Inclusion and Diversity Officer Laura Brock, “But we want to make sure we create an opportunity for progress and share the resources we have developed with our customers and partners to drive inclusion in our industry.”

A comprehensive strategy: nVent’s strategy is built around four pillars designed to promote inclusion and diversity throughout the company, according to Brock and Inclusion and Diversity Manager Jasmin Buckingham.

• Employees: From recruitment onward and throughout the employee lifecycle, nVent ensures that inclusion and diversity is part of every employee’s experience.
• Communities: nVent strives to be “a good citizen” in its community by promoting shared economic growth through multiple avenues—including philanthropy. It has made inclusion and diversity a central aim of these efforts.
• Customers: The company supports a diverse range of customers in the electrical industry and works to meet all customers where they are.
• Suppliers: nVent is focused on supplier diversity, which promotes engagement, growth and innovation through diverse business relationships.

Other initiatives: nVent runs several initiatives within its pillar strategy to drive inclusion and diversity across the company:

• ERGs: Employee Resource Groups are an important part of inclusion and diversity at nVent. These groups are “the hands and feet of creating an inclusive culture,” according to Brock. All employees are welcome to join ERGs, which create connections between peers across the globe. The ERGs allow employees to share experiences and discuss topics that are important to them, she added.
• Workshops: After the murder of George Floyd in 2020, nVent hosted workshops where people could ask questions and engage in discussion about race and injustice. Attendance sometimes topped 900 employees.
• Learning circles: nVent created a series of additional opportunities to bring employees together in inclusive spaces. These smaller groups allow employees to share stories and engage in open conversation.

Accountability for inclusion: Brock and Buckingham made it clear that the company’s inclusion and diversity work requires constant progress and accountability—making it essential to track metrics and promote improvements.

• Through an “inclusion index”—an employee pulse survey that sent out four times a year—nVent employees share their honest feedback. The data is then used to generate ESG scorecards for departments and leaders, which are a factor in compensation.
• “The choices we make and the behaviors we exhibit impact our culture at nVent. Everyone plays a role in creating an inclusive and respectful environment for all,” according to Brock.

Taking the pledge: nVent is also a proud signatory of the NAM’s Pledge for Action, which commits the industry “to taking 50,000 tangible actions to increase equity and parity for underrepresented communities, creating 300,000 pathways to job opportunities for Black people and all people of color” by 2025.

Advice for the industry: Companies should “get comfortable being uncomfortable,” according to Buckingham. “It can be uncomfortable having these open conversations … but it is important and impactful so that you can learn and understand one another better to make it a more inclusive workplace.”

China, which already commands most of the world’s lithium refining, is undertaking “a risky strategy” in an effort to lay claim to more of the metal globally: buying stakes in mines located in developing nations, according to The Wall Street Journal (subscription).

What’s going on: “China is spending billions on stakes in nations that have histories of political instability, local resistance and resource nationalism. Projects often face protests, regulatory delays and even cancellations. If China succeeds, however, it could secure access to one-third of the world’s lithium-mine production capacity needed by 2025, according to industry estimates.”

• Canada and Australia, which hold among the world’s largest lithium reserves, recently put an end to new Chinese investments in critical minerals.

Why it’s important: Lithium is a critical component of batteries used in electric vehicles and smartphones—and demand for the mineral could outstrip supply significantly by the end of the decade.

A precarious investment: To ensure sufficient lithium stock to power its EV industry (particularly as tensions with the U.S. rise), China has acquired stakes in close to 20 mines throughout Latin America and Africa.

• Some of the countries in which the mines sit face the risk of terrorist attacks, while others have a history of revoking agreements made with foreign firms.

However … China has some advantages over Western nations when it comes to securing lithium from South American and African nations.

• “CATL, for example, is a battery behemoth, with the political backing of Beijing and a strong network of companies along the supply chain.
• Developing nations often want to partner with Chinese firms that also do processing, refining or battery making, because they believe such companies will better guarantee them steady streams of income. ​​​​​​​

Manufacturers nationwide are taking steps to ensure a supportive and respectful workforce that values the varied talents and backgrounds of all employees. nVent—a manufacturer of electrical connection and protection solutions—believes that inclusion and diversity initiatives have the potential to positively impact every piece of its business.

Inclusion and diversity has been a priority for nVent since it became a public company in 2018. By identifying strategic initiatives for its inclusion and diversity efforts, nVent has become a thought leader in the electrical manufacturing industry. Five years later, those initiatives have become a comprehensive strategy that is embedded in the company’s operations.

“We may not always have the answers,” said Chief Inclusion and Diversity Officer Laura Brock, “But we want to make sure we create an opportunity for progress and share the resources we have developed with our customers and partners to drive inclusion in our industry.”

A comprehensive strategy: nVent’s strategy is built around four pillars designed to promote inclusion and diversity throughout the company, according to Brock and Inclusion and Diversity Manager Jasmin Buckingham.

• Employees: From recruitment onward and throughout the employee lifecycle, nVent ensures that inclusion and diversity is part of every employee’s experience.
• Communities: nVent strives to be “a good citizen” in its community by promoting shared economic growth through multiple avenues—including philanthropy. It has made inclusion and diversity a central aim of these efforts.
• Customers: The company supports a diverse range of customers in the electrical industry and works to meet all customers where they are.
• Suppliers: nVent is focused on supplier diversity, which promotes engagement, growth and innovation through diverse business relationships.

Read the full story here. 

Why is China winning the electric-vehicle production race? Because it controls or dominates every step of the process of making EV batteries, according to The New York Times (subscription).

What’s going on: “Despite billions in Western investment, China is so far ahead—mining rare minerals, training engineers and building huge factories—that the rest of the world may take decades to catch up.”

• Rare minerals: China owns the majority of the cobalt mines in Congo—where most of the world’s supply of the metal sits—and it controls most of the world’s lithium mining.
• Refining: “Regardless of who mines the minerals, nearly everything is shipped to China to be refined into battery-grade materials.”
• Components: China produces more EV batteries than any other country, which it managed “partly by figuring out how to make battery components efficiently and at lower cost.”
• Final products: China boasts the most EVs on the road of any nation, and almost all of them use batteries made domestically.

Why it’s important: Now, eight years after the Chinese government instituted policies to bar foreign competitors from the EV market and increase consumer demand, “the Biden administration … [is] pursuing a similar strategy to foster battery development in the United States. But in a business with huge capital costs and thin profit margins, Chinese companies have a big head start after years of state funding and experience.”

The NAM is a meeting place like no other, where manufacturers of all sizes and sectors gather to make the industry stronger. Recently, along with its partner CONNEX Marketplace, it invited manufacturing leaders to D.C. for high-level discussions about supply chain challenges.

The big picture: This meeting came at an exciting time for CONNEX. Formerly known as Manufacturers Marketplace, the program pivoted in 2022 to combine state-specific installations with the national platform and become a more powerful SaaS.

• Connecticut launched its own version of the CONNEX platform back in February, thanks to the support of the CBIA (a state business association and NAM partner) and the state’s chief manufacturing officer, Paul Lavoie—who discussed some early success stories at the D.C. event.
• “In the first two weeks, more than 200 companies joined, significantly more than the state’s most optimistic projections,” according to a Hartford Business Journal piece—and Lavoie told the paper he expects signups to blow past 750 in the first year.
• Meanwhile, Kentucky is also getting in on the action. The Kentucky Association of Manufacturers (also an NAM state partner) recently launched its own CONNEX Marketplace installation, which was announced by the governor. KAM CEO Frank Jemley also came to D.C. for the meeting, bringing his own success stories.

Talking the talk: The leaders in D.C. focused on how manufacturers can improve security and resiliency in the supply chain. They also discussed how local and state governments can ease supply chain challenges for businesses.

Security: As the participants observed, the key challenge is “illuminating risk” inside the supply chain, so that companies know what they’re facing.

• They discussed the many types of risks involved in supply chains, including cybersecurity, financial, business continuity, capacity and more.
• What’s next: CONNEX is working to integrate technology that will identify and highlight potential risks in a company’s specific supply chain.

Cooperation: The supply chain functions (or doesn’t) on the strength of manufacturers’ cooperation, from the largest companies to their smallest suppliers.

• Furthermore, competition is not company vs. company, but supply chain vs. supply chain, the participants agreed.
• Small manufacturers might benefit from a coach or guide to walk through the sourcing process so they understand how to remain resilient and competitive, one attendee recommended.
• What’s next: CONNEX is working on a playbook that entities such as manufacturing extension partnerships can use to help coach SMMs through the procurement process.

Progress: Executives from CONNEX reported more than 4,000 suppliers were connected to buyers in 2022, while the platform hosted 396 separate “postings” from manufacturers looking for specific parts or supplies.

The NAM will host another forum this fall where manufacturers will tackle supply chain issues. Contact NAM Senior Director of Member Business Services Anna Chongpinitchai for details. 

The NAM is a meeting place like no other, where manufacturers of all sizes and sectors gather to make the industry stronger. Recently, along with its partner CONNEX Marketplace, it invited manufacturing leaders to D.C. for high-level discussions about supply chain challenges.

The big picture: This meeting came at an exciting time for CONNEX. Formerly known as Manufacturers Marketplace, the program pivoted in 2022 to combine state-specific installations with the national platform and become a more powerful SaaS.

• Connecticut launched its own version of the CONNEX platform back in February, thanks to the support of the CBIA (a state business association and NAM partner) and the state’s chief manufacturing officer, Paul Lavoie—who discussed some early success stories at the D.C. event.
• “In the first two weeks, more than 200 companies joined, significantly more than the state’s most optimistic projections,” according to a Hartford Business Journal piece—and Lavoie told the paper he expects signups to blow past 750 in the first year.
• Meanwhile, Kentucky is also getting in on the action. The Kentucky Association of Manufacturers (also an NAM state partner) recently launched its own CONNEX Marketplace installation, which was announced by the governor. KAM CEO Frank Jemley also came to D.C. for the meeting, bringing his own success stories.

Talking the talk: The leaders in D.C. focused on how manufacturers can improve security and resiliency in the supply chain. They also discussed how local and state governments can ease supply chain challenges for businesses.

Security: As the participants observed, the key challenge is “illuminating risk” inside the supply chain, so that companies know what they’re facing.

• They discussed the many types of risks involved in supply chains, including cybersecurity, financial, business continuity, capacity and more.
• What’s next: CONNEX is working to integrate technology that will identify and highlight potential risks in a company’s specific supply chain.

Cooperation: The supply chain functions (or doesn’t) on the strength of manufacturers’ cooperation, from the largest companies to their smallest suppliers.

• Furthermore, competition is not company vs. company, but supply chain vs. supply chain, the participants agreed.
• Small manufacturers might benefit from a coach or guide to walk through the sourcing process so they understand how to remain resilient and competitive, one attendee recommended.
• What’s next: CONNEX is working on a playbook that entities such as manufacturing extension partnerships can use to help coach SMMs through the procurement process.

Progress: Executives from CONNEX reported more than 4,000 suppliers were connected to buyers in 2022, while the platform hosted 396 separate “postings” from manufacturers looking for specific parts or supplies.

The NAM will host another forum this fall where manufacturers will tackle supply chain issues. Contact NAM Senior Director of Member Business Services Anna Chongpinitchai for details. 

G7 leaders are focusing on “de-risking,” but not “decoupling” from China, they said in a joint statement covered by CNBC.

The details: “We are not decoupling or turning inwards,” the statement said. However, “we recognize that economic resilience requires de-risking and diversifying.”

• “We will seek to address the challenges posed by China’s non-market policies and practices, which distort the global economy,” the leaders continued. “We will counter malign practices, such as illegitimate technology transfer or data disclosure.”

Biden concurs: President Biden echoed these sentiments at a press conference on Sunday, emphasizing the need to “diversify” supply chains so that no one country has a monopoly on any essential product.

• “It means resisting economic coercion together and countering harmful practices that hurt our workers,” he continued. “It means protecting a narrow set of advanced technologies critical for our national security.”

In sum: “We stand prepared to build constructive and stable relations with China, recognizing the importance of engaging candidly with and expressing our concerns directly to China. We act in our national interest,” the G7 statement said.

NAM in action: As exemplified by its recent Competing to Win Tour in Europe, the NAM is working to bring business and government leaders together to strengthen the resilience of manufacturers in the United States and our democratic allies in the face of greater uncertainty with respect to China.

The last word: “Manufacturers have consistently called for a rethink of the U.S.–China relationship to boost competitiveness globally,” says NAM Vice President of International Economic Affairs Ken Monahan.

• “The strategy requires collaborating with allies for supply chain resilience, addressing discriminatory Chinese policies and creating trade openings through robust agreements. Yesterday’s announcement highlights the path ahead.”

If you’re looking for a career with no “typical days,” Jillian Evanko would advise you to choose manufacturing.

Mixing it up: Every workday offers something new and exciting for Evanko, the president and CEO of Chart Industries, a global leader in the design, engineering and manufacture of process technologies and equipment for the clean energy and industrial gas markets.

• “Whether I have a customer meeting, an investor conference, a keynote speaking event, a panel session or meetings with my executive team, every single day looks different to me, which is what I love about my job,” said Evanko.

Business sense: It was a talent for business that led Evanko—a 2023 honoree of the Manufacturing Institute’s Women MAKE Awards, which recognize outstanding female talent in the manufacturing sector—to the industry.

• “Early in my career I worked for Honeywell and Dover Corporation in various financial and operational roles,” said Evanko, who holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Notre Dame.
• Once she entered the field, she found that she genuinely enjoyed it—and she’s here to stay. “The fast-moving, exciting nature of the manufacturing industry is what keeps me in it,” she said. “There is always an opportunity to innovate or make a technological development, and you really get to see the impact of what you produce making a difference in everyday life.”

 A changing industry: Evanko has seen manufacturing evolve for the better since she got her start, especially for women employees.

• “In the past few years, I think the world has come to recognize that there is a direct correlation between diversity in manufacturing and increased innovation,” she said. “By diversifying a workforce, you gain access to new thoughts, ideas and perspectives.”
• “Since I’ve begun my career, I have seen more women enter the manufacturing industry, and even within my past five years at Chart, we are continuing to see more women taking on more senior roles, including operations and manufacturing roles.”

Growing company: In recent months, Evanko has been even busier than usual, as Chart Industries recently completed its acquisition of Howden, an air- and gas-handling products manufacturer and services provider.

• The acquisition, Chart’s largest to date, has doubled the size of the company’s engineering team. It “helps us expand into new geographies and gain access to new customers, and it provides us with a much more expansive Nexus of Clean™ offering,” she said, referring to the firm’s array of products and solutions for a more sustainable future.

The best, period: Evanko devotes much of her time to helping and educating others. One example of this is the way she provides her daughter’s Girl Scout troop with access to entrepreneurial speakers, as well as information about the world of manufacturing. She has developed a mantra that keeps her constantly striving for improvement:

• “I like to say that I don’t want to be the best female CEO, I want to be the best CEO,” she said. “For women in manufacturing looking to grow in their careers, aim to be the best you can be despite gender, age or background.”
• “Be confident in what you bring to the table and never underestimate your abilities,” she continued. “Listen to others and empower them to bring their ideas forward. And never underestimate the power of simply being kind.”

How can manufacturers recruit and retain employees amid a skills gap that leaves hundreds of thousands of manufacturing jobs unfilled every month? ALOM Technologies Corporation—a global supply chain management services and solutions provider based in Fremont, California—has an answer: focus aggressively on company culture.

The results are in and ALOM’s program is a remarkable success, leading to workforce and revenue growth for the company over the past few years. This achievement led ALOM to be named a finalist for the Manufacturing Leadership Awards, given every year by the Manufacturing Leadership Council (the NAM’s digital transformation division). Here’s a sneak peek into how they did it.

The program: After being named an essential business in 2020 due to its medical supply chain infrastructure, ALOM turbocharged its existing culture program, called DOING—which stands for Development, Opportunity, INclusion and Growth—to support staff recruitment and retention in a challenging labor market.

• The program had existed since 2018 and was based on ALOM’s longstanding cultivation of values-driven purpose. When the company expanded it during the pandemic, it enabled ALOM to build a higher performing team across multiple locations.

The details: ALOM has employed several strategies for reinforcing its cultural values, aiming to instill a sense of purpose and belonging in job candidates and veteran staff alike. These include:

• Showcasing their commitment to diversity, inclusion and sustainability both inside the organization and in recruitment efforts;
• Redefining the ALOM People Team mission and structure to emphasize staff development over compliance;
• Working to address employee wellness through stress and mental health education and resources; and
• Instituting a staff development online portal called ALOM University that empowers rapid onboarding, training and advancement.

The results: The program has been an extraordinary success, helping to increase ALOM’s workforce and strengthen the company’s bottom line at the same time. In 2021 alone, the company achieved:

• 70% workforce growth;
• 60% revenue growth;
• A 6% decrease in employee attrition for 2021, as compared to 2018; and
• A 65% reduction in recruitment days to fill open positions.

Looking ahead: ALOM isn’t done yet. This year, the company is working on a digital transformation effort, called DOING DX, designed to make all of ALOM’s tech systems and business processes more efficient and effective.

• It will focus on staff recruiting, performance management, supplier management and evaluation, team building, mentoring and much more.

The last word: “When I started ALOM 26 years ago, I was determined to build a supply chain company that did right by everyone,” said President and CEO Hannah Kain.

• “This has become the foundation of ALOM’s corporate culture. We believe in using the supply chain to help the world be a better place—for the environment and for every person, supplier and company. Experiencing our values in action instills a sense of pride and belonging in our staff that helps us attract, build and retain an exceptionally talented team.”

Get involved: Want to learn more about this successful workforce effort, as well as a whole host of other innovations by leading manufacturers? Join the MLC for its Rethink summit in Marco Island, Florida, on June 26–28. Sign up here.