The sad state of affairs.
The converting industry is undergoing its most drastic changes, as I write this. Papermills are shutting down. Plastic film manufacturers are closing shop. Thousands of
decent hard working folks have lost their jobs. This climate is not only affecting the
changes in the paper industry but also the plastic, film, foil and non-woven industry.
The state of Wisconsin alone, has lost over 84,000 manufacturing jobs. "Out-sourcing",
"service sector job" have become the latest buzz-words. Folks, let's cut out the "double-speak" and look at this in its simplest form. In Wisconsin the average Joe blow mill worker made between $50,000---60,000 dollars a year in wages. Not counting the basic benefits like health insurance, retirement funds, union benefits, vacation, etc, etc, etc. Now imagine the same guy in the "service sector" flipping hamburgers at minimum wage. I'm sure we all see this clear as daylight. While all of this is going on, the politicians are white washing the reality and painting another rosy scene. Keeping the above points in mind, it's time to offer some words of wisdom for our industry. My area of expertise lies in machinery. Following is a list of items, I will keep adding to this list as time permits.
#1. What's the best machine for the job?
#2. What is the maximum production capacity of this machine?
#3. How difficult is it to run this machine?
#4. Can we train a regular guy to run it?
#5. Or do we need a rocket scientist?
#6. How much room is this machine going to require on our floor?
#7. How much is this going to cost?
#8. What is the payoffs on this unit?
#9. Can we service this unit in house?
#10. Or are we going to have to pay through the nose every time that we need service?
#11. Do we really need this machine?
#12. Can we use our existing equipment to make the needed products?
