Managing Automation - May 2008 - (Page 18)

05-08 DIALOGUE Progressive Manufacturing Roundtable Innovate or fade away. That is the choice facing many manufacturers as they struggle to compete with rivals in lower-cost, offshore locations. Figure out how to make your products better, faster, cheaper, or watch your customers go elsewhere. But how can you light a fire under your organization and get it to take the right risks and try new things? Recently, Managing Automation connected with executives from three manufacturing organizations to discuss these issues. But these weren’t just any manufacturers. All three — Bosch Rexroth CanINTERVIEWER ada, Stahlin Non-MetalJEFF MOAD is executive editor of Manlic Enclosures, and Fabaging Automation. He covers enterprise con — were recognized applications and manufacturing industry trends, and he has spearheaded the MA last year as Progressive awards process for the past two years. Manufacturing 50 winners for their achievePARTICIPANTS ments in innovation. JIM LAMBERT is design manager in the Bosch Rexroth Canada, hydraulics business unit of Bosch Rexroth for example, was recogCanada, a manufacturer of industrial nized for its digital prodrives and controls and a 2007 PM 50 winner in the innovation category. totyping project, which ensured that mechanical MIKE JACKSON is engineering mandesigns could be manuager at Stahlin, a maker of fiberglassfactured effectively and reinforced polyester enclosures for petrofunction properly. The chemical and wastewater use and a 2007 PM 50 winner in the innovation category. project resulted in fewer errors, shorter lead JASON HENSLEY is research and detimes, and 50% shorter velopment director at Fabcon, a manudesign times. facturer of precast concrete wall panels. The company is a 2007 PM 50 winHere’s what Jim Lamner in the innovation category. bert at Bosch Rexroth Canada, Mike Jackson at Stahlin, and Jason Hensley at Fabcon had to say about keeping the innovation fires burning. Q: What business pressures have pushed your companies to focus on improving innovation? Lambert: Our market, the motion control market, is very competitive. If you’re going to stay involved, you have to continue to be innovative to survive. In order to get new business, you have to look beyond the boundaries of what you deem Extended Dialogue To listen to the full interview, and others in the Roundtable Series, visit www.ManagingAutomation .com/PMroundtableInnovate Lighting Up Innovation Better, faster, cheaper are imperatives requiring out-of-the-box thinking. See how Progressive Manufacturing award winners pursue innovation. normal or familiar and then transform those ideas or concepts into a new creative process or a service or product. I think the most important thing, for us anyway, is we had to be willing to grow our portfolio of products and services as technology changes. If you don’t do that, you’re going to cease to exist. Jackson: In our case, we were driven by market dynamics. Our markets were telling us that we needed to develop new and different materials, but they had to be tailored to our specific product lines, and it was difficult to find other companies that could do that. So we looked at it internally and said that if we’re going to participate in this market, we need some process or material that can satisfy that need. Hensley: Technically speaking, we’re a manufacturer, but we’re also a construction company. The late ’90s for construction was insane. We were turning away as much work — if not more — than we were actually taking on, so it was easy for us to get fat and sloppy (for lack of a better word). But a recession kicked in in ’01 and we realized that if we’re going to survive, we’ve got to tighten up quite a bit. We started looking for ways to do that. And [improving the] tolerances and the geometric properties of our panels was a way we could save money across the board. Q: Is innovation simply a reaction to market forces or can it be pursued as part of a broader corporate strategy? Lambert: Well, sometimes it takes a large project, like one we did for the St. Lawrence Seaway, to take you out of your comfort zone. We had been using 2D [design tools] for quite a few years, but realized that if we were going to win this very large civil project, we had to move beyond our comfort level. So we picked up on digital prototyping. We went in with the understanding that it was going to be just as much a risk for us as our customer. Photos courtesy: Managing Automation, Bosch, Stahlin, Fabcon 18 May 2008 http://managingautomation.com/PMroundtableInnovate http://managingautomation.com/PMroundtableInnovate

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Managing Automation - May 2008

Managing Automation - May 2008 Contents Take 1 Award-Winning Shoe-Maker Otabo Alters Course, Shifts Production to China IBM Partners with Universities for Cloud Computing Getting Noise in Production Under Control Incuity Embarks on a Vertical Market Strategy Foundation Intensifies OPC Standard Testing Mailbox Notes PM Roundtable Cover Story: The Business of Going Green Special Report: Night and Day Delivering on Promises Finding the Right Fit for Wireless Driving RFID Product Scan Advertiser Index Next

Managing Automation - May 2008

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