Creators Wanted: MFG Day is this Friday

September 28, 2020

James Dyson once said, “Manufacturing is more than just putting parts together. It’s coming up with ideas, testing principles and perfecting engineering, as well as final assembly.” Amit Kalantri offered this, “Do not compromise on the quality and your customers will not negotiate on the price.” And here is a quote from Elon Musk who said, “Failure is an option here. If things are not failing, you are not innovating enough.”

As we celebrate national Manufacturing Day, or MFG Day, we should reflect upon those businesses and people who understand that change and innovation is constant, because to slow or stop in place opens the door for someone, somewhere, to do exactly what you do, but maybe faster, smarter or cheaper.

In larger states, manufacturers and retailers have their own state associations. In Delaware, we are the manufacturing association, the retail council and the chamber of commerce, all wrapped into one. We are pleased Governor Carney signed a proclamation declaring this Friday, October 2 as Delaware Manufacturing Day. So please take a moment to think about how that chicken got to your table (Pedue or Mountaire Farms), the baby wipes to your changing table (P&G), the Lycra in your pants (DuPont), or the clarity and cleanliness of your tap water (Chemours). The list goes on. Our gratitude is high to each and every manufacturer in the State of Delaware.

Did you see The Manufacturing Institute's article on MFG Day in the September/October issue of Delaware Business magazine?

Amid the greatest public health crisis in more than a century, the people of Delaware—and all Americans—are gaining a renewed appreciation of manufacturers’ role in securing our nation and creating the future. That’s something we will need to harness as the pandemic accelerates demand for more skilled workers in modern manufacturing.

Modern manufacturers are still saying, “Creators Wanted.” While the industry has not escaped employment shifts from COVID-19, there were still 328,000 manufacturing job openings in May, up from 315,000 in April. And, according to a 2018 study by The Manufacturing Institute and Deloitte, we still may need to fill 4.6 million job openings by 2028. Read more >

Disruptors

Today we explore numbers 29 and 30 on the CNBC list:

TALA: TALA is a Santa Monica, California-based company that makes microloans — anywhere from $10 to $500 — to people in emerging markets without a credit profile. The company does this by looking at a user’s texts, merchant transactions and other behavioral data through its Android app to create a credit profile. Its machine learning algorithms evaluate all this data to determine the customer’s risk profile. Legacy banks typically rely on a credit score to determine a person’s eligibility for a loan, and most online lenders check a person’s financial history. Learn more >

Didi Chuxing: The global coronavirus pandemic that sidelines ride-hailing giants Uber and Lyft is loosening its grip on at least one company in the space: Didi Chuxing. The Beijing-based company told CNBC in early May that its core ride-hailing business was still profitable despite the impact of the pandemic, and that it’s actually seen a pickup in activity after the breakout died down in China. Last year DiDi launched additional ride-hailing operations across Latin America, including Chile, Colombia and Costa Rica and adding to Mexico and Brazil where DiDi already operates. Learn more >

News You Can Use

In economic news, we kick off tomorrow with the Case-Schiller national home price index and data from July. On Wednesday, we’ll see pending home sales information from August, and an early look at ADP employment figures for September. August results for personal income and consumer spending and construction spending are reported on Thursday, and September unemployment figures on Friday.

Michael J. Quaranta

President

Delaware State Chamber of Commerce

Dot Foods streamlines the supply chain by making products more accessible and affordable to the food industry through their unique position between suppliers and customers.