From the Web: Harley jewelry; U.S. manufacturing renaissance or fantasy?

One of the easiest ways to identify a vehicle is by its emblem. This is especially true for those nongearheads who don’t know a Harley-Davidson from a Triumph, or a Toyota from a Lexus (same company, different brand).

Just who makes those emblems? Some are made completely in the U.S. by Utica Metals, Utica, N.Y.

Started in 1958, the company continues to make emblems, including Harley’s. “Harley considers this motorcycle jewelry. There's uniqueness to it. It's not your typical kind of plastic emblem that goes on it. This is actually made out of copper. Some are made out of aluminum but it's infused with glass. This is actually glass not plastic,” says Bob Payne, engineer, in a video on cnyhomepage.com.

The video also shows some of the many emblems the company has made throughout the past five decades. More important are Payne’s remarks about growing businesses like Utica Metals: "There are a lot of manufacturing gems, especially in Central New York that are beginning to thrive. It's not easy. It's just one of these gems that keep on growing and everywhere you look in Central New York—especially in the Utica area—you'll find companies like this that you didn't even know existed."

A little farther west, business and political leaders from Will and Grundy counties in Illinois see a manufacturing “renaissance” on the horizon—a re-invigoration of well-paying jobs and skilled work. Among them is Lee Hutchinson, the owner of Minooka, Ill.-based Metalstamp Inc., a company that makes metal pieces for components in automobiles, medical devices, and other electronics. Executives said 30 to 40 percent of the company’s products get shipped to countries such as China, Mexico, Malaysia, and France.

“Right now, we’re seeing an upturn,” Hutchinson said. “We’re seeing a resurgence of orders from the automotive industry. That has really been the bump.”

Also helping are the transportation system in the area and energy costs.

The biggest problem for the manufacturer? Recruiting young talent. Hutchinson is reaching out to area school districts to set up school visits to introduce students to manufacturing careers.

While the Illinois area that’s home to Metalstamp Inc. might be experiencing a true manufacturing renaissance, at least one writer from the website grist.org questions whether the same is true about Detroit. Heather Smith believes that talk of a manufacturing resurgence in the city is more fantasy than reality.

Smith based her theory on a tour of Detroit-based Shinola. Owned by Tom Kartsotis, founder of Fossil watches, the company makes bicycles, watches, and key fobs. But, Smith said, Kartsotis moved the business to Detroit because the term “Made in Detroit” isn’t subject to the same legal constraints as a term like “Made in America.” Reportedly, most of what Shinola sells is assembled in Detroit from components made in other countries.

Assembled, not manufactured. There is a difference.

Smith related a story from her teen years, when her father gave her some of his work clothes after the tool and die shops stopped calling for work. Vintage clothing shops in the area were full of work clothes from others in his situation, and kids were buying and wearing them.

Smith said, “Right now, the idea of Detroit’s manufacturing resurgence reminds me of the dilemma of my father’s shirts: It feels like putting on someone else’s clothes without acknowledging the story behind them.”

Wsj.com reports that “Women can move Wisconsin manufacuring (sic) forward.” The two women who wrote the article said, “As our state’s manufacturing industry continues to grow and serve as the engine that drives Wisconsin’s economy, there’s an underutilized resource that needs further cultivation and holds the potential for even greater growth and innovation.

The resource is women.

The manufacturing industry is not going away in Wisconsin. In fact, it’s growing. Wisconsin manufacturers added 5,796 jobs, or about 1 percent, from July 2013 to July 2014, according to an annual database and directory published by Manufacturers’ News, Inc. It marked the third straight year industrial employment in the state posted a gain.

Our challenge as a state moving forward is to take full advantage of an educated and talented segment of the population, and promote and celebrate women in the manufacturing trade.

It also couldn’t hurt to have some of these educated women, or men, proofread articles published on websites.

And, finally, all metal fabricators share a concern about the price of materials. When planning for the future, it helps to have some idea of where materials’ prices are heading.

A recent mibiz.com headline proclaimed “Experts predict bearish metals market moving forward.”

Despite a growing economy spurred along by a strengthening manufacturing sector, experts predict a relatively bearish metals market to close out the year. That comes after the Dow Jones Industrial Metals Index—which includes copper, aluminum, zinc and nickel—grew approximately 15 percent between March and August of this year after hitting a two-year low in March.

The strength of the U.S. dollar is helping keep prices lower.

“Until we see the U.S. dollar weakening, it will be hard to see commodities finally trending up,” said Lisa Reisman, CEO of Chicago-based Azul Partners Inc., a consulting firm that publishes the MetalMiner commodity forecasting website.