Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz
RMI Conference
October 27, 2011
Ladies and Gentlemen, it is great to be with you this morning here in Timonium. Before I go any further, I want to take a moment to thank RMI and Mike Galiazzo for organizing today’s conference and inviting me to speak to all of you.
American Manufacturing
There are few words that do as much to stir the American heart as “Made in America” and rightly so. We take pride in those words because we believe in this nation and we believe in what the people of this nation are capable of accomplishing. Nothing better embodies this than our manufacturing sector.
American manufacturing built our cities and our roads and it created a middle class that has made our country one of the most prosperous nations in the history of the world.
It is no exaggeration to say that American manufacturing has been the backbone of our success.
But if you read many of the headlines and op eds in today’s newspapers, you would think that manufacturing is dead in this country; that it has moved to China and India, and Americans are lucky if they know how to get their TVs to work, let alone build them.
Manufacturing Is Alive
Well, contrary to what some may think, manufacturing is still alive in this country and very much alive and well in this county. Today, Baltimore County is Maryland’s home for manufacturing, with over 530 manufacturers employing more than 19,000 workers. So far in 2011, the manufacturing payroll in Baltimore County tops $313 million according to the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation. In Baltimore County, manufacturers build and design everything from hybrid transmissions and jet thrusters to cosmetics and windshield washer blades.
However, if we are to keep our manufacturing industry relevant and competitive we must think in new ways. We cannot hope to compete with the low wages in foreign markets. Our manufacturing future lies in working smart, incorporating lean and green technologies for efficiency, nurturing specialized fields and training workers for the industries of the 21st century. Look at the hybrid transmissions being built at GM in White Marsh, the defense systems at AAI and long life batteries at SAFT America in Hunt Valley.
Skilled Labor
Our future lies in these fields because of the simple fact that American workers are still the best trained, most productive workers in the world. The current output per US worker is 3 times what it was in 1980 and twice what it was in 1990. Ninty percent of manufacturers have difficulty finding skilled workforces overseas. Our ability to create high quality products has always been the engine that has driven our manufacturing industry and it will continue to do so today, but we must adjust to the needs of the world as it is now.
A survey released in September by Deloitte and the Manufacturing Institute revealed that U.S. manufacturing companies have as many as 600,000 unfilled jobs. Companies cited a lack of qualified candidates as the reason for the vacancies. The survey revealed that these unfilled jobs are mainly in the skilled production category — positions such as machinists, operators, craft workers, distributors and technicians. We must work to train our workforce, so that we are ready to make of the jobs of tomorrow ours at any opportunity.
Green Manufacturing
One of the most important components to successful industry today is green manufacturing, which is attempting to find a way to build the products we need without placing an undue burden on the environment around us. It is vital that our workers are ready to trained and ready for these manufacturing techniques. Baltimore County has been able to take two very important steps to support this kind of manufacturing in our communities.
"Green Team" Initiative by RMI
Baltimore County was recently able to secure a U.S. Department of Energy Grant to help manufacturers increase their energy conservation through a new "Green Team" initiative implemented by RMI. This $225,000 federal grant, which is part of the 2009 economic stimulus, is helping a targeted group of Baltimore County manufacturing companies reduce energy consumption and optimize clean production, while saving them money.
For the past eight weeks, RMI and its energy experts have been working closely with six Baltimore County companies who have committed to the program. In this short period they have already identified opportunities for energy improvements and increased productivity ranging from lighting retrofits to energy cost savings during off-shift shutdowns to waste-heat recovery.
The program will also focus on lean- to-green production (reducing energy through improved production processes), value stream mapping (a technique to analyze and design the flow of materials and information required to bring a product to a consumer), greening the supply chain (assessment of energy usage, waste and identification of action items to reduce wastes) and green product development. The result of all this will be more sustainable lean, green facilities with corporate cultures that encourage employees to reduce energy costs, streamline systems, and reduce our carbon footprint.
Baltimore County has also been a part of the Maryland Energy Sector Partnership Green Manufacturing Initiative. Through this initiative, our Department of Economic Development’s Workforce Division was awarded more than $290,000 from the U.S. Department of Labor as part of the stimulus program to train workers in green manufacturing practices.
In addition, it allows us to also train new or displaced workers for entry level manufacturing positions.
Baltimore County in Today’s Global Economy
Over the past few months, I’ve been talking with people throughout this County, manufacturers and workers alike, listening to what they need and how we can help. Whether I’ve been at McCormick, Medifast, AAI, RG Steel, GM, or Middle River Aircraft Systems, it has always been inspiring to meet these men and women, but we still have many challenges that we must face. We must ensure that our workforce is ready to face the changing dynamics of today’s economy, that we maintain the strength and vitality of our port (which has been an essential part of this region’s economy for literally centuries), and that we must keep pace with a global economy that is more advanced and decentralized than ever before.
However, I have every confidence that if we give the men and women in our manufacturing industry the support they need and deserve, that we can meet these challenges. And when we emerge from this recession, we will do so stronger than we have ever been before and we will be able to describe our recovery with three simple words: “Made In America.”
