Mikko Lindström,
President |
Think
Outside the Jungle…
Think Finn-Power Flexibility
I
was going through some files the other day and came
across an old column I read several years ago – Canada’s
Aging Workforce Lacks Boomer Replacements – by
David Baxter that appeared in the June 5-11, 2001 issue
of Business in Vancouver. The
informative article detailed how Canada was already
facing serious human resource shortages in specific
industries. It concluded by stating that the current
population of Canada cannot maintain the current size
of its labor force in the future.
Of
course it’s not just Canada that is facing
this dilemma. Recent figures from the U.S. Bureau
of the Census point to similar bleak population forecasts.
The additional fact that a dramatically fewer number
of young people in North America are entering the
metalworking industry as a profession could be a very
gloom and doom scenario for our industry.
Recently,
the business sections of Chicago newspapers have
also covered this topic. Just as a reference, greater Chicagoland
has approximately 8-9 million people, whereas Finland
has 5 million, Sweden 8 million, Norway 4 million
and Denmark 3.5 million. European fabricators have
faced a shrinking manufacturing labor pool for some
years (see reprint of article from August MODERN
APPLICATION NEWS, Euro
Fabricators Use Hands-Off Approach).
What
motivates a young person to select a fabrication shop for
his future “office” instead
of other less physical and “cleaner” career
paths? Reduction in population with the focus on popular
jobs shifting from factories to elsewhere is a challenge
for fabricators as well as fabrication equipment manufacturers.
Finn-Power Flexibility
At
Finn-Power, we see these events as opportunities…not
negative forecasts. For example, today and into
the future, concepts such as Lean Manufacturing will
require flexibility from machinery and manufacturing
systems to adapt to the production stream and manpower
shortage realities.
Due
to this changing environment and to subsequent cultural
changes with new
generations entering the workforce, manufacturers
require creativity and greater vision to attract these
young workers.
These
new realities of the sheet metal fabrication industry
match Finn-Power’s product line perfectly.
Our modular concept adapts to a multitude of production
needs and changes.
The Finn-Power product range offers
a complete package to answer the challenge of Lean Manufacturing
that can grow with a company’s production expansion.
For many years, Finn-Power has added versatility to
individual work stages by integrating them with automated
material management and making automation
as flexible
as possible. Our goal has
always been to improve our
customers’
productivity,
whatever their size.
Today
we have proven, globally-acknowledged solutions for any
sheet metal fabrication need with a variety of work stages
and methods. In addition, we not only have the modules
for optimal automating process material flow, but also
the application engineering knowledge to specify the optimum
in each case. The range is wide enough so that our customers
do not have to compromise to achieve Lean Manufacturing
in their fabrication facilities.
Since
introducing the first hydraulic turret punch press in
1983, technological leadership
has become a steady pattern
in
the yearly growth of Finn-Power.
On a yearly basis our
designers
and engineers introduce revolutionary new fabrication
equipment to the industry. 2003 was no exception. During
FABTECH International,
Finn-Power introduced the C5 hydraulic
turret punch press to
the North American market.
Finn-Power
is becoming more proactive in helping spread the
word
of Lean Manufacturing. We will host a 2-day Lean
Manufacturing Seminar
featuring Gary Connor on January
22-23, 2004.
|
710
Remington Road 
Volume
13 Issue 2 -
December 2003