Appliance Design - October 2008 - (Page 4)

EDItorIal ® www.applianceDESIGN.com ell, it’s that magical season again. No, I don’t mean the holidays. I’m referring to election season, where politicians promise the magic of lowering taxes while expanding government services. Years of such pandering has bred an infantile expectation among citizens who see nothing contradictory about wanting to keep more of their paycheck and demanding that government solve all of their problems at the same time. Reasonable people can disagree on the appropriate level of taxes and government services. Reasonable people cannot disagree that some linkage must exist between the two. All things have a cost. Many economists have properly warned about the long-term consequences of embracing the false premise of expecting more while paying less, but another interesting angle to ponder is how the premise alters consumer psychology and purchasing behavior. Ironically, in the realm of consumer goods, people have been able to achieve that unreasonable expectation. Whether you begin with the invention of the plow or the loom, history is full of examples where the magic of technology fueled great leaps in human productivity, lowering the cost of goods relative to the amount of labor needed to acquire them. Aside from the occasional wars, famines, and depressions, progress over time has steadily allowed more people to own more things. Debates are often kindled when a presidential candidate asks whether people are better off now than four years ago, but there is little debate as to whether we are better off than we were 40, 400, or 4,000 years ago. Surges in productivity have resulted not only from technology shifts, such as from craft to machine, or water mill to steam power, but also from organizational paradigm shifts, such as Ford’s concept of the assembly line. The electronics revolution begat not only more sophisticated automation, but also the computer that streamlined the various human processes and logistics upon which manufacturing depends. Beyond technology, practices such as design for manufacturability and outsourcing some production to lower- W More Magic? cost labor markets have also constrained the cost of goods. But some wonder if the magic carpet ride may soon end, snagged by the law of diminishing returns. At some point, the climbing direct cost of sophisticated automation, along with its rising indirect costs of staff training and debugging downtime, decreases the value of obtaining it. At some point, the soaring cost of transportation due to higher fuel prices lessens the advantage of outsourcing. At some point, the skyrocketing cost of materials shrinks the proportional labor cost to where further gains in productivity have a dwindling effect upon end-product cost. In that situation, manufacturers will be faced with the need to raise prices while confronted with constraints against doing so. For one, they are often locked into co-dependent relationships with large distributors or retailers that transform even modest attempts at price increases into intense negotiations. Getting past that hurdle then requires retraining consumers to pay more after they have been conditioned – for centuries now – to get more for less. Manufacturers might be tempted to escape that dilemma by designing degraded products whose flashy facade of value masks a cheapened functional core. That will be a bad choice, because facades never last for long. Reality strips them down, and people end up paying the price one way or another, with more bucks or more aggravation. An optimist might suggest that such worries are premature, and that technology will again ride to the rescue. For example, maybe nanotech engineers will figure out how to magically transform waste into amazing materials that cost little and do much, and then the ride begins anew. Let’s hope the optimists are right, and that, like politicians, we always have one more trick up our sleeve. < publishing staff Fern Sheinman Publisher richard J. Babyak Editor larry adams Managing Editor Daryl Delano Economics Editor E’lisa Campbell Production Manager Matt Britcher Art Director (858) 259-4585 sheinmanf@bnpmedia.com (440) 886-1210 babyakr@bnpmedia.com (773) 467-8590 adamsl@bnpmedia.com (508) 746-7986 dhdelano@comcast.net (248) 244-6257 campbelle@bnpmedia.com (248) 486-7800 britcherm@bnpmedia.com circulation Christine a. Baloga (248) 244-8262 Corporate Audience Development Director balogac@bnpmedia.com amy Schuler (920) 231-4932 Group Audience schulera@bnpmedia.com Development Manager alison Illes (248) 244-1730 Corporate Fulfillment Manager Illesa@bnpmedia.com Catherine M. ronan (248) 244-8259 Corporate Audience ronanc@bnpmedia.com Audit Manager robert liska 800-223-2194 List Manager robert.liska@edithroman.com marketing amanda Schmidke Marketing Director Paul Dykstra Trade Show Coordinator (248) 786-1624 schmidkea@bnpmedia.com (248) 786-1609 dykstrap@bnpmedia.com editorial advisory board Mark Skaer, Senior Editor, The News Susan Sutton, Editor, Ceramic Industry roy Sakelson, Editor-in-Chief, Circuitree tom Williams, Publisher/Editor, Quality Magazine Darlene Brezinski, Ph.D., Editor, Paint and Coatings Industry Don Hegland, Editor, Assembly BNP Media Helps People Succeed in Business with Superior Information BNP Media 2401 West Big Beaver Rd., Suite 700, Troy, MI 48084, (248) 362-3700, Fax: (248) 362-0317; www.bnpmedia.com For subscription information or service, please contact Customer Service at: call (847) 763-9534 • Fax: (847) 763-9538 or email: AD@halldata.com APPLIANCE DESIGN (ISSN 1552-5937) is published 12 times annually, monthly, by BNP Media, 2401 W. Big Beaver Rd., Suite 700, Troy, MI 48084-3333. Telephone: (248) 362-3700, Fax: (248) 362-0317. No charge for subscriptions to qualified individuals. Annual rate for subscriptions to nonqualified individuals in the U.S.A.: $140.00 USD. Annual rate for subscriptions to nonqualified individuals in Canada: $175.00 USD (includes GST & postage); all other countries: $190.00 (int’l mail) payable in U.S. funds. Periodicals Postage Paid at Troy, MI and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: APPLIANCE DESIGN, P.O. Box 2148, Skokie, IL 60076. Printed in the U.S.A. Copyright 2008, by BNP Media. GST account: 131263923. Change of address: Send old address label along with new address to APPLIANCE DESIGN, P.O. Box 2148, Skokie, IL 60076. All rights reserved. The contents of this publication may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the consent of the publisher. The publisher is not responsible for product claims and representations. Canada Post: Publications Mail Agreement #40612608. Send returns (Canada) to Bleuchip International, P.O. Box 25542, London, ON, N6C 6B2. For single copies or back issues, contact Ann Kalb at (248) 244-6499 or KalbA@ bnpmedia.com. Richard Babyak, Editor E-mail: babyakr@bnpmedia.com | HVAC | Majors | Water Processing | Housewares | Commercial Appliances | | Vending | Medical | Lab | Test & Measurement | Lawn & Garden | Electronics | | Computers | Communications | Business Equipment | 4 applianceDESIGN October 2008 www.applianceDESIGN.com http://www.applianceDESIGN.com http://www.bnpmedia.com http://www.applianceDESIGN.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Appliance Design - October 2008

Appliance Design - October 2008 Contents Editorial Shipments/Forecasts News Watch Prototyping - Materials Play the Part Prototyping - Mix & Match Motors Electronics Coatings Design Marts Association Report: AHRI Advertiser's Index

Appliance Design - October 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.