A Good Friday for US Manufacturing

I have fond memories from elementary and middle school taking field trips to local factories. I was fascinated by the metal monsters that loomed above me and my classmates and mesmerized by their implacable rhythms. The factory floor is much different today — much sleeker and high tech than the steampunk environment I experienced in my youth — but kids today wouldn’t know that. For the most part, school field trips don’t visit manufacturing sites because both the school district and the host company are wary of litigation should anything go awry during the tour. That’s one reason why Manufacturing Day is so important.

Manufacturing Day is held annually on the first Friday in October — this year it falls on Oct. 4. The good news is that domestic manufacturing is on a roll, thanks in part to federal legislation funding infrastructure and supporting reshoring, and a realization following recent supply chain snafus that manufacturing and outsourcing closer to home can outweigh the pennies one might save by moving operations overseas.

Unfortunately, the labor force that will be needed to keep those factories running is scarce. A number that’s often bandied about is that a little over two million manufacturing jobs could go unfilled by 2030. That’s according to a 2021 study conducted by Deloitte and the Manufacturing Institute, but it doesn’t seem like anything has changed since then. Ask any manufacturer what keeps him or her up at night, and one of the things at the top of their list is finding and retaining skilled labor. And it’s only getting worse: Close to half of the current skilled labor force is expected to retire by 2031 at the same time that fewer young people are choosing a career in manufacturing, as reported in Forbes recently.

Related:Talent Talk: A Manufacturing Boom Is Coming, but Where Are the Workers?

That’s why Manufacturing Day is so important: It provides a rare opportunity for young people to see for themselves that careers in advanced manufacturing aren’t dull and repetitive — robotics and AR and AI, oh my — and can pay quite handsomely without requiring a four-year degree (and the hefty college loan that comes with it). One day isn’t enough to change the culture, but it’s a start, and it’s wonderful to see that thousands of companies and educational institutions across the country are opening their doors to their communities. 

The Manufacturing Institute maintains a clickable map showing all of the participants across the country on its website. It also provides resources for getting involved, if not this year since Manufacturing Day is imminent, then in 2025. In the meantime, here is what three companies in the plastics space have planned for this year.

Related:Talent Talk: Millions of New Manufacturing Jobs? Uh-oh!

An eye-opening exercise at PTI Engineered Plastics

PTI Engineered Plastics is a Manufacturing Day veteran, having hosted events for the past 11 years, and it’s always a big deal in Macomb County, MI, where the custom plastic injection molder is located. “PTI is one of 70 host sites participating, and more than 2,000 students will be touring [the sites],” PTI’s Kelley Riley told PlasticsToday.

“We believe that getting students into state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities will open their eyes to all the possible careers in manufacturing, some they never even thought existed. PTI is primarily a medical molder, which is unexpected here in the Detroit area, so students are always surprised to learn there are many types of manufacturing that occur in our area. The staff members accompanying them are always surprised, too, and we even invite their bus driver to join us!” said Riley.

The tour takes students through the entire process from the design studio, where they learn how a part is designed and how that determines the mold design, to the tooling center and the manufacturing floor. “There, we showcase the automation we use in injection molding, how material is handled, what happens in a cleanroom, and any other secondary processes that may happen, like lasering,” said Riley.

The day concludes with a Q&A session and photo op. Each student leaves with a PTI swag bag.

Plastic Ingenuity invites community for mocktails and manufacturing

Plastic Ingenuity, a custom thermoformer that has its headquarters in Cross Plains, WI, is participating in Manufacturing Day for the first time but doing so a day early because of production scheduling commitments. It invites community members who have been “driving by PI for years” to stop by for “mocktails and manufacturing,” a behind-the-scenes look at Plastic Ingenuity and thermoforming. The event is scheduled for Oct. 3 from 4 to 6 p.m.

Plastic Ingenuity is also planning internal festivities to mark Manufacturing Day. “We’ve gathered our team members' stories about where they started, their educational background, their career path, etc., and have it on all our internal reader boards at all five US-based locations for the entire company to see,” Kassie Rizzo-Pitts told PlasticsToday. A manufacturing scavenger hunt is also being organized, she added.

Elementary STEM students tour Westminster Tool

A scavenger hunt is also part of the festivities at Westminster Tool in Plainfield, CT, but this one is geared to fifth grade STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) students that will be touring the facility. The tours begin a day early, on Oct. 3, and run all month.

Westminster Tool is organizing a scavenger hunt for STEM students to celebrate Manufacturing Day.

The Plainfield school system recently added a STEM teacher and coursework into the core curriculum of elementary and middle schools. “To celebrate, we’re hosting each STEM class of fifth-grade students one day each week for the entire month of October for a student tour and activity,” Hannah Belmont told PlasticsToday. The students will explore automation, robotics, engineering, 3D printing, and CNC machining at five tour stops and learn about career opportunities in manufacturing.

Are you planning to celebrate Manufacturing Day this year? If so, let us, our readers, and your community know on our LinkedIn, X, and Facebook accounts. And tell us how things went and what you did — and send us a picture — for a follow-up article in PlasticsToday. Send your comments and photos to [email protected].