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Boeing Wrestles With How Far to Push the Innovation Envelope

As its archrival proved with its failed Airbus A380 project, imitative, incremental innovation is a losing strategy, but assessing the market need for a new midrange aircraft involves a thorny set of questions. Boeing was right. About 20 years ago, the Chicago-based jet manufacturer and European... Continue Reading

Industrial Robotics: Opportunities for Manufacturers of End Effectors

WITH STRONG GROWTH IN INDUSTRIAL ROBOTICS, MANUFACTURERS OF END EFFECTORS AND OTHER COMPONENTS COULD SEE BIG GAINS. AT AUTOMOTIVE OEMS, INDUSTRIAL ROBOTS ARE WELDING AND PAINTING CARS. WITHIN WAREHOUSES, THEY ARE PUTTING STOCK ON SHELVES, PICKING OUT ITEMS FOR ORDERS, TRANSPORTING GOODS FROM... Continue Reading

How to Avoid the Digital Operations Doom Loop

Rushing into digital transformations can backfire. Companies that invest in digitizing operations can deliver efficiency gains of up to 15%–20% and spark supply chain innovation. Those benefits have prompted many companies to rush into a digital operations makeover. After all, no one... Continue Reading

4 Reasons MTI Monthly Sales Reports Energize Your Business

Each month, over 130 MTI member heat treat plants input their monthly sales figure into a secure, private, password protected, online platform. This helps to provide them the key sales data, trends, and forecasts, ultimately allowing them to predict with precision a number of different critical... Continue Reading

Is Your Plant Prepared for a Natural Disaster?

Seven strategies to prevent loss and restore operations quickly. Natural disasters can seriously disrupt manufacturing operations. If your plant (or critical supplier) is crippled for weeks or months, your revenue, reputation, and shareholder value could hang in the balance. If your competitors... Continue Reading

Cybersecurity Starts With Access Control

Humans are often pegged as the weakest link in cybersecurity -- and to a great extent, that’s true. But in my experience, this axiom misses the bigger point: The reason it’s true is that most companies do not have effective access control. While training employees to think like... Continue Reading

Quality 4.0: A Trend within a Trend

THE INDUSTRIAL INTERNET OF THINGS ALLOWS COMPANIES TO TAP INTO MORE DATA THAN EVER BEFORE. If you talk to anyone in manufacturing today about the future of the industry, you’re likely to hear a quizzical, “Do you mean Industry 4.0?” Industry 4.0 got its name from the Fourth... Continue Reading

Ransomware Backup Strategy Guidelines to Help Ensure Recovery

Ransomware backup best practices are critical, as one attack can cripple a business. Here are three areas to focus on for optimal protection against ransomware. In 2018, one of the worst reported ransomware attacks hit. The government office in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough -- commonly known as... Continue Reading

Future Plant Design Links Data and Operations

Manufacturers are ready to invest in next-gen digital production. One of the primary elements in the transformation of the manufacturing plants is the changing nature of demand from the customers. There is sturdy economic impetus toward products that are high on precision, safe to use and safely... Continue Reading

Want to Change a Company Culture? Train for It

"Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all." ~ Aristotle The culture of an organization is all about how people behave on a daily basis in their organization. Many times, company leaders put a set of values or behaviors on the wall for employees and visitors to see,... Continue Reading

Manufacturing Output Rose to an All-Time High in Q3 2018

Manufacturers produced $2.35 trillion in value-added output in the third quarter, an all-time high, with the sector accounting for 11.4% of real GDP. Adjusting for inflation (in chained 2012 dollars), real value-added output in manufacturing also set a new record, and overall, manufacturing... Continue Reading

YES Management Training Program Kicks Off First Session of 2019

MTI officially kicked off the 2019 YES program in Austin, TX this past week. CLICK HERE to view photo gallery of highlights. The 2019 class of heat treating executives is another full class for YES, with 33 individuals from 25 companies from all across North America. MTI member companies with... Continue Reading