News

Emotional Exhaustion is Rampant, and Returning People to the "Old Normal" Will Not Help

To what degree are team members treated with respect in your work culture? How often are they validated for their ideas, efforts, and contributions each day? Far too many work cultures -- and leaders -- dismiss, discount, and demean team members’ ideas, efforts, contributions, and concerns.... Continue Reading

Manufacturers Plan to Boost Wages at Record 3.5% Rate

Dive Brief: Manufacturers during the next 12 months plan to increase wages and full-time employment by 3.5% and 3.8%, respectively — record rates in quarterly surveys dating to 1997, according to the National Association of Manufacturers. They expect to push up capital spending by 3.6%,... Continue Reading

Long-Haul Trucking with Fewer Drivers

The economics are compelling, but technological challenges abound that are unique to this market. The trucking industry is betting heavily on increasing levels of autonomy and electrification to reduce the cost of moving goods and to overcome persistent problems. The economics of autonomous... Continue Reading

Manufacturing Technology Orders Up 41.5% in July

But new orders placed in July marked a 5.6% decrease from the previous month of June, according to the most recent U.S. Manufacturing Technology Orders report. U.S. manufacturing technology orders totaled $472.6 million in July, a 41.5% increase from the same month a year ago, according to the... Continue Reading

How Pandemic Lessons can Help Manufacturers Improve Indoor Air Quality

Identifying risks, understanding regulations, and installing and maintaining equipment keep metal fabrication shop floors safe from dangerous fumes and particulates. The COVID-19 pandemic continues to bring greater awareness of the air we breathe throughout the world. Manufacturing facilities,... Continue Reading

5 Ways to Better Prepare your Organization for a Ransomware Attack

Most executives cite ransomware as their biggest security concern but few have run simulated attacks to prepare, says Deloitte. A successful ransomware attack can overwhelm an organization as we've seen many times, especially over the past several months. But while most organizations acknowledge... Continue Reading

Archer Secures FAA Certification Basis for its eVTOL Aircraft

When Archer Aviation revealed the design of its electric air taxi earlier this year, it touted that the aircraft was “designed with certification in mind from the beginning.” Now, the upstart eVTOL developer has achieved a key milestone on that path with the issuance of a G-1... Continue Reading

Help the MTI Educational Foundation Raise $100,000 for Scholarships

Throughout the years, one of MTI’s Past Presidents, Paul Tadlock, designed a series of bronze statues to celebrate the heat treating industry. Numerous MTI plants have these statues in their plants. The MTI Educational Foundation will be giving away one of the famed bronze statues located... Continue Reading

Think Vision

Millions of businesses are meaningless, and they are dying as insects because leaders are not thinking about making their businesses meaningful. The difference between meaningless and meaningful, and valuable for you and others, is vision. If you have no vision for your business, then you have no... Continue Reading

Monday Economic Report

U.S. Economy Grew 6.6% at the Annual Rate in the Second Quarter. The U.S. economy grew 6.6% at the annual rate in the second quarter, buoyed by consumer spending and nonresidential fixed investment, with both continuing to rebound solidly. At the same time,... Continue Reading

The 3 Stay Conversations: The Best Way to Improve Employee Retention

Improve employee retention by having these three one-on-one meetings with your staff once a month. We all want to improve employee retention. The question is how? Our knee-jerk answers to this question can feel opaque. Pay, perks, and promotion opportunities could matter…but to what... Continue Reading

Need a Warehouse? You May Have to Wait 9 Months

Global steel shortages are causing delays in manufacturing racking and other interior storage solutions. Warehouse demand is at record levels. Driven by rising e-commerce demand and related one- and two-day shipping demands, the need for new warehouses has never been higher. Real estate... Continue Reading