Spraying to all fields

The baseball season started earlier this week. Temperatures in the Chicago area barely crept above 50 degrees this week, with snow falling on Sunday, but I witnessed baseball on the television. All is right with the world.



So in the spirit of baseball, I'm going to cover a lot of area. Hitters call it spraying to all fields—the ability to hit to left, center, and right field on a consistent basis. Here are five quick hits.

1. A lot of the manufacturing associations keep warning about the impending shortage of welders after the baby boomers finally hang up their tool belts. Given the amount of layoffs that have taken place over the past several months, this plea for more workers may not have the same urgency. But that doesn't mean the pleas haven't had an impact. I read news, such as this, about school systems pumping money into their vocational programs and how students are showing interest in welding classes. This should bode well for manufacturing's future in the U.S.



2. The metal fabricating business has seen better days, so it's amazing to see some markets that still remain vibrant. Here's a story about a busy bus manufacturer in Minnesota, and Senior Editor Tim Heston has a story coming up this month about Crimson Fire, a Brandon, S.D., fire truck manufacturer that is having a year for the record books. Both companies are beneficiaries of public money being invested at a time when private companies have pulled back and credit is tight. Good news is always worth repeating these days.



3. Who knows what will happen to Saturn vehicles? In the meantime, here's a great link to what has happened to the brand. My wife owned a Saturn, which was her first car purchase out of college. It ran loud and had an automatic shoulder seat belt that would choke you each time you sat in one of the two front bucket seats. But she loved the sun roof and enjoyed being part of the Saturn family. GM had a good idea with the Saturn brand, but obviously the obstacles of the market, internal corporate resistance, and union resistance were too much to overcome. Saturn ultimately may live as a dealer-owned brand that requires other carmakers to manufacture new automotive models, which may become the greatest comeback story ever told.



4. If you owned a metal fabricating company, would you hire an ex-con? Prison systems, such as the ones in California, operate a lot of vocational programs, and some of the formerly incarcerated leave there with metalworking skills. A hiring manager would have to do a lot of checking on these candidates with a checkered past, but the reward might be an employee who is very thankful to be employed.
   
   



5. Have you seen this prototype police car? Pretty cool. There's nothing like a new set of wheels for the spring driving season. I bet you it comes in handy beating postgame traffic after a baseball game.