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More from Vicki Bell
- From The Fabricator
What do fabricators think of Obama's factory visits?
- By Vicki Bell
- Jun 16, 2010
- Bending and Forming
- Blog Post
Much of the media, including The Fabricator Blog and "Stamping News Brief," have covered President Obama's visits to factories in recent months. The June issue of "Stamping News Brief" asked subscribers whether they think the visits are strictly PR, fact-finding missions, or both. Here's what...
- From The Fabricator
Signs point to more jobs
- By Vicki Bell
- Jun 9, 2010
- Shop Management
- Blog Post
Among the leading news items yesterday was an Associated Press story about job openings rising in April to the highest level in 16 months, a statistic that offers hope of increased hiring in the coming months. The latest U.S. Department of Labor's Job Openings and Labor Turnover survey (JOLTS)...
- From The Fabricator
Crisis management and small business
- By Vicki Bell
- Jun 3, 2010
- Shop Management
- Blog Post
Google "crisis management" (with the quote marks) and you'll retrieve a list of almost 3 million results, many with links to articles about how companies can manage crises that threaten their existence. Google "BP crisis management" (also with quote marks) and you’ll get more than 6,000...
- From The Fabricator
We don't need no education?
- By Vicki Bell
- May 27, 2010
- Shop Management
- Blog Post
Not to disrespect your song, Pink Floyd, but we really do need an education. Nothing brought that point home to me more clearly than a cell phone conversation I overheard Wednesday at O'Hare airport. A young, Caucasian male, sat down across from me to wait for a plane to Atlanta. He scattered his...
- From The Fabricator
Just happy to have a job?
- By Vicki Bell
- May 19, 2010
- Shop Management
- Blog Post
In the last few years, as more and more jobs have disappeared, those who have remained employed have considered themselves very lucky. No matter how much they've been pushed to do more with less, or how many benefits they've lost, many of these workers have adopted the mantra: "Just happy to have a...
- From The Fabricator
Fabricators on recovery and job creation
- By Vicki Bell
- May 12, 2010
- Shop Management
- Blog Post
If you didn’t receive this week’s "Fabricating Update," you missed some promising numbers about the economic recovery and manufacturing jobs. Have no fear; I'm repeating them here, because they are worth repeating: The U.S. added 290,000 jobs in April, the largest monthly total since March...
- From The Fabricator
Playing field could become even more precarious
- By Vicki Bell
- May 5, 2010
- Shop Management
- Blog Post
For the nearly eight years I’ve been asking fabricators about the state of metal manufacturing, many have expressed the opinion that a primary contributor to the decline in U.S. manufacturing is an unlevel playing field with China. In stating their opinions, these fabricators typically mention...
- From The Fabricator
No pixie dust for manufacturing jobs
- By Vicki Bell
- Apr 28, 2010
- Shop Management
- Blog Post
Do you ever have one of those days, weeks, or years in which nothing seems to go right? (If you answered "no" to this question, let us all in on your secret.) I'm having one of those weeks, and I'm attributing all the madness and irritations to the full moon. That's right; I’m blaming...
- From The Fabricator
Looking ahead: Fabricators on the next six months
- By Vicki Bell
- Apr 21, 2010
- Shop Management
- Blog Post
Business Roundtable’s first quarter 2010 CEO Economic Outlook Survey indicated that the CEOs of America’s leading companies anticipate increased capital expenditures, sales, and employment in the next six months. A recent survey of manufacturing CFOs, conducted by Grant Thornton LLP, shows...
- From The Fabricator
Loaded with land mines
- By Vicki Bell
- Apr 15, 2010
- Manufacturing Software
- Blog Post
It’s April 15 — one of the most recognizable, and often dreaded, days in the U.S. Probably as recognizable as July 4, but more akin to December 7 for many. It's the deadline for filing federal income tax returns. According to a recent unscientific poll on thefabricator.com, 47 percent of...
- From The Fabricator
Welding passion leads to livelihood
- By Vicki Bell
- Apr 7, 2010
- Bending and Forming
- Blog Post
Two years ago, I wrote an article for thefabricator.com about Brennan Palmiter, a young race car driver and welder (then 16) who had teamed up with the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association (FMA) Foundation and Practical Welding Today® magazine to introduce young people to manufacturing...
- From The Fabricator
Toyota's failure to communicate-a lesson for us all
- By Vicki Bell
- Mar 31, 2010
- Safety
- Blog Post
Cousin Roy called last night. We chatted about family, weather, and work — the usual topics of conversation. Roy's two brothers died last year, a few months apart — very sad news. Roy works for a Toyota dealership in Kentucky. More sad news. Or maybe not. Roy said that he's sold 25 cars this...
- From The Fabricator
The inventor-manufacturer relationship
- By Vicki Bell
- Mar 24, 2010
- Machining
- Blog Post
Inventors and manufacturers are entities that truly go hand-in-hand, meaning you really can’t have one without the other, at least not in any substantive manner. Similar to "Love and Marriage", about which the song (written in 1955) says "you can’t have one without the other." (Not too sure...
- From The Fabricator
The green fields of America
- By Vicki Bell
- Mar 17, 2010
- Shop Management
- Blog Post
As I write this, it's March 17 -- St. Patrick's Day - - and as a member of the Irish diaspora, I'm wearing green and playing the CD Murphy's Irish Pub as I work. This is the one day of the year that I immerse myself in my ancestry. I’m an American first and foremost, but who I am as an...
- From The Fabricator
'Our most-used machine is so old ...
- By Vicki Bell
- Mar 10, 2010
- Assembly and Joining
- Blog Post
... that the hydraulic cylinder doesn’t have a conventional seal, but uses rings of packing to slow the flow of hydraulic fluid.' This is just one of the comments we received yesterday in response to the March "Fabricating Update" e-newsletter that addressed companies' reluctance to invest in...
- Podcasting
- Podcast:
- The Fabricator Podcast
- Published:
- 04/16/2024
- Running Time:
- 63:29
In this episode of The Fabricator Podcast, Caleb Chamberlain, co-founder and CEO of OSH Cut, discusses his company’s...
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