Moret: Rockwell Is Betting on Itself
Rockwell Automation is “placing a long-term bet” on itself—and it’s confident that bet will pay off in the not-too-distant future.
What’s going on: Though manufacturing activity in the U.S. contracted again in November, Rockwell is “seeing pretty good activity in what we would call brownfields” or existing facilities, Blake Moret, CEO of the Milwaukee, Wisconsin–headquartered digital transformation solution leader and NAM Board vice chair, said on NPR’s “Marketplace Morning Report” last Friday.
- “In fact, Rockwell just announced a new greenfield—the first major new plant in the U.S. in many years—in Wisconsin,” Moret told show host David Brancaccio.
What the future holds: Asked whether the company was “undaunted” in the face of economic “uncertainty,” Moret was confident in what he sees coming for manufacturing in the U.S.
- “We certainly pay attention to what’s going on, but we’re placing a long-term bet—and that is that manufacturing is important today in America and it’s going to be important in the future and in a country with relatively high labor cost.”
The winning hand: The businesses that thrive in the future are those with their eyes open, he concluded.
- “The winning hand is going to be the combination of that engaged workforce with the technology to help make them as competitive as possible.”