By Laurie Harbour, president and CEO, Harbour Results, Inc. It’s been an interesting three years for the manufacturing industry. In 2020, the industry was hit by COVID-19. Together, everyone learned what to do. Despite starts and stops, ups and downs, the tooling industry persevered. Then, in 2021, it was a year of unprecedented high demand for energy and major durable … [Read more...] about Recession and Growth: Building Resiliency in a Mold Shop
Economy
Tool Builders Focus on 2023 Priorities
By Maggie Taylor, writer, The American Mold Builder After several unpredictable years, the mold manufacturing industry is primarily reporting positive sentiments as the first quarter of 2023 gets underway. “We’re on very good momentum right now,” said Tammy Barras, president of Westec Plastics Corporation in Livermore, California. “We’ve made a lot of improvements over … [Read more...] about Tool Builders Focus on 2023 Priorities
The Review Is in and the Tariffs Remain
by Omar Nashashibi, founding partner, The Franklin Partnership, LLC The Biden administration announced on Oct. 4, 2021, that the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) had completed its eight-month review of Washington’s trade policy toward Beijing. The review confirmed that the US will continue applying tariffs on imported Chinese goods and that USTR ambassador … [Read more...] about The Review Is in and the Tariffs Remain
Filling the Sales Pipeline: Existing Customers and New Prospects
by Nicole Mitchell, writer, The American Mold Builder With product demand booming in nearly all consumer markets, now is the time to pursue aggressively additional business opportunities from existing customers and new prospects. “The gestation period on new customers is quite long in this business,” said Carl Jacobsen, estimator/tooling engineer, M&M Tool. “It’s very rare … [Read more...] about Filling the Sales Pipeline: Existing Customers and New Prospects
Five Places to be on the Lookout for Fraud
By Christina Solomon, CPA/CVV, CFE, CGMA and Michael J. Devereux II, CPA, CMP, Wipfli/Mueller Prost Fraud takes on many forms, resulting in substantial financial losses and exposing your company to undue risk. Fraud can be perpetrated by internal sources – those employees, managers and even owners who are implicitly trusted, yet this group historically has caused losses … [Read more...] about Five Places to be on the Lookout for Fraud
China Tariffs Remain with Pressure Building in Washington
By Omar Nashashibi, The Franklin Partnership, LLC As the November 2020 election neared, word spread throughout Washington, D.C. international trade circles that China preferred then-Democratic candidate Joe Biden win the White House over President Donald Trump hoping for more stability in relations. Fast forward eight months and the word spreading throughout those same trade … [Read more...] about China Tariffs Remain with Pressure Building in Washington