Manufacturing in Northeast Ohio drives nearly half the economy. And according to a survey in late 2023 by Cleveland’s Manufacturing Advocacy and Growth Network, the sector is making gains regionally in equity, pay and new jobs, while technology adoption remains key to long-term success. Yet, almost 10% of manufacturing positions in the region remain unfilled, a figure set to rise as more workers retire, said MAGNET president and CEO Ethan Karp. And the advocacy group finds that anywhere from 16,000 to 34,000 area employees will retire within the next several years.
Unlike past decades, most workers don’t come to a company expecting to stay their entire career– even pension plans don’t hold the same appeal as 20 years ago, said Jayme Rahz, CEO of Wooster-headquartered precision parts maker Midway Swiss Turn. To that end, Midway Swiss is keen on asking recruits about their professional desires.
“We spend time with our candidates and pay them what they’re worth,” said Rahz. “The revolving door of cheap pay for cheap labor has never been a successful model. It leads to high turnover and stunts growth.”
“Team” is key at Midway Swiss, Rahz said. The 12-person shop has brought in two machinists in the past year, with a new senior-level manager arriving this month.
Midway Swiss seeks individuals who enjoy variety in their day-to-day lives, said Rahz. A six-month vetting process determines a prospective employee’s skill set and personality – a shy temperament is likely a poor fit for a culture centered on constant communication, she added.
“Anybody can walk through the door and say I’m a great employee, but you have to know the person to get a feel if that’s true or not,” Rahz said. “We are a very small company, so bringing in new personalities can dramatically affect our environment. If I bring somebody that just wants to stand at a machine all day, and if I put them in a position where they have to run to seven different machines and talk to a bunch of people, they’re not going to thrive.”
Harnessing existing and future technology
The MAGNET survey, which was conducted in Summer 2023, pointed to technology integration as a critical step for regional growth. About 67% of respondents are making high-tech investments – another 63% are financing new product lines.
In practice, this means investing in robotics, connected computing, enhanced automation, and other applications surrounding Industry 4.0 – put simply, the digitization of the manufacturing sector. Despite the uptick in technological advances regionally, only about 30% of Northeast Ohio companies said they are putting true effort into upgrades.
Scaling up systems is costly, although some owners are satisfied with their current equipment, said MAGNET president Ethan Karp. Shortsighted entrepreneurs could be missing out on a generation of skilled workers eager to operate complex machinery, he noted.
“When you have a robot, it will break; it will break more times than you ever expected it to,” Karp said. “Thus you need more people who know how to fix, troubleshoot, and get back running things that aren’t working. People on the shop floor that have the gumption and the brain to figure out what’s going on.”
Midway Swiss gives its staff input on technologies needed for the shop floor, including CAD/CAM software used to design products and program manufacturing processes. In 2023, the company implemented AI machine monitoring, a system providing granular insight into equipment condition and efficiency.
Far from scaring off potential hires, the latest technology is a draw for talent seeking an innovative workplace, said CEO Rahz.
“Our latest hire, (technology) is exactly what enticed them,” Rahz said. “It’s growth, it’s progression, it’s something to learn.”
Every day is something new
Technology is at the forefront of Skuld, a Springfield-based metals manufacturing business that uses 3D printing to build complex metal pieces. The company uses an environmentally friendly method which starts with a polystyrene mold material which can then be cast into products for the defense, aerospace and automotive industries, said CEO Sarah Jordan.
Jordan, a metallurgical engineer who began developing the innovation with co-founder Mark DeBruin in 2015, said the process is faster and more efficient than alternatives like additive manufacturing, more commonly referred to as 3-D printing. The practice also helped the startup win MAGNET’s 2022 MSPIRE pitch competition, an annual event for entrepreneurs focused on manufacturing or physical products.
MAGNET gave Skuld booth space and marketing materials at its Manufacturing and Technology Show that year. The trade show booth put Jordan in front of players in defense and additional areas where her products are best served, she said.
Jordan also offers customers metal-making equipment built in-house by employees always eager for new challenges.
“We make sure everyone is cross-trained and learning so the routine doesn’t get boring,” Jordan said. “Our process is additive manufacturing, so if people want to make something, we let them do that. It may not be for a commercial purpose, but it gives them hands-on satisfaction of making art or just, ‘Hey, I made that thing and it’s mine now.’”
Diversity is another focus for an industry keen on attracting and retaining talent, the MAGNET survey said. Last year, nearly 2,000 employees of color joined the sector in both managerial and supervisory roles. MAGNET has also collaborated with business organization Greater Cleveland
Partnership on developing an inclusive group of manufacturing leaders within the region.
Leaders of all backgrounds are learning the “soft skills'' unrelated to daily operations, said MAGNET’s Karp. Culture creation, emotional intelligence and people management are critical to any output from the shop floor, he said.
“Those skills end up being the difference of somebody staying with you, or giving extra energy or not,” Karp said. “Supervisors are embracing this.”
Metals entrepreneur Jordan is welcoming a present and future where every employee has some say on the direction of the company.
“We have a cultural philosophy of listening to everybody,” said Jordan. “Even the least experienced operator is involved in design and putting a new system through its paces. If they have an idea to make it better, we listen to them.”
