Siemens Nurtures Manufacturing Sector, Expands Footprint
CINCINNATI -- An executive from one of the most technologically advanced engineering and electronics companies in the world is betting that recent investments in the Mahoning Valley will help transform this region into a dynamic center for advanced manufacturing.
“We’re hoping that a lot comes out of our relationship with Youngstown State and also America Makes,” says Eric Spiegel, president and CEO of Siemens Corp. USA.
The Business Journal met with Spiegel following a morning forum hosted Feb. 19 by Siemens and The Atlantic magazine at the company’s Norwood motor manufacturing plant near Cincinnati. The symposium, “Building The Future: Manufacturing’s Software Revolution,” featured, among others, Spiegel, U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, D-13 Ohio, and Michael Garvey, president of M-7 Technologies in Youngstown.
Spiegel, who was born and reared in Poland, says that Siemens’ objective is to encourage partnerships with other manufacturers tied in with America Makes: The National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute in Youngstown, while simultaneously training future engineers and scientists at YSU for a completely new era in manufacturing.
These collaborations, as he envisions them, will lead to the formation of new businesses that design and manufacture innovative products, and support Siemens’ use of 3-D printing in producing its own components.
It’s through these partnerships that America Makes could serve as a catalyst for growth and expansion, Spiegel says. “There are about 100 companies involved. We’re hoping to get more integrated there and find ways to partner with people,” he says. “And, maybe that will lead to something else in the Mahoning Valley.”
Over the last 12 years or so, Siemens has invested more than $25 billion in its U.S. operations, Spiegel reports. Aside from its association with America Makes and YSU, Siemens is already expanding its footprint in the Mahoning Valley. In July, the global manufacturing giant acquired Service Guide Inc. based in Cortland.
Service Guide, established in 1964, provides repair and refurbishing services to the steel industry. Siemens’ acquisition incorporates the operation into its Metals Technologies Business Unit.
“We’ll bring Siemens technology and Siemens processes into that facility and integrate it into our overall metals business,” Spiegel reports.
However, it’s essential that a trained, highly skilled workforce who understands how software is redefining American productivity accompany any resurgence or revolution in manufacturing.
The digital technology that Siemens has introduced in its production methods is “definitely going to change manufacturing,” Spiegel observes. “It’s going to require a lot more skills in the plants, different technology not only with the software, but also the automation technology.”
Along with increased productivity are new – but higher skilled – jobs that should provide higher wages, the CEO remarks.
Despite all of these advances, it’s still a tough sell convincing potential workers, both salaried and hourly wage earners, to enter manufacturing as a career, Spiegel adds.
“There are those who have the capabilities, but don’t want to work in a manufacturing environment,” he says. “We’re trying to convince people that these are good jobs, that these are high-paying jobs, and that this is a great career.”
Spiegel relates that his company’s $440 million in-kind grant to YSU includes Siemens’ personnel who are teaching faculty and academics how Siemens’ product lifecycle management, or PLM, software works with the university’s advanced manufacturing program.
“I think it’s going very well. It’s right on track,” Spiegel says. “They’re ramping it up. It usually takes two or three semesters to get fully integrated into the curriculum.”
The software, a highly sophisticated platform that combines design, engineering and the manufacturing process, is just now being introduced in some of YSU’s courses, Spiegel says.
“I’m going to talk to professors and students soon to see what’s working and what’s not working so well,” he says, noting it will take time for members of the faculty using a different technology to become acclimated to this new software.
“We were one of the first companies to integrate the virtual look at how you design things and how you build it,” Spiegel told The Business Journal during a tour of Siemens’ motor manufacturing plant in Norwood. “It saves a lot of time, eliminates a lot of waste.”
That plant, constructed in 1898 by Bullock Electric, is now a sleek, modern production complex that builds motors for the heavy transportation and oil and gas markets (See story Page 1). “We’re using our software here to do the design and engineering,” he says, while managers on the plant floor use the technology to ensure that the manufacturing or fabrication process is in sync.
“This boosts productivity, improves time-to-market, and makes us much more competitive,” Spiegel says. “The fact that we’re exporting out of the United States to a lot of developing countries tells us that it’s working.”
And, the fact that Ryan and Garvey were asked to participate on a panel hosted by one of the country’s most respected magazines and one of the world’s leading manufacturers speaks volumes of how the international community is paying close attention to what’s occurring in Youngstown and the Valley, they say (See story Page 14).
“It says a lot about where we have come from, where we are, and where we are going,” Ryan tells The Business Journal. “Youngstown is a great comeback story, and the international and national press we’re getting is a great thing,” he says, citing President Obama’s references to Youngstown during his last two State of the Union addresses.
Moreover, events in the Mahoning Valley place the region in a leadership position that it hasn’t experienced in a very long time, Ryan relates. “We now have a leadership role which will also help draw private investment,” he says, “and ultimately that’s when you take it to the next level.”
The congressman allows that the greatest impediment is the difficulty in preparing a workforce who can match the demands of advanced industry. “It means getting down to the grade schools and getting kids excited about making things,” Ryan emphasizes. “It’s critical for us to get into communities where there are high poverty rates, low graduation rates. We want this growth to continue, but we also want everybody to be able to participate in it.”
Garvey, who left a job on Wall Street years ago to take over his family’s business, considered it “an incredible honor” to be included in the panel. His company today refurbishes equipment for heavy industry, but has also incorporated high-tech metrology and measuring capabilities into its operations.
“We’ve experienced 40% growth since the recession,” he says. “We’re looking at another 30% growth this year.”
More telling, however, was the dinner Garvey attended with executives from The Atlantic magazine the night before the forum.
“About four times, people from The Atlantic said, ‘What is it about Youngstown? How could this possibly be going on?’” Garvey recalls. “That was very gratifying. It validates that we are doing the right things.”
RELATED:
116-Year Old Plant Is Future of Manufacturing
EDITOR'S NOTE: This story first appeared in March edition of The Business Journal as part of our year-long focus on Trending: Manufacturing.
Copyright 2014 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
CLICK HERE to subscribe to our free daily email headlines and to our twice-monthly print edition.