Q.How has integrated technology improved productivity and efficiency for manufacturers over the last ten years?
The most significant improvement over the last five years in the manufacturing industry has been improvement in automation.
The question of automation becomes a cost issue for manufacturers.
Manufacturers have been outsourcing manufacturing and taking products to low labour markets over the last five years, as opposed to increasing automation.
It has been a big struggle for companies that are making automation products to become more innovative so that they can make an impact in a market that is very difficult right now.
It has been cheaper for manufacturers to build a product in China instead of trying to automate the process. Q.How have international skills shortages changed the shape of international manufacturing markets?
Overall we are seeing a reduction in the number of engineers.
Suppliers to the manufacturing industry, such as Turck, have to be able to provide quality technology to make engineers’ jobs easier.
Our products are all available with 3D CAD, for example, so when an engineer is designing, he literally drags-and-drops a product into a drawing, instead of re-drawing the unit or spending more time in the drawing stage.
Turck is always looking at innovative ways to make the job easier.
A shortage of people is also a huge issue for suppliers.
Besides CAD modeling, the overall support structure behind our products has had to change, and we have had to examine how we support engineers.
If an engineer can call a person and get what they need, that is a five minute conversation.
An engineer can not afford to spend half an hour on the Internet searching for something that is not necessarily what they were looking for.
Turck has decided to have its own subsidiary here in Australia for this reason.
This choice is not necessarily about selling more products; it is really about supporting the market and having the right people available for users.
Q.What are manufacturers demanding from new technology?
The real thing that manufacturers are demanding from the market is the ability to have there problems solved.
Manufacturers can buy sensors for $5 from China, but the question is, will that product have the right support behind it?
The answer is probably not.
Manufacturers must look at cost in terms of the total cost of ownership, and not just the initial cost outlay.
Are there any limits to the way that manufacturers can employ the latest technology in their operations?
It seems there is no limit to the technology that is available at the moment.
The potential for automation is pretty amazing.
Manufacturers now have the ability to network a large amount of products, and have Ethernet right into a machine.
Operators can pull information out of a machine into other information systems, and the possibilities with increased information flow are almost limitless.
Information is now the lifeblood of many companies.
The more freely information is shared through systems within the company, the better.
Q.What are the latest growth areas in the manufacturing industry?
Turck has spent quite a bit of time over the last few years developing an RFID system with increased information flow.
We built one of the major automotive companies a special RFID tag that is basically on the thread of a bolt.
The company uses a robot to put the bolt right into the case of the engine at the beginning of the manufacturing process.
Along each step of the process the manufacturer has read/write capability to put information about all of the components in the engine on the tag.
At the end of the process they can unscrew it and re-use the information, because all of that information can be stored.
In the United States we are also starting to see the movement of manufacturing offshore come back to the domestic market.
The increasing cost of a product, long delivery times with large product inventories, and quality control requirements are now starting to bring manufacturing back to the domestic market.
Q.What advice would you have for manufacturers looking to employ the most suitable technology for their applications?
The overall cost of ownership should really be a key concern for all manufacturers, as it directly affects their bottom line and profit margins.
At some point the cost of living and wages in China will increase.
There is going to be a point where we are all going to have to become more efficient.
All manufacturers are going to have to justify themselves in an increasingly global economy.
One day India will not be the next China, and Korea will not be the next India.
Manufacturers will not have the option where they can simply reduce costs by going somewhere else.
BIOGRAPHY
David Lagerstrom is the President and CEO of Turck. For more information call 1300 132566, or visit www.turck.com.au.
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