There are growing signs that our message about the

importance of manufacturing and rebalancing trade

is gaining real traction among federal policy makers

and bureaucrats. But our job is far from over. The

politics and reporting about manufacturing, jobs,

and the economy are as devious as ever— especially

in this big election year. This is why the work of our

NTMA/PMA One Voice advocacy organization is

so vital.

Official reports indicate that unemployment

dropped to 8.2% in March because the economy

added 120,000 new jobs. These numbers do not

(Continued on page 4)

AMERICA’S NEW CHALLENGE

by Dave Frengel, Governmental Affairs Chairman

PARKWAY WEST CTC OFFERS NEW PROGRAM:

PRECISION MANUFACTURING AND ROBOTICS By Jack Highfield

Over the past decade the United States manufacturing base

has weakened according to the National Manufacturing Strategy

Act speared headed by Rep. Dan Lipinski and Sen. Sherrod Brown.

But a report by the National Association of Manufacturers

illustrates that “no economic sector contributes more to

creating prosperity than American manufacturing.”

Experts point out that “to remain strong players in a

competitive world will require continued focus on innovation

and productivity gains helped along by government policies

that will smooth the path to success.”

The challenge will be for U.S. manufacturers to understand

that the actions that created productivity gains in the past may

NOT do so in the future. (Continued on page 10)

VELOCITY MANUFACTURING by “Dr. Lisa” Lang , PhD, Theory of Constraints Expert

PRECISION PITTSBURGHPRECISION PITTSBURGHPRECISION PITTSBURGH

SPRING 2012 VOLUME 1, ISSUE 2

MANUFACTURING AMERIC A’S FUTURE

DATES TO

REMEMBER:

Apprentice Graduation

Stratigo’s

North Huntingdon, PA

June 13, 2012

6 - 10 PM

NTMF Annual

Golf Tournament

Greensburg Country Club

Greensburg, PA

August 13, 2012

Details Inside!

INSIDE THIS

ISSUE:

YOUR Pittsburgh Chapter

pg.2

BotsIQ Success

pg. 3

Member Spotlight

pg.6

National News

pg.12

Why robotics and precision machining? Reason #1: Because robots are cool. The BotsIQ

competition, sponsored by the National Tooling and Machining Association (NTMA), has

grown from six schools in 2005 to more than 40 schools in 2012. In addition, the number of

employers, post-secondary schools and governmental and nongovernmental institutions

supporting BotsIQ has gone from five to 95 in that same time period, 65 of which are

(Continued on page 9)

As we move through the

second quarter of what is

proving to be a continued

upswing for many of us in

manufacturing, I wanted to

focus on what you, our

membership, would like to

see in the way of services.

At our most recent board

meeting, which was held in

conjunction with our

“Pirates & Politics” event at

PNC Park on April 24, we

met with Jen Neubauer

from Pitt’s Graduate School

of Business. Jen is the

director of membership for

Katz’ IEE, which stands for

the Institute for

Entrepreneurial Excellence.

Several of our members have

graduated from the

program, including yours

truly, so I can vouch for

both the program and the

institute, which is deeply

committed to helping local

businesses and business

owners like us prosper.

Our board is considering

having the NTMA

Pittsburgh Chapter become

a member of the Institute,

which would enable you, our

members, to take advantage

of the services the institute

provides such as

individualized consulting

and educational programs.

Again, I have personally

(Continued on page 8)

THIS IS YOUR CHAPTER:

A MESSAGE FROM OUR CHAPTER PRESIDENT

by Kevin Hartford

Page 2 PRECISION PITTSBURGH

www.allekiskiind.com

531 Hyde Park Road, Leechburg, PA 15656

(Allegheny Twp. - Congressional District #12)

Phone: 724-845-2799 fax: 724-845-2797

Kevin Hartford, President

Ed Newell, Vice President

MACHINING, FABRICATION AND ASSEMBLY or contact Rick at:

Direct Dial: (412) 338-1309 Fax: (412) 338-1295 Mobile: (814) 397-5773 rick_scott@pmagroup.com

Rick Scott, Account Executive

PMA Direct: Pittsburgh

THE PMA Insurance Group

Two Chatham Center, Suite 600

Pittsburgh, PA 15219

The Institute for Entrepreneurial Excellence at

the University of Pittsburgh Joseph M. Katz

Graduate School of Business grows western

Pennsylvania’s economy by supporting

entrepreneurial activity, business creation and

established business growth. Institute leadership

believes the success of closely held businesses

drives growth in our region, country and global

economy. The Institute is the region’s largest

membership-based entrepreneurial organization,

offering individualized consulting and

educational programs that fit the diverse needs

of local businesses, creating networking

opportunities and providing western

Pennsylvania entrepreneurs the “Power to

Prosper.”

WHAT IS THE INSTITUTE FOR

ENTERPRENEURIAL EXCELLENCE AT

THE UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH?

by Jennifer Neubauer

Page 3

It's been seven years since

the Pittsburgh Chapter

National Tooling & Ma-

chining Association

(NTMA) and a commit-

ted group of manufactur-

ers and educators brought

BotsIQ to southwestern

Pennsylvania with just six

schools participating.

Since then, the program

has exploded to include

more than 40 schools,

650 participants and its

own fan base.

The seventh annual Bot-

sIQ of Southwestern

Pennsylvania (BotsIQ of

SWPA) held preliminary

competitions at Califor-

nia University of Pennsyl-

vania in March and cul-

minated in a two-day,

gladiator-style battle to

the finish of the student-

made, remote-controlled

robots April 13-14 at

Westmoreland County

Community College,

Youngwood, PA.

While the competition

has grown exponentially

in its short existence, the

focus this year wasn't

about getting bigger, it

was about precision. The

2012 BotsIQ Committee

fine-tuned the event to

maximize the experience

for participants and re-

gional manufacturers.

For example, the organizers

revised the “Best Engineered

(Continued on page 5)

INDUSTRY SUPPORT SPARKS BOTSIQ By Diane Wuycheck

add up. This supposedly lower

unemployment rate is based on the

fact that the unemployment benefits

of millions of people who lost family-

sustaining jobs have expired and

these folks have taken lower-paying

jobs that do not support a family— a

clear indication that one result of a

massive trade deficit is a lower

standard of living.

When we consider these

underemployed workers, as well as

those who have just given up looking

for a good job, the portion of the

workforce that needs good new jobs

is more than 15%.

To rebuild the American middle class

and restore stability, the US economy

must add more than 250,000 family-

sustaining jobs per month for several

years— playing with the numbers will

not change this fact. Those jobs will

not be created until US policy makers

learn how to deal with State

(Continued from page 1) Capitalism, especially in huge economies

like China's, where the major industries

are dominated by state-owned

enterprises (SOEs).

Immediately following World War II,

when the US was the last man standing,

America's greatest challenge was Soviet-

style Communism. Our post-WWII

policy of unilateral open markets was

affordable then, which enabled us to win

the Cold War and defeat Communism.

But that world is gone. America's

greatest challenge now in these opening

decades of the New Global Economy is

Chinese-style State Capitalism. The US

government and US industries have

barely begun to think about how to

compete in a world of State Capitalism

and SOEs. But one thing is sure, in the

face of this new challenge, maintaining

our old post-WWII policy of a unilateral

open US market will be suicidal.

The US must develop a new 21st

century globalization policy to replace

our one-size-fits-all post-WWII open

market strategy. The new globalization

policy will include three strategies

to respond to three global realities:

1. Free and fair trade with free and

fair trade economies.

2. Strategic trade with state-

managed economies.

3. Special privileges for poor

developing economies.

Unfortunately, most of the

globalist forces that influence US

trade policy are not truly

concerned about America; they

have other priorities. With the help

of the blind laissez faire ideologues

who continue to dominate the

highest levels of US economic

policy making, they cook the books

to make things look much better

than they really are in the hope of

maintaining the status quo.

These globalists prefer the status

quo because what we call unfair

trade is their business plan. Their

plan is to offshore manufacturing

to the country that offers the best

(Continued on page 5)

NEW CHALLENGE (CONTINUED)

Page 4 PRECISION PITTSBURGH

illegal subsidies, and then make

sure that US trade laws are not

enforced so that their unfairly

low-priced products can be sold

back here in the huge US

market. These forces will never

go away.

The only way to overcome these

forces is for mid-market

domestic manufacturers like us

to get involved and stay

involved. It's not only funny but

also sad and very true, when it

comes to policy making in

Washington, DC, if you're not at

the table, you're on the menu. If

today we corrected all of the

policy problems that hurt

domestic manufacturing,

tomorrow the globalists would

be hard at work undoing

everything we accomplished.

That's why the One Voice

Legislative Conference must be

a habit for all of us. If you were

not able to attend this year’s

conference, mark your calendar

now for May 2013 for the One

Voice Legislative Conference.

(Continued from page 4)

CHALLENGE

(CONT.)

Page 5

Bot” award stressing

documentation and per-

formance to include

safety, durability, con-

struction techniques,

serviceability, and design

innovation.

“Young people who are

interested in how things

are made are the future

of the high-tech manu-

facturing workforce,”

said Jeff Kelly, CEO of

Hamill Manufacturing

Co., and past chairper-

son of the NTMA.

“Our goal is to contrib-

ute to that skilled work-

force pipeline.” In year

one, just 3% of the stu-

dent participants ex-

pressed an interest in a

manufacturing career.

In 2011, that percentage

jumped to 50 percent

and 11 students were

placed in positions with

local manufacturers.

Along with the NTMA –

Pittsburgh Chapter, the

competition also has

attracted major support

from the Richard King

Mellon Foundation,

(Continued from page 3) Peoples Natural Gas,

Kennametal, Hamill

Manufacturing Co.,

Oberg Industries, Jenni-

son Corporation and

The Southwestern PA

Manufacturing Industry

Partnership, managed by

New Century Careers.

More than 60 local

manufacturers served as

technical advisors for the

student teams. Their

contribution of countless

volunteer hours, equip-

ment and facilities to

support the schools’ ca-

pabilities connect stu-

dents with industry lead-

ers who model success in

manufacturing careers.

While every team has a

winning experience, here

are the awardees for

2012:

Highlands High School

received the Grand

Champion traveling

trophy, based upon

their overall perform-

ance in bouts, inter-

views, and documenta-

tion, team ribbons and

a $1,000 award from

(Continued on page 11)

BOTS (CONT.)

WAY TO GO PLUM!

Congratulations to Plum

High School who claimed

the title of GRAND

CHAMPION at the 2012

National Robotics League

(NRL) National Competi-

tion in Indianapolis, Indiana

May 6, 2012.

BREAKING

NEWS!

SPOTLIGHT ON ASSOCIATE MEMBER: Vision Financial Group

Page 6 PRECISION PITTSBURGH

Vision Financial Leasing &

Finance helps empower

customers and vendors to achieve

their commercial objectives by

creating affordable and flexible

equipment leasing and financing

solutions for the acquisition of all

types of capital equipment,

software and services that

businesses need to function and

grow.

Vision Financial Group says:

“To us, "made in America" still

means something special.

Whether it is a new CNC

machine tool, a production line,

or even a golf cart to transport

personnel from one factory

building to the next; when we

have the opportunity to fund a

piece of equipment in the

Commercial & Industrial (C&I)

sector, we view it as an

opportunity to help make the

American worker more efficient,

create a job, or stimulate the

economy.

The equipment finance sector is

valued at approximately $650

billion annually.

At VFG, our employees are

family. Since 1991, we’ve taken

to heart that our team has

mouths to feed and mortgage

payments to make. Our business

means more than just moving

money from one location to the

next.

We’re certain that your company

feels the same about its most

valuable asset: the people. Without

the right team, we are all at a

standstill.

Let us help you empower your team

to be the best that they can be.

Contact us for all your C & I

equipment financing needs.”

YOUR PITTSBURGH CHAPTER (Continued)

Page 8 PRECISION PITTSBURGH

experienced both and can attest to the quality and benefits of

the IEE’s programs and services. You can read more about

the IEE in an additional article in this newsletter.

How this would work? The chapter would join (at no

additional expense to you) and you could choose those

programs and services in which you would like to participate.

The chapter would be able to send a designated number of

members to each of these functions. The board believes this

would be a great benefit to you, our members. For example

many of us are at or near an age where we have to begin to

think about some type of succession plan for our business.

The Institute is the region’s largest membership-based

entrepreneurial organization that would offer a great

networking perspective.

As a board we continue to try and determine what you would

like to see. Our Pirates & Politics night was a great event.

Omar Nashashibi, who is the managing partner of our

political consulting firm in DC, The Franklin Partnership,

gave us tremendous insight into the upcoming election from

both a local and national perspective. It was a fascinating

presentation with a blue/red map of the United States and

created interesting follow-up conversation as we watched the

Pirates beat the Rockies from the Pirate Club Level.

(Continued from page 2) Unfortunately, of the 30 plus people who attended, only a

handful were NTMA members. Most of the attendees

were CPA members – Coalition for a Prosperous

America.

Thus I’m asking you to please contact me directly at

khartford@allekiskiind.com with any thoughts, ideas or

suggestions regarding the types of programs/events you

would like to see as a member of the NTMA’s Pittsburgh

Chapter. We’re trying hard to provide you with beneficial

programs and information that will help you and your

businesses. If you’re strictly a member because of our

workers comp insurance, please let me know that as well.

I thank you in advance and look forward to hearing from

you.

PARKWAY WEST (CONTINUED)

Page 9

businesses. And finally,

the number of BotsIQ

students who said they

would consider a career

in manufacturing went

up from 3% in 2006 to

51% in 2011.

(Continued from page 1) Reason #2: Because the

best prospects for good

jobs that require less than

a four-year college degree

are in the precision

machining, industrial

maintenance, and

advanced manufacturing

sectors of the labor

market. Economic facts are

as follows:

Nearly one in every

four jobs in technology

is a manufacturing job.

Entry wage for

PWCTC graduate is

approximately $26,000

to $29,000.

$55,000 is the average

manufacturing salary.

Sources: www.pamade.org; www.paworkforce.state.pa.us

According to the

Pennsylvania Center for

Advanced Manufacturing

Careers report: Critical Shortages of Precision Machining and Industrial Maintenance Occupations in Pennsylvania’s Manufacturing Sector (2009) “total openings to

replace existing workers [in

precision machining and

industrial maintenance]

over the next 10 years could

approach 20,000.” And

“Over the period (1999 to

2009) a number of regions

in Pennsylvania

experienced real growth in

wages…there may be real

opportunities for highly

skilled workers to earn

substantially higher

earnings.”

In the new Robotics and

Precision Machining course

at Parkway West Career &

Technology Center

students will learn how to

measure and shape metal,

plastics, and other

substances in order to

manufacture a variety of

products including several

different types of robots.

Students will learn how to

read blueprints, and how to

(Continued on page 11)

VELOCITY MANUFACTURING (CONTINUED)

Page 10 PRECISION PITTSBURGH

The traditional focus on efficiency

and associated measures are old

technology and do not serve the kind

of manufacturing that we do in the

U.S. today.

The manufacturing that has moved

overseas was built on the old school

thinking that focuses on efficiency.

Moving jobs overseas makes sense:

When millions or billions of the

same item are needed.

When these items will be

supplied for an extended period

of time.

When the manufacturing lead-

times are relatively short (because

the transportation lead-times are

long). The combination of the

two determines the amount of

inventory that will need to be

held.

When holding inventory of the

items make sense.

When little to no customization is

needed.

When the items are not generally

needed in a rush for an

emergency situation

And those are the jobs that have gone

overseas. Large, long runs of the

same stuff with little to no

customization can be cranked out

very efficiently. Since the items will

not be obsolete for a number of years,

inventory can be held to deal with the

long transportation lead-times.

A new manufacturing trend is upon

us …

The jobs that are remaining in the

U.S. are the toughest, most difficult

jobs that need to be delivered in the

most difficult of situations.

Items for which design and/or

prototype manufacturing

quantities or small quantities

are need. And by the way, they

need them yesterday.

Items for which there is

fluctuating demand or

unknown demand and despite

that, delivery is extremely

important.

Custom high-precision items

that require the best and the

brightest.

Items that typically have long

manufacturing lead-times and

cannot afford long

transportation lead-times as

well.

Items that are too expensive to

hold enough inventory to allow

overseas shipping, or too heavy.

Emergency repair items or

replacement parts that are

needed with no notice.

This means that we have to move

away from focusing on mass

production efficiency to focusing

on flow or what I call Velocity in

this custom job shop environment.

Velocity Manufacturing is the

Future of U.S. Manufacturing

Our lead-times are too long and

our due date performance is

typically much less than perfect for

these kinds of jobs.

Don’t get me wrong. We are the

best in the world at this. We just

need to get better to sustain our

manufacturing base.

If we can get a job done on time, in

half the time and we only have a

fraction of the transportation lead-

time of our overseas competition,

there’s no reason to lose work to an

overseas competitor.

And if you can get a job done on

time, in half the time with the SAME

transportation lead-time, there’s no

reason you can’t take market share

from your U.S. competitors.

You want shorter lead-time and

better due-date performance? It’s all

about the scheduling …

I’m out of space, but to read the rest

and find out the secret to scheduling

a highly custom job shop or machine

shop log on and check out this link:

http://tinyurl.com/Velocity2012

You don’t need to enter your email

address or anything, just click and

finish reading.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Dr. Lisa, a

Theory of

Constraints

expert, has

worked with

Dr. Goldratt

and has helped

more than 100

custom job shops reduce their lead

times and improve due-date

performance with her inexpensive

Velocity Scheduling System

Coaching Program. The success of

that program got her named the 2012

Manufacturing Trendsetter in USA

Today. She has also been featured in

CBSNews’ Moneywatch.com, Wall

Street Journal’s MarketWatch.com,

YahooFinance.com, About.com,

NYDailynews.com, CNBC.com,

TheBostonGlobe.com,

TheMiamiHerald.com,

Morningstar.com, the NTMA record,

PMA, AMT, Metal Fabricators,

International Metal Tube, and more

than 50 others.

PRECISION MACHINING AND ROBOTICS (CONTINUED)

Page 11

“...there may be

real opportunities

for highly skilled

workers to earn

substantially

higher earnings.”

use mathematics including

algebra, geometry, and

trigonometry. They will also

be taught how to lay out

their work, set up machines,

and choose proper feeds and

speeds for machining

various shapes, sizes, and

materials. Machines

included in the curriculum

include: lathes, milling

machines, drill presses,

grinders, and EDM (electro

-discharge machines).

Advanced students will

learn computer-aided

drafting (AutoCAD) and

how to program, set-up, and

operate CNC (computer-

numeric controlled) lathes

(Continued from page 9) and milling machines. In

addition, this course will

provide instruction in

robotic systems.

Students will conduct

hands-on experiments in

the latest robotic

technology, using

motors, servos, sensors,

gears, pulleys, and

switches. This course

will include aspects of

electro-mechanical

engineering from

planning and design to

assembly, programming,

testing, and

improvement. Various

competitions, including

BotsIQ, help to make

this a fun and exciting

class.

Local manufacturers and

post-secondary sites in

support of this new

program include:

ACE Wire Spring & Form

Company, Inc.;

Aerotech, Inc., Pittsburgh, PA;

AMO Industries, Pittsburgh, PA;

California University of PA;

Community College of Allegheny

County; GE Hitachi Nuclear

Energy, Canonsburg, PA; Hamill

Manufacturing Company,

Trafford, PA; Jennison

Manufacturing Group, Carnegie,

PA; New Century Careers

(Supporter of BotsIQ), Pittsburgh, PA; Schroeder

Industries, Leetsdale, PA;

Siemens USA., Bridgeville, PA;

Universal Electric Corporation,

Canonsburg, PA ; Three Rivers

Workforce Investment Board,

Pittsburgh, PA

the Pittsburgh Chapter of the

National Tooling & Machining

Association (NTMA).

First place winner was Still ’N

Shock 2 from Plum Senior High

School, receiving a trophy and

$1,000 award from the NTMA.

Second place honors for 2012

went to Bruce Wayne, entered

by Kiski Area High School.

Clairton High School, Plum

Senior High School and Propel

Braddock Hills tied for “Coolest

Bot” honors.

Eastern Westmoreland CTC,

Hempfield Area High School

and Mapletown Jr./Sr. High

School were awarded "Best

Sportsmanship" awards.

Bot Leonidas by the students of

Montour High School won

“Best Engineered Bot.”

The Western Pennsylvania

School for the Deaf won the

award for “Best Engineering

Documentation.”

To the Roof of West Mifflin

Area High School took home the

distinction of "King of the Ring"

after winning the final bot rumble.

Kamikaze of Woodland Hills High

School was named “Best Rookie

Team.”

As BotsIQ of SWPA continues to grow,

additional sponsors and technical advi-

sors are needed. To participate in Bot-

sIQ 2013, contact Mike Valoski at New

Century Careers, 412-228-7236, or

Valoski@ncsquared.com. BOTS (CONT.)

JOIN NTMA’S LinkedIn Group: Two

years ago the NTMA created a LinkedIn

group for members only. It continues to

grow. It allows staff at all members’

companies to join and network 24/7. What

are you waiting for? Some of the best

answers to your questions come from peers

and you don’t have to leave your shop to

ask. It is simple and easy to do. If you don’t

have a LinkedIn account, create one! It’s

free! Once you have that done, search for

National Tooling and Machining

Association and request to join. You’ll see

all kinds of discussions going on within the

group. You can join in or start a new one!

Some are asking about QC problems,

others metals or types of tooling to use to

cut different metals. It’s a wide open

discussion forum. For more information or

help, contact Jim Grosmann, NTMA

marketing director, jgrosmann@ntma.org.

NTMA LAUNCHES NTMA U: After

many years of discussing and planning,

the NTMA officially launched NTMA

U. NTMA U is an online training

program designed to fill the gap for

employers and people wanting to get

skills training for this industry. It has

six semesters of online training for

those that don’t have a “brick and

mortar” building to go to for their

classroom training, or can’t get to one

due to their schedule. It is NIMS

certified and can lead to all kinds of

credentials, including a journeyman’s

card. NTMA members receive a major

discount using this program. For more

information go to the NTMA website,

www.ntma.org and click on the

“Education” portion of the website to

download an informational flyer and/or

contact Ken McCreight, NTMA V.P.

(kmcreight@ntma.org) for more

details.

NTMA PURCHASING FAIR HELD

IN NOVI, MICHIGAN: The June 14

Purchasing Fair is coming together.

The NTMA team has several defense

contractors lined up including several

looking for companies that can act as

project managers to put together larger

projects that include machining,

finishing, assembly and final inspection

before shipping to the end user. The list

of customer contacts is continuing to

grow. NTMA members receive a huge

discount for attending the fair. The fair

will be held in conjunction with the

Amerimold show on June 13-14 with

the fair on the 14th. For more

information about the site and hotel

information go to www.ntma.org and

click on the events tab or go directly to

www.purchasingfair.com.

UPDATES FROM OUR NATIONAL ORGANZIATION

by Jim Grosmann, National Tooling & Machining Association

107 Freedom Court

Moon Township, PA 15108

Phone: (724) 601-6008

e-mail: office@pghntma.org

PRST STD U.S. POSTAGE

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GREENSBURG, PA