| Author | Message | ||
     Barthautala |
Hey is it me or does the economy suck? - at least in the business of manufacturing. Im in the business of robotic integration. And we cant sell a robot arm for the life of the company, whether it be a machine tending solution or an assembly arm. Either noone has money to or theyre scared of the initial investment. I hear its because purchase of durable goods is down. Whats it like in your business? Everything slow? Everything picking up? Everything exactly the same? | ||
| Bomber |
it's tempting to speak of the economy as if it's monolithic, and one organism -- clearly, it's not while some sectors are getting healthier and growing, other (durable goods in many segments) are flat oddly, some steel manufacturers are going great guns, which would lead one to believe that companies like yours would be doing well -- | ||
| Mikej |
slow on the main job (automotive supplier), slow on the after-hours job (residential real estate), slow. | ||
| Glitch |
I have never ending stress. Atlanta traffic gets worse by the day. Coke's lawyers are always in need. So on my end it looks like it's growing, or at the very least staying the same. Maybe it has to do with where you are. I know in my home town things are kind of stagnate, that's why I moved here. A friend of mine works in the robot industry, so maybe it's the types of robots you're dealing with. His business is so busy he's going nuts, he's been on the road most of the week, and barely makes it home on the weekends. His robots have something to do with welding. | ||
| Barthautala |
We're integrating with Mazak machines , either machine tending or assembly or whatever, but definitely not welding. We're in upper lower michigan but we sell nationwide. Maybe we need new salesmen? This time last year I had more overtime than I wanted. Now I want more overtime. | ||
| Mikej |
They just installed a couple new robotic machines here and in the other plant a few states away this year. Not sure what brand but they're used for assembly work. | ||
| Spike |
Mine seems steady. Sales are a little slow at the moment, but that has more to do with the sales staff than it does with the economy. | ||
| Firebolteric_ma |
we are very busy. working 10 hour days and i don't even want to. my kids are in baseball and i don't miss there games for nothing. drives my boss crazy.  | ||
| Rum_runner |
im in the stainless steel ind. we're busy and getting worse by the day. im working my guys 6 days aweek mandatory. and letting them work as much o/t as they want and i still can't keep up to the orders. i know what everyones thinking yeah he works his guys 6 days aweek and he's at home every weekend with his family. well let me tell ya. my guys might be working 8 to 10 hour days 6 days aweek. but im here everyday and i see my guys on all three shifts. so i'll let you guess how many hours im here. | ||
| Ezblast |
In the Gourmand Plumbing industry business is booming - the rich are still rich and spending - lol - anyone want to buy a medicine cabinet with a built into the mirror so you can't see it unless its on flat tv/vcr/dvd 18" and up - lol - and thats just a few of the weird plumbing trinkets you can find at my work place - lol - how about custom Blown sinks, or Tuscan Brass with diamond inlay knobs - if you can imagine it - we probably sell it or can find the company to make it - GT - JBOTDS! EZ  | ||
| Jimduncan69 |
i cannot keep up with my work. i think every body in the state of ohio just bought new flooring and wants me to put it in. if i only had a few more hours in a day and a couple extra day's a week. i could get it all done. so the flooring industry is really booming right now. | ||
| Rum_runner |
jimduncan69, i just looked at your profile your bike is smokin with that green. you got anyother pics of your bike id like to see them. | ||
| Kdan |
We're closing one datacenter after another since all the work is going to India. But the operations staff are offered jobs. As contractors. Mounting tapes. For 1/5th what they were making as operators...Gotta love Reagan's ideas for globalization. | ||
| Wardan123 |
I know I'll hear a hundred thousand times over "Teacher? You get your summers off!!!" I remind people that I am also not paid for the 2 months (6-7 weeks) I am not teaching. Overtime? Hah! If you teach adult ed. or coach or do anything extra you are paid LESS than your hourly wage. Coaching is the worst. I worked it out while coaching wrestling, and I was making less than $1.00 an hour for my time. Love the kids, love the sport, probably would have done it for nothing. I will say this though- I go to work every day looking forward to it. I love my subject area (English) and the interactions with students. Teaching (I know I'm rambling) is a great profession for young single people, fresh from college - They are still excited about learning and their enthusiasm fuells them and their students. Teaching is okay when you get married. I married another teacher so she knew what she was getting into financially. We have made things work. We live comfortable in my eyes - she'd like a little more. Teaching and having kids has proven to be a different case altogether- You want so much to provide and at times one cannot afford to give - that makes it rough. 2 1/2 years ago when my first daughter was born, my wife and I agreed that one of us will stay home. Try making it in Naples Florida on one salary and a teachers salary at that! We alternate years off and theis fall I'll be home with my then 3 year old and my then 9 month old. I'll miss the classroom but love my kids. | ||
| Odie |
As long as man exists my business will always be good.....sort of unfortunate but.....  | ||
| Cygnus_x1 |
Here in the west, I've turned down about $50k worth of work this month so far, and now debating to take on some huge custom homes in the next town up from us. ??? | ||
| Diablobrian |
Sounds kind of like the old thing when 3 blind men touch different parts of an elephant and try to describe the animal. Hard to see the big picture when looking from the inside of only one industry. | ||
| Court |
Things, in my business, are at fever pitch and will be so for the next 10 years in New York City. I, and quite by accident, moved to Neew York City just as their long ignored power grid began to moan "time to pay up". They hadn't built a power plant here in 22 years and not a soul in town had ever built a high voltage overhead electrical line. In addition, they were starting to dump tons into my specialty, ITS systems like I'd done in California, Texas and Kansas. Over the last 3 years I've been with the oldest electrical firm in the USA and we've had >800 I.B.E.W. electricians building 3 500MW combined cycle power plants. The most recent demanded 7 days a week and I put in quite a few 90+ hour weeks in hopes the General Contractor (Shaw-Stone & Webster) could avoid the $250,000 per day penalites for being late. Good inducement, eh? When the plants were done, I go offered a consulting gig from the French company that did the electrical for the Chunnel and have had about 2 offers a month since then. Times are GREAT . . but, I should add that at least one of the offers each month is Afghanistan or Iraq and even for $400K/yr I am not going to be a target. Last two guys I know who went were popped off steel towers like birds from a wire. Anyway. . . in NYC construction times are the best they have ever been. The company I am with has $15B worth of work to do in the next 10 years. Things sound pretty fair in CA as well. My youngest, in the Malibu area, just scammed a raise that is more than I've ever made in a year. Young punk. I'd look for more of the manufacturing of compoent parts and help desk (the "people" type jobs) to be going to India. Nearly all the finincial industry backroom ops are in Ireland where, like India, they have a very well educated abundant work force and low cost of living. I know my wife has her backroom stuff there and it's a hop-skip and a jump to visit once a year from London. I thank Reagan for leading us on a path that got us out of doing what we didn't do very well (how many of us want a $7/hr help desk job talking folks through the XP Start menu) and allowing us to get better at the things we do well. These are the best of times. | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
I work for Quadtech. We sell/service/calibrate electrical instruments. Our buisiness is booming. We haven't had a better first quarter. I work primaily with repairs and have seen producion facilities reactivate stuff that has been broken for 5 years in some closet. We have two guys that deal with elecrical safety testers (groundbond, highpot) and that sector is going crazy in both service and also new production. | ||
| Daves |
I stay pretty busy  Thanks to all of you. | ||
| Gentleman_jon |
Bart, Overall the economy is very good, excellent in fact. However, it is very competitive in many sectors, especially manufacturing and technology. It sounds to me like you have a problem somewhere, but you don't know what it is. Perhaps hiring an outside consultant to take a fresh look at your product, your marketing, and your competitive position would give you some ideas to re-invigorate your business. Sometimes we can't see the forest for the trees. | ||
| Barthautala |
I suppose Im not overly excited about not being too busy considering Ive got a small company. 25 people total. However salesmen are traveling the country trying to sell productivity platforms. Hey any manufacturing guys or guys in the manufacturing industry going to be at IMTS in chi town? | ||
| Indy_bueller |
Gotta love Reagan's ideas for globalization. I've heard of Reagan being blamed for alot of things, but never that. With all due respect I think it's a stretch to blame one dead President for Globalization. Clinton didn't exactly put up any roadblocks for NAFTA, and it turns out that Ross Perots prediction of a "Giant sucking sound heading south" was dead on target. Globalization was and is inevitable, regardless of what party is in control of the White House. We can spout all the patriotism we want and say "if they would just do this" or "just do that" but in the end, money talks, BS walks, and every politician needs contributions. The lines between the political parties get really blurry when the big Corporations whip out the checkbooks.} | ||
| Taxman |
i'm about 45 minutes to an hour north of you Barthautala. i can deffinately say that people are not buying new homes as often as in past years. michigan has had many economy hits recently. the auto industry is on shaky ground. i can't say exactly what the situation is there but they have idled some plants and sent many blue collar and white collar workers home. more local to the northern lower peninsula is the closing of a company in gaylord that makes plywood/particleboard/O.S.B and the like. they just couldn't compete with overseas companies that could import it cheaper. they employed just over 300 people that were given no notice the place was shuting down. there are many lumber companies that had bid out contracts out as far as 10 years that are now floundering for other work. as far as my job is concerned (commercial and industrial appraisal) i'm quite busy. lots of box stores are moving in to the area. one thing that has been overwhelming though is the number of homes that have been forclosed on by banks. in some of the smaller towns in the area upwards of 25-40% of homes listed for sale are being sold by banks that have reposesed. wich in turn makes it difficult for other people to sell there homes for what they paid. i live in Charlevoix and the average asking price for a 3 bedroom 2 bath home with a basement is around $120-160k. but none are selling. why would i pay that much when i can drive 15 miles east to the town of east jordan where i can buy the same type of house for $50-90k (less than what it cost to build) from a bank. in this area if you want to sell a house it will be on the market for a long time. there are more houses on the market than people looking to buy. industries may be booming. businesses may be doing well. but in all through-out northern michigan houses aren't selling and that means people aren't bringing home the money. | ||
| Barthautala |
You would be referring to Georgia-Pacific in Gaylord. I know all about that. Im local to this area so I know whats going on around here. And Im feeling it when it comes to the housing market. Me and the wife are looking to buy house here in traverse City and it seems the average price for a decent and I mean basically a house that looks OK(not even spectacular) 3br 2 ba is 180K........and at current interest rates that sucks. And again youre right but I have to more like 1/2 hour out of town to find the same thing priced less. Even half acre lots are going for 50k here. But like you said they are all still for sale and have been for awhile. I wonder when the bottom will drop and I can afford to buy something? | ||
| Steve_mackay |
It's like a roller coaster here. The Tool & Die biz has been like this the past 8-10 years now. But it all seems to work out pretty well in the end. We were slow up until this week, but got a couple of complicated molds to design this week, and 5 more over the horizon. | ||
| Light_keeper |
I just recieved word about 15 min ago that my business is closing operations here in the US. I'm sort of numb at this point. No time table yet but they are working with me on that.  | ||
| Seanp |
My business is booming. My employers need me far more than I need them. They make me work long hours, (days, weeks, months...) and the pay is not as good as I could make in another job. But I love my job, I have a great sense of purpose, and the next 7 years are going to be awesome, so I think I'll stay.  | ||
| Chasespeed |
Sean, Odie...very true for us...at least we do have job security... But, I dont know if I can take any more of the crap enough to make it to retriement... 3 more years to the half way mark...then I have to make a decision... Chase | ||
| Kdan |
I've heard of Reagan being blamed for alot of things, but never that. I wasn't blaming him, just giving him credit for starting it and naming it really. Actually a president is just a talking head, so I really have to give credit to someone in his administration. Still, with all the high tech jobs leaving the country(not just help desk and back room operations) I'm thinking 43 is a perfect point to consider a career change. I'm not worried about living well, I have many talents and a positive outlook. How useful is a 20 year old mechanical engineering degree that's never been used? |
