September/October 2016

This jammed-packed informational issue aimed to dispel long-held negative perceptions of the manufacturing industry, one page at a time. Voila, the goal, as you will see, has been achieved. From the feature article that provides an in-depth focus on “What Advanced Manufacturers Need to Thrive in the U.S.” to the Outlook column from Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) that offers a very positive perspective on tackling the manufacturing workforce shortage as does the Sites & Programs column to the Outlook column article provided by AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology that brings to light the bright present and future in store for the manufacturing industry. Jump on the bandwagon; now is a great time to be in manufacturing.

It doesn’t stop there though. The manufacturing industry thrives on the availability of complementary industries, one of which is the utilities industry. Don’t waste a minute to hesitate to read the two great articles — the feature article and Insights column – on making the most of the services of utilities and what site selectors need to know about utilities in their decision making.

To bring it all home, the third feature article brings you up close to a factual case study to learn how the U.S. Foreign-Trade Zones (FTZ) program is a tool that serves U.S.-based manufacturing operations by making a positive contribution to their operating margins.

And to help make the site selection decision making process even more fact-filled, this issue provides four fantastic articles on states you will want to consider as well as something every site selector will have a field day with — plus the Short List column that brings you up to date on designated sites available right now.