Industrial Marketing: Important Trends in 2011

(from Marketing Maven’s Blog)

2011 is here and that means B2B marketing professionals are evaluating plans and allocating budget for the upcoming year. Each company has unique goals as well as challenges, and what works for one company may not work for another—there are no universal marketing solutions. However, the same key trends will impact every company, and marketers who capitalize on these trends will be better positioned to achieve their objectives.

Buyers Crave Content
Industrial buyers crave useful, relevant content to help build their internal business cases and justify buying decisions. It’s up to you to provide valuable content to help buyers make informed purchase decisions and help your company earn new sales.

Take stock of your existing content and match it to your audience needs. Then fill in any gaps. Maybe you’re short on content aimed at the economic buyer. In that case, create an ROI calculator. Maybe analytical buyers don’t understand your novel approach to solving a problem. That might call for a case study. If you need more visibility and authority in the market, launch a blog.

Also, you don’t have to start from the beginning when developing content. Often you can re-purpose existing content for use across several media. For example, the white paper that becomes a Webinar that becomes a video. Or the technical article that becomes a presentation at a conference that becomes a series of blog entries.

Users Want a Multimedia Experience
As with audiences everywhere, the industrial professional is now reading and watching and listening online. Take advantage of this trend by offering more than just words on paper or screen. Thanks to inexpensive technologies and high bandwidth, media such as video is simple to produce and easy to deliver to your audience.

There’s plenty of source material to create videos. You can record interviews, product demos, presentations—delivering anything from expert analysis and advice, to product announcements, to quarterly results. You can also use videos to promote events before they occur and to record and archive them for future consumption.

Don’t forget to promote your videos everywhere you can: on Web sites using links and banners, in blogs, through e-mail, and via social media tools.

Social Media Requires Your Attention
Many marketers are not sure what commitment they should make to social media right now. While there is a great deal of buzz and noise surrounding social media, adoption in the industrial sector remains low. It’s important to understand how your prospects and clients are adopting social media, and ensure that your level of investment matches your audience’s use.

Your first task is to understand how your target audience uses social media and what platforms they prefer. Our research has identified LinkedIn, video, and Facebook as the most popular social media platforms for the industrial audience. You may want to survey your own base for their social media preferences.

Once you understand how your audience uses social media, you can develop an appropriate social media strategy. Remember that social media doesn’t take the place of other marketing, but is a complement to other marketing efforts. You’ll need to place someone in charge of social media efforts, integrate social media into your existing marketing program, and establish success metrics to measure ROI.

New Marketing Channels Await
With the near universal adoption of the Internet by your customers and prospects, you now have more marketing channels than ever to choose from to reach your target audience. From search engine optimization and paid search, to online directories and searchable catalogs, to social media and e-newsletters.

One marketing channel that’s experiencing significant growth is the online event. These virtual tradeshows offer a complete interactive experience for both suppliers and attendees, with features such as live chat, virtual booths, discussion panels, keynote presentations, content distribution, Q&A and more. Plus, no one has to leave their desk or incur travel and other related costs.

It’s important to integrate all of your online marketing channels into a cohesive program that can become more than the sum of its parts. Work with media partners who understand your needs and can help you pull together the right programs designed to meet your goals.

Maintain Focus on ROI
The requirement for marketers to demonstrate ROI is a trend that is here to stay. For 2011, choose measurable marketing programs and define your objectives and the success metrics against which you will measure your success. It’s an old saying in the business world, but it never really grows old: you can’t manage what you can’t measure.

By making marketing plans for 2011 with these trends in mind, you will put your company in position to gain an advantage, because the decisions you make will help you become highly visible to, and discovered by, more potential customers.

Why Good Ideas Go Bad

Why do some smart people make stupid mistakes? Furthermore, why is it that some great ideas go absolutely nowhere while others go on to find fame and fortune?

This is a question that I have thought about before, partly because I touched on it in my recent book, Future Minds, and partly because the issue of why people make mistakes is something I read about in a great book called Why We make Mistakes: How We Look Without Seeing, Forget Things in Seconds, and Are All Pretty Sure We Are Way Above Average by Joseph Hallinan. So here’s a little something on why good ideas can go bad and why intelligent people sometimes get things catastrophically wrong.

Looking back over a few decades of dealing with innovators, large and small, there appear to be five reasons why some ideas make it and others don’t. This is not an exhaustive list. Neither does it take into account factors such as finding a customer need state (or inventing one), financial issues or a host of other things budding innovators need to worry about. This is merely a summary of why some people seem to succeed and others don’t, especially when it comes to making critical decisions about new ideas.

For example, the first reason that many individuals fail to get their ideas off the ground is that they sink too much of themselves into projects. They continue to back fixed strategies well past the point of no return in a futile quest to get their sunken time, and especially their sunken money, back.

In contrast, smart innovators practice fast failure. When projects reach a point off diminishing returns they get out fast to avoid losing even more time and money – and then they start again in a different way. This trait of not letting go or adapting is especially prevalent with sole inventors. These individuals will not adapt their idea, or change their vision, even when doing so might attract investors or make the final route to market much easier.

Sometimes dogged determination and persistence can pay off. Indeed, history is littered with examples of might be called ‘endurance invention’, where individuals struggle for years (often decades) before an idea finally becomes a reality. James Dyson, the inventor of the bag-less vacuum cleaner, Trevor Baylis, the inventor of the windup radio, and Colonel Sanders (KFC) are well-known examples. But such stories are misleading. Most of the time the desire for absolute control over flexibility, kills good ideas stone dead.

At the extreme, sole inventors will not share their ideas with anyone because they fear that their idea will be stolen or misused. This does happen. But no non-disclosure agreement will prevent this from happening unless you are prepared to spend enormous sums of money on lawyers (i.e. much more than the other guy). This is also a very negative mindset. Yes, there are people out there that will rob you blind, but most people will not. Moreover, you cannot do everything yourself. At some point you will have to let go and let others craft and polish your idea, especially if your aim is scale.

What else goes wrong? In my experience, the second reason that good ideas go bad is too much time and money. With small firms austerity and necessity can be the father and mother of invention. But with large organizations (e.g. multi-nationals) too much time and money can be fatal.

Large companies are generally risk-averse perfectionists. They are inherently conservative (often rightly so), but the downside is they often focus too much on the legacy (existing) business and move at a snail’s pace when it comes to anything new. They move so slowly, in fact, that any market opportunity has often expired by the time a ‘perfect’ idea has been developed and launched. I won’t name any names, but most large FMCG firms inhabit this terrain, which is why they are regularly out manoeuvred by smaller, less cash-constrained start-ups.

Linked to this thought is the idea that people behave very differently with things they own compared to things they don’t. If overcommitted individual inventors not letting go is one problem, people in large companies not having any skin whatsoever in the game is another. After all, why fight to the death for an idea if there is no personal financial benefit, or if there is a chance that the support or investment for an idea will be withdrawn once a senior decision maker moves upwards or outwards.

The third reason that good ideas can go nowhere is that our brains are designed to deceive. Essentially, all information and experience gets a ‘tag’ and gets stored away deep inside our heads. However, such information and experience do not sit quietly on the sidelines, waiting patiently to be called up to play when they will be most useful. No. Ideas are connected to other stored ideas deep inside our heads. Normally this isn’t a problem, because we use these stored ideas to make decisions and judgements.

But occasionally these connections let us down. Sometimes memories attach themselves to information that results in false pattern recognition or understanding. We think that we understand a problem based on previous experience when in fact we do not. An example might be Segway. This was a technically brilliant idea, but I suspect that Dean Kamen failed to see what was hidden in plain sight, namely, that the Segway was kinda problematic on the freeway and also the sidewalk.

The fourth reason for failure or mistakes is what’s called egocentric bias. The idea here is that we usually think that we are right. This isn’t generally a problem with sole traders (companies with just one employee) but with corporate teams you can imagine the consequences. Everyone in a team (or corporation) has an opinion about what should be done and spends most of their time ensuring that the opinions of other team members (or departments) don’t prevail. Throw in some alpha-male (or female) behaviour and it’s a wonder that anything ever gets done in some corporations. I suspect that political parties, falling behind in opinion polls, and brands lagging in second, third and fourth places in a category, fit with this too.

Confirmation bias is the fifth reason that things can go from good to bad very quickly. In short, our brains subconsciously seek out facts and opinions that strengthen our existing opinions. For example, if we believe that Microsoft is a bad company then any mistake they make will be used as evidence to support this opinion. Equally, if we think that Apple is a good company then any mistake will go unnoticed or will be quickly forgotten.

Linking this back to innovation, if someone has an idea that they believe in, then any fact that supports the idea will be quickly seized upon, whereas any fact that questions it will be instantly dismissed. Many CEOs suffer from confirmation bias. They seek out people that agree with their opinions and dismiss (literally) those that do not.

Why else do good ideas go bad? The list is almost endless, but it would probably include overconfidence, expediency, conformity, distraction, not listening to customers, listening too closely to customers, distribution issues, pricing, quality, marketing and so on.

5 ways to stop good ideas going bad

1. Be pragmatic. 90% right and in market is better than 100% and not.

2. Think like an upstart start-up. Apply half the time and half the money rule.

3. Walk in the shoes of the final customer. Do the shoes hurt?

4. Say to yourself, maybe the other person is right.

5. Seek out the opinions of disinterested outsiders. Is it still a good idea?

 (article originally appeared in Fast Company)

Entrepreneurs, toot your own horn to keep customers coming

(from USA Today)

If “making more money” is one of your goals for your small business in 2011, then add “do more marketing” to your list of new year’s resolutions.

To make money, your prospective customers must know about you. That means marketing, and I’ve got some key marketing tips to help you succeed.

Marketing options are more confusing than ever: Is it really worthwhile to spend your time tweeting or building a following on Facebook? What about mobile devices? How can you be visible when customers check smartphones to find the best place to shop?

In the midst of navigating these new marketing options, don’t forget tried-and-true methods. Even in a new mobile, connected, global business environment, many time-tested marketing principles still apply.

As you begin your 2011 marketing efforts, keep these 11 key marketing tips in mind:

1. Get out there. People do business with people they know, so build your business network. Attend industry conferences, join community organizations. Be seen frequently. Connect in person and not just online.

2. Get listed — free. Want to show up in search engines and mobile devices without spending a cent? Be sure to set up your free business pages in Google Places, Yahoo Local, Yelp and others. You can list your products and services, hours of operation, specials, even add photos or offer specials. It’s a key, free way to market on mobile devices and Web search engines.

3. Keep your top prospects in view. Make a list of your top 10 prospects or referral sources and keep it on your desk, your mobile phone, or use it as the “wallpaper” on your computer. Contact each of these key income-generators at least once a month.

4. Create a strong company brand and identity. Start with a distinct look-and-feel — logo, colors, typeface, etc. — that conveys what you’re about. Use those consistently on everything — your website, business cards, packaging, newsletters, marketing materials, job ads. If possible, give your brand some zip and personality that makes it memorable.

5. Repeat, repeat, repeat. This is the golden rule of marketing. Whatever marketing tactics you use, you must repeat your message to the same audience in the same place, over and over again. It takes a long time for your message to sink in.

6. Tell people what they get, not what you do. In your marketing materials and messages, focus on the benefits the buyer receives — rather than just long lists of features of your products or descriptions of how you perform your services. Of course, customers compare features and services, so you’ll need to include those. But always emphasize the benefits those features bring.

7. Create an e-mail newsletter. An e-mail newsletter is one of the most effective and inexpensive ways to regularly stay in front of customers, prospects, and referral sources. Make sure your newsletter provides some value for the recipient, such as useful information, details on discounts or a special offer.

8. Get a tagline. Devise a short phrase conveying what you do or makes you special (like “The world on time” for FedEx). Even a simple descriptive phrase can set you apart (like “Bonded janitorial services for banks”). Give prospects a reason to remember you. Use your tagline on your website, business cards, even e-mail signature.

9. Attend or exhibit at a trade show. Trade shows are great places to find many customers in one place, do research on your competition and meet referral and information sources. Research which trade shows target your customers attend and check them out.

10. Be visible online. Make sure you have a website. Learn about social media. If you sell to consumers, get a Facebook page and consider a Twitter feed. Monitor your reviews on Yelp and other review sites. If you sell to businesses, look for industry-specific social media sites.

11. Get a contact management system. Keep track of past and current customers, prospects, referral sources, and more. This data is an invaluable business asset — use it for staying in touch, making sales calls, announcing new products or sales and more.

Most important, make marketing a priority.

After all, customers can’t buy from you unless they know about you — so get out there and toot your own horn!

Companies’ Jobs Outlook Rises to Decade High, U.S. Business Economists Say

U.S. companies’ employment outlook improved to a 12-year high this quarter after sales strengthened and economic growth picked up, a survey showed.

The percentage of businesses expecting to increase payrolls in the next six months exceeded the share projecting more firings by 35 points, the most since the question was first asked in 1998, according to a survey by the National Association for Business Economics issued today in Washington. Sixty-two percent of respondents planned to boost spending on new equipment this year, up from 48 percent in the October survey.

“Things are headed in the right direction,” Shawn DuBravac, chief economist at the Consumer Electronics Association in Arlington, Virginia, who analyzed the results, said in an interview. “Topping everything is the high number of firms suggesting they will increase their headcount in the future.”

The report adds to evidence, including a drop in claims for unemployment benefits, showing the job market is strengthening in early 2011. Payrolls rose by 103,000 workers in December, less than the median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News, and the unemployment rate fell to 9.4 percent from 9.8 percent a month earlier, according to Labor Department figures released Jan. 7. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg this month forecast unemployment will average 9.3 percent this year.

Sales, which the report showed climbed in the last three months of 2010 for the sixth straight quarter, and higher profits are making businesses optimistic enough to consider expanding staff.

More Hiring

Forty-two percent of respondents said they anticipate an increase in hiring within the next six months, compared with 39 percent in the October survey. The share planning to trim payrolls fell to 7 percent from 11 percent last quarter.

A jump in payrolls “won’t happen overnight, and we’re probably several years from seeing the unemployment rate that we enjoyed prior to the downturn,” said DuBravac. “The fact that you see them thinking about hiring shows businesses are likely feeling comfortable with the recovery.”

Eight out of 10 respondents, the most since the October 2006 survey, projected the U.S. economy will expand from 2 percent to 4 percent in 2011. Last quarter, 54 percent said the economy would grow by that much. The median estimate of 71 economists surveyed by Bloomberg this month forecast a 3.1 percent growth rate for this year.

Payroll-Tax Cut

As part of the January survey, the group asked respondents about the $858 billion bill President Barack Obama signed into law on Dec. 17, which extended Bush-era tax cuts for two years. The measure also renewed emergency jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed through 2011, cut payroll taxes this year by two percentage points and included accelerated tax depreciation for equipment purchases.

While 53 percent said the legislation will probably boost sales, 62 percent said it will not sway decisions on business investment, and 68 percent said it will have little influence on hiring, the report said.

Of the 56 percent surveyed who said a portion of their firms’ sales come from abroad, about 4 of 10 said international sales increased last quarter, according to the survey. Two percent said exports declined.

Eighty-four NABE members responded to the survey, conducted between Dec. 17, 2010, and Jan. 5. The National Association for Business Economics, founded in 1959, is the professional organization for people who use economics in their work.

First in a Series:Customer Retention

Most companies know that there are traditionally four components to sales growth: customer retention, customer business growth, new customer development and new market development. But what might be new is Skyhawk’s approach to this strategy.

Our Quick-Start program targets the four traditional growth components with our unique approach. We use research (of our client) and communications to strengthen the bond between customer and supplier. In the research phase, we identify our client’s core competencies and capabilities. We then craft a custom communication program that reaches your customer’s key decision makers and other valuable contacts. This is particularly important in nurturing those customers who do not see a vendor representative on a regular basis, not to mention those customers who seldom, if ever, see a vendor representative.

By using our Quick-Start program, you can get your company’s message to your clients on a regular basis in multiple platforms.

The ultimate responsibility of customer retention rests with you. But we can provide a program to assist in your success.

For more information, visit our Website at www.skyhawkresources.com.

Next Issue – Customer Business Growth

Small Marketing Changes With a Big Impact

Try these seven low-cost ways to boost small-business sales.

(from Entrepreneur Magazine) 

Small changes to your marketing mix can have a big impact — especially if you tap the wealth of low-cost tools available to you online.

Here are seven small marketing changes that you can make now to boost your sales in 2011:

1. Put a Twitter link in your e-mail signature. By including a link to your Twitter page at the bottom of the signature file in your e-mail messages, you can spread the word about your business every time you hit the Send button. “I use Twitter religiously to promote my company and my clients,” says Stacy Kelly, CEO of Mobile Previews LLC, a New York City company that promotes movies and other products by creating engaging experiences that consumers can access on their mobile phones. “I also link to it to help build up my list of followers. The cost is nothing but a little thought power.”

2. Turn the back of your business card into a promo. Can’t afford to advertise in print or broadcast? The back of your business card is advertising real estate that you own, and, best of all, it’s free. By featuring a photo of yourself, a picture of your product, a 10 percent off coupon, or a list of services that your company provides, you can turn your business card into a powerful marketing tool. “That extra info can be a great conversation starter,” says John Fletcher, president of Johnny Agency Inc., a New York City graphic design firm that creates marketing materials for growing businesses. “It also allows you to convey important facts about your business during those precious moments when you have someone’s attention.”

3. Revamp your website. If you’ve already spent the money to build a website, it may be time for a facelift. Rather than spending big dollars to redesign your home page, try creating a series of low-cost “landing pages” to test different ads and offers for your products and services. “Your website is not a brochure,” says New York City consultant David Ronick, co-founder of Upstart Bootcamp, an online school for startups. “Most people today come in through the back door and through blog posts.” Be sure that your site is easy to read — not only for people browsing the web through their computers but accessing your site through their iPhones and BlackBerrys, too.

4. Position yourself as an expert. There’s nothing that builds your brand faster than free advice. Whether you’re a landscaper, a handbag designer or a dog walker, your expertise will have customers knocking at your door offering to pay you to help solve their problems. “The key is to give away thought leadership to build an audience,” Ronick says. Once you find out what works, go out there and replicate it.” One of Ronick’s clients, a luxury outsourced concierge service, regularly tweets about hot, new restaurants, clubs and bars, generating new leads from prospects who need the company’s service.

5. Swap lists with sites that have similar demographics. There’s no reason to pay big money to rent a mailing list when you can get sites that attract a similar audience to let you borrow theirs for free. Ronick says that one of his clients, a site that publishes a newsletter about women in finance, used this technique to build a list of 50,000 subscribers. “They did lots of trades that didn’t cost them anything out of pocket,” he says. “The key is to create great content and give it away for free on the web.” Be careful to respect the privacy of the subscribers whose e-mail addresses are on the lists you swap, or you may get labeled a spammer by your ISP. To avoid trouble, ask the site whose list you’re borrowing to handle the mailing itself and to include a link to your site that their subscribers can click to sign up for your newsletter.

6. Get a vanity phone number. Just because the phone company stuck you with a random number when you signed up for their service doesn’t mean that you’re saddled with it for life. Torya Blanchard, a former French teacher who opened Good Girls Go To Paris Crepes LLC in Detroit two years ago, was looking for ways to bring customers in the door when she found Ring Ring LLC, a company that provides small businesses with vanity phone numbers. Blanchard picked 1-877-PARISCREPES, and her phone has been ringing off the hook every since. “I’ll never give up that number,” she says. “That’s how people know us.” The cost: approximately $25 a month, says Aaron Beals, Ring Ring’s CEO.

7. Test, measure and test again. Just because you’ve found a marketing strategy that seems to be working doesn’t mean that you should blow your entire budget on, say, business cards or vanity phone numbers. Test, measure and test again before rolling out your campaign. Google Analytics will measure your traffic for free and tell you where your site visitors are coming from and which search terms they’re using to find you. “Test every piece of your marketing campaign,” Ronick says. “Once you’ve found the right formula, follow it.”

The bottom line: You don’t need to have a big marketing budget to make a big splash. A tweak here, a tweak there, and soon your phone will be buzzing with new business.

Trends in Industrial Marketing 2010: How Manufacturers are Marketing Today

An interesting report prepared by GlobalSpec looks at the future of Business-to-Business marketing. Several key points in the report are the following:

1. The economy is improving and manufacturers are responding with
increased marketing spend.
70% of companies expect sales to increase in 2010 over 2009 levels, a strong indicator that the  economy as a whole and the industrial sector in particular are improving. Only 7% anticipate sales to be down in 2009. In response to improving conditions, manufacturers are increasing their marketing  investments.

31% are reporting an increase in their marketing budgets in 2010.

2. Manufacturers are investing more marketing resources online.
Manufacturers now realize that the vast majority of their target audience goes  online in search of suppliers, products and services—and in response are increasing online marketing investments in 2010 to connect with this audience.

47% of manufacturers will spend more than one-third of their 2010 marketing budget online; 27% will spend more than half of their marketing budget online.

The majority of manufacturers (51%) are increasing the online portion of their marketing budget over last year and 68% are increasing spending in online social media channels. In addition, online marketing channels occupy the top six areas where companies will be increasing marketing spending over 2009.

Conversely, spending on traditional media channels will be down: 25% are decreasing trade magazine advertising and 24% are decreasing use of printed directories.
3. Quality of leads delivered ranked most important when allocating marketing
budgets.
When asked to rate the importance of various factors in allocating marketing budgets, marketers ranked lead quality most important—8.6 on a scale of one to ten—with fit of audience exposure and reach of audience exposure placing second and third.

Quantity of leads and quantity of clicks to a company Web site placed a distant eighth and ninth,  respectively, out of nine factors. In terms of generating leads, three of the four top sources are online: company Web sites, e-mail marketing and search engine optimization.

4. Industrial marketers face the same challenges year after year.
For the past three years, marketers have listed the same three marketing challenges at the top of their  list: too few marketing resources, not enough high quality leads and a need to improve ROI. While most manufacturers are shifting resources to online marketing, the transition is not happening fast enough or broad enough.

Despite online marketing’s proven ability to deliver high quality leads, 48% of respondents still said they are not generating enough high quality leads for their sales teams. And although online programs deliver easily measurable results, 34% stated they need to improve their marketing ROI. It’s true that 47% of marketers are spending more than one-third of their marketing budget online, but that means 53% are spending less than one-third online. These manufacturers are behind and should increase their online marketing investments to help achieve their goals and overcome their marketing challenges.

Other Highlights of the survey responses include:

• 70% of companies anticipate an increase in sales compared to 2009.

• Marketing budgets are recovering after a down year in 2009, with 31% reporting an increase in their marketing budget this year.

• 74% stated that customer acquisition or lead generation is their primary marketing goal. These have been the top two marketing goals for the past three years.

• The top three marketing challenges in 2010 are having too few resources, not enough quality leads and a need to improve marketing ROI.

• Three of the top four sources of leads are online channels, including the company Web site, e-mail marketing and search engine optimization.

• 68% of companies plan to increase spending on social media in 2010. LinkedIn and Facebook are the most popular social media applications currently being used.

• 47% will spend more than one-third of their marketing budget online, and the majority (51%) will invest more in online marketing in 2010 than they did in 2009.

Will try to delve further into the report in the near future.

Lockheed Martin’s Lighter-Than-Air Program Continues to Benefit Ohioans

Good news for the Ohio economy  

The Ohio Department of Development (ODOD) awarded Lockheed Martin Mission Systems and Sensors in Akron a $1 million grant for advanced materials development.  The grant will support Lockheed Martin’s effort to develop the next generation of lighter-than-air (LTA) vehicles for use in persistent surveillance, reconnaissance and communication applications. 

Key technology advancements are required in the materials area to ensure the durability and integrity of the LTA vehicle’s envelope, particularly the hull fabric.  This grant is specifically directed toward establishing commercial production of light-weight, flexible film materials in Ohio that will provide the high modulus and reduced permeability required for the LTA vehicles.  The superior and unique material properties will come from Ohio companies, working collaboratively with Lockheed Martin, as part of its local supply chain.  As the use of LTA vehicles continue to grow, the market for the fabric will increase and create additional jobs in the state.

The project team includes Lockheed Martin, Akron Polymer Systems (APS), Chemsultants International located in Mentor, Ohio, and the University of Akron (UA). Lockheed Martin will be the project lead and provide expertise in LTA technology. APS will provide its knowledge of condensation polymers. Chemsultants is a world leader in films and casting. UA includes experts in polymers and nanomaterials. Ohio’s Center for Multifunctional Polymer Nanomaterials and Devices (CMPND) has a long history with these organizations, building collaborative relationships, assisting with grant preparation and providing leadership.

The proximity of suppliers benefits Lockheed Martin in terms of speed and communications, while providing an additional 10 near-term jobs to the northwest Ohio economy.  Assuming the materials development and subsequent demonstration project is successful, Lockheed Martin’s LTA development team is expected to employ an additional 120 workers by 2013. Further, the project will preserve 80 jobs in Ohio and create expanded opportunities in the state for such advanced flexible composites markets as medical packaging and instruments, space structures and inflatable ground structures.

Both the technologies and collaborations involved in the project build on a history of support and cooperation developed in earlier efforts. More specifically, this proposal is clearly an extension of groundwork put in place by collaborations with CMPND and the ODOD Research Commercialized Program (RCP) Polyimide project support.

The Ohio Third Frontier Program that is funding this and other projects leverages private enterprise funds to create additional jobs for Ohioans.

America’s Most Wanted: Skilled Workers

A pretty interesting article by Gerald Shankel, President and CEO, Fabricators & Manufacturers Association, International

Consider a manufacturing career amid media reports of shuttered factories, job losses and the worst economy since the Depression? Although certainly counter-intuitive, the answer to that question is a resounding yes! Despite the shaky economy, scores of American manufacturers are reporting a dire need for skilled labor.

Industry surveys reinforce this claim. According to the 2009 Manpower Talent Shortage Survey, among the most difficult jobs to fill in North America are those of the skilled manual trades, with electricians, carpenters/joiners and welders as the most in-demand employees.

In addition, an October 2009 report issued by the Manufacturing Institute, Deloitte and Oracle, cites that among companies involved in skilled production (whose employees are machinists, craft workers and technicians), 51 percent report shortages and see increased shortages ahead.

Although the United States has lost huge numbers of manufacturing jobs to countries like China, there still are well paying job opportunities for skilled workers in the manufacturing sector here. As more and more baby boomers retire, the problem is only expected to accelerate.

The looming skilled-worker shortage is an unwelcome threat to the nation’s manufacturing base that needs to be addressed at multiple levels, from better educating the next generation of factory workers to improving the public’s image of plant work.

You can read the rest of the article here — America’s Most Wanted: Skilled Workers

Federal Money Boosts Construction Spending; More Metros Gain Jobs; Input Costs Rise

The Associated General Contractors of America, in its monthly report, is seeing a possible turnaround in the construction industry. Read the below for a monthly analysis of the market.

Construction spending edged up 0.4% in August to $812 billion at a seasonally adjusted annual rate but remained 10% below the August 2009 level, the Census Bureau reported today. The good news was limited to public construction, which climbed 2.5% for the month, although it was down 1.0% year-over-year. Based on categories with increases, the public uptick appeared to result from federal funds for stimulus, military base realignment, and hurricane reconstruction and prevention, although Census does not list individual projects or sources of funds. Stimulus funds appear to have lifted public housing (up 33% from August 2009 to August 2010), sewage and waste disposal (up 19%), water supply construction (up 5.2%) and highway and street construction (up 0.9%). Reconstruction work around New Orleans may have helped conservation spending rise 18%. In contrast, public educational construction, which is almost entirely funded from state and local revenues, slumped 13%. Private nonresidential spending fell 1.4% for the month and 24% year-over-year, with all 11 categories in the Census press release declining from a year earlier, most by double-digit percentages. Private residential spending slipped 0.3% for the month and 1.7% since August 2009. New single-family construction fell 4.2% in August, the fourth straight drop since the homebuyer tax credits expired in April, though spending was 3.9% higher than in August 2009. New multi-family construction slumped 11% for the month and 52% year-over-year. Improvements to existing single- and multi-family rose 5.0% and 4.2%, respectively.

Unemployment rates were lower in August than a year earlier in 182 out of 372 metropolitan areas, higher in 169 areas and unchanged in 21 areas, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported on Wednesday. Nonfarm payroll employment increased in 165 areas, declined in 193, and was unchanged in 14. An analysis by AGC of construction employment in 337 metro areas for which BLS provides data showed year-over-year increases in 56 areas, decreases in 245 and no change in 36. The number of areas with increases in construction jobs was the largest since September 2008. BLS combines mining and logging with construction for areas in which there are few employers in one of those industries. Kansas City, Kansas added more construction jobs (2,500 combined jobs, 13%) than any other metro area while Hanford-Corcoran, California added the highest percentage (22%, 200 combined jobs). Other areas adding jobs included Pittsburgh (2,000 construction-only jobs, 4%); Calvert-Charles-Prince Georges Counties, Maryland (1,200 combined, 3%); Chattanooga, Tennessee (700 combined, 8%); and Eau Claire, Wisconsin (600 combined, 19%). Chicago-Joliet-Naperville lost more (22,600 construction-only, 16%) than any other metro area, even after a construction strike ended in July. Napa, Calif. (900 combined jobs, 30%) lost the highest percentage. Other areas experiencing large declines included Las Vegas (13,500 construction-only, 22%); Houston (11,200 construction-only, 6%); Seattle-Bellevue-Everett (9,100 construction-only, 12%); and Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif. (8,500 construction-only, 13%).

Despite lackluster construction demand, many materials used in construction have risen in price. Today the Institute for Supply Management reported that respondents to its monthly survey of purchasing executives at manufacturing firms listed aluminum, copper, steel, stainless steel and plastic resins among items that rose in price in September, although steel was also listed as having fallen. Titanium dioxide, used to whiten paint and other products, was listed as being in short supply. “Some types of polyethylene resins continue to be in short supply and some resins are now on allocation,” New South Construction Supply e-News (jim.sobeck@newsouthsupply.com) reported on Tuesday. “The September resin increase of $.05/lb held and resin manufacturers have announced an increase of $.04/lb for October orders. Because of the rising cost of resins, polyethylene C & A film manufacturers increased prices by approximately 5% in September and most have indicated they will increase prices by another 5% by October 1st. Dry shake metallic floor hardener and topping manufacturers increased prices in September,” as did “most major manufacturers of decorative concrete products…in late August or early September. The increases vary between 5 and 12% depending on the item.” Engineering News-Record reported on Monday, “The Turner Construction Co.’s selling price index showed no change this quarter and is down just 2.7% from a year ago….General-purpose building-cost indexes, which only measure labor and materials prices, are starting to ease back. For example, the LSI index compiled by the Sierra West Group, Sacramento, Calif., was down 2.6% from a year ago this quarter. By comparison, three months earlier, it posted an annual increase of 1.1%. [The selling-price index compiled by Rider Levett Bucknall Ltd., Phoenix] inched up 0.3% this quarter but remains 0.5% below a year ago.”

“After several years of steep declines, state revenues are starting to pick up,” the National Conference of State Legislatures reported on Tuesday, summarizing a survey of all state legislative fiscal directors. “In some states this means the rate of decline has slowed, but in others, positive revenue performance is occurring in one or more tax categories…. And despite recent revenue improvements, more gaps loom as states confront the phase out of federal stimulus funds, expiring tax increases and growing spending pressures. It increasingly appears that FY 2010 was the trough for state revenues. Nearly every state forecast has fiscal year (FY) 2011 revenues exceeding last year’s, although many note that revenues are still well below peak levels.” Even states that increase spending may not boost construction for a while.