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People make the difference at The FABRICATOR’s Leadership Summit

Machinery remains at the very core of metal fabrication. Cutting automation has become the new norm. Precision press brakes and bending automation are spreading as never before, and driving it all is advanced software, both at the machine and enterprise level. The fab shop has become a technological cornucopia.

Technology’s pervasiveness, however, brings its own challenges. A shop can make great investments in technology and, in the short run at least, underbid the competition and win more business—but for how long? Years ago just having a laser set a fabricator apart. Now, in at least some North American markets, it’s difficult to imagine a precision sheet metal operation without one.

Although a shop can’t compete without advanced machinery, equipment alone eventually won’t be a differentiator—and neither will stellar quality, on-time delivery, and low prices. What, then, is left? It boils down to people and, more specifically, the connections between them: the salesperson and the customer, the manager and the new hire, the press brake operator and the welder.

That message pervaded The FABRICATOR’s Leadership Summit, held Feb. 25-27 at the Gaylord Palms Resort in Kissimmee, Fla. The summit was held in conjunction with the Toll Processing Conference, both of which were part of the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association’s Annual Meeting.

In essence, what separates one metal fabricator from another is its people, how they manage, inspire, and make best use of the latest software and machine tool technology—and conference speakers all conveyed this message in one form or another, and you can read our full coverage of the event in the April FABRICATOR magazine.

Since the first Leadership Summit a decade ago, informal roundtable discussions—fabricators talking to other fabricators—have remained at the heart of the event, and this year was no different. And perhaps no other issue spurs passionate discussion quite like workforce development. Roundtable participants discussed various ways companies are tackling the problem.

Discussions ranged from where skill development begins (parenting) to a new way to look at company management. Shop owners and managers discussed their partnerships with local community colleges, some of which have become quite progressive in developing technical talent.

Several roundtable participants discussed how their company structures have changed in recent years. As one attendee, the president of a 200-person shop, said, “We changed the culture of our organization five years ago to become an employer of choice.” The shop first benchmarked all its wages to ensure they met or exceeded industry averages for those employees who were meeting or exceeding performance expectations.

Second, the entire management structure changed, and they pushed decision-making authority closer to the front lines. If a front-line worker has an idea to improve things, he may well have the authority to communicate and make that change. Such an engaged, well-paying, progressive work environment has helped attract some of the best technical talent in the area.

The participant conceded that change wasn’t easy. People&mdashespecially managers—pushed back, and many left. But over 18 months of “denial and pushback,” the company slowly changed to an entirely new culture.

After they listened to the attendee’s story, other roundtable participants sat silent, just for an instant. Then one attendee spoke up. “Wow. Can we have your card?” Everyone laughed; cards were exchanged. As in previous years, that interaction was what the 2015 summit was all about.

For more information about The FABRICATOR’s Leadership Summit and FMA Annual Meeting, click here.

About the Author
The Fabricator

Tim Heston

Senior Editor

2135 Point Blvd

Elgin, IL 60123

815-381-1314

Tim Heston, The Fabricator's senior editor, has covered the metal fabrication industry since 1998, starting his career at the American Welding Society's Welding Journal. Since then he has covered the full range of metal fabrication processes, from stamping, bending, and cutting to grinding and polishing. He joined The Fabricator's staff in October 2007.