This Blueprint for Manufacturing in Northeast Ohio is the product of 300 hours of conversation with 150 industry influencers — manufacturing CEOs, community and business leaders, academics, workers, students, and nonprofit leaders.
Together, we’re going to make our region better.
Manufacturers fought through the Great Recession. We survived the global pandemic. And today we stand on the cusp of a tremendous opportunity.
As we rebuild our post-COVID-19 industry, the big question is:
We want the future to be made here in Northeast Ohio. By our people, in our factories.
We want to, once again, be a place where innovators bring big ideas from all over the world. We want to create thousands more jobs and lead the world in smart manufacturing.
This vision is bold. It’s aspirational. And it’s ours to build.
To unlock the future, we need to commit to massive change in four areas. Use the Blueprint to guide your actions, and join us as a Blueprint Champion.
TALENT: Build the workforce we need to win in the future
TRANSFORMATION: Use Industry 4.0 technologies to unlock advantage
INNOVATION: Pioneer new products and new ways of working
LEADERSHIP: Boldly lead our companies and region
Northeast Ohio needs massive systemic change in four areas: talent, transformation, innovation, and leadership.
As we know all too well, the manufacturing industry has a serious image problem. Perception isn’t keeping up with the STEM reality of smart manufacturing jobs. Old myths that the jobs are “dark, dirty, and dangerous” persist. Plagued by memories of mass layoffs others see manufacturing as unstable. Neither of these are true. But these misconceptions mean not enough students are choosing manufacturing.
Technology is to smart manufacturing what coal was to the original steel mills. It fuels modern production, and we can’t win without it. Hidden behind factory walls the fourth wave of the industrial revolution is completely changing the way we make things and what we make. Industry 4.0 is all things digital, automated, and connected: cobots, robots, the Internet of Things (IoT), automation, artificial intelligence, big data, and more.
The future is not incremental. It’s innovation. It’s invention. It’s using technology to make new ideas come to life. It’s relentlessly looking at your products, services, and ways of working and seeking to make them better. That’s where the opportunities lie. Manufacturing growth will only come through innovation. Without it, the industry will inevitably shrink.
We need bold leadership at every level to lead the world in smart manufacturing. Like the leadership of LeBron James when he and the Cavaliers ended a 52-year sporting drought by winning the NBA Championship. James motivated his team to one of the most incredible comebacks in sport history to win it all, down to the wire, in game 7.
I would like to personally thank every individual, company, and community organization who so willingly gave of their time and expertise to help create the Blueprint.
The Make It Better movement was ignited by MAGNET: The Manufacturing Advocacy and Growth Network, as part of our work to grow the manufacturing industry in Northeast Ohio and bring prosperity to our region. We’re a non-profit on a mission to help companies transform to make the future better. Follow MAGNET on Twitter and LinkedIn.
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