Georgia Tech partnership official: Manufacturing changing, improving

ALBANY — Manufacturing matters because it strengthens the economy. That’s the message members of the Albany Rotary Club received on Thursday from Art Ford, regional manager of the Georgia Manufacturing Extension Partnership, an extension of Georgia Tech.

Established in 1960, the mission of GaMEP is to help manufacturers grow and stay competitive by increasing top line growth while decreasing bottom line cost, Ford said. GaMEP receives both state and federal funding.

“I’m not an economist,” Ford said during his presentation, “but I believe there are only three ways to create wealth, and that’s farming, mining and manufacturing. What you’re doing there is taking land, labor, capital — whatever you have — and the sum of what you end up with has more value than what you’ve put into it.”

According to Ford, wealth is generated in the communities where manufacturing takes place because of the positive effects it has on the economy. In addition, manufacturing spurs innovation and creativity.

“You’re always having to improve (the manufacturing),” Ford said. “You’re always working to make it better.”

Ford told Rotary members that it’s a common misconception that American manufacturing is dying. While manufacturing jobs peaked around the time of the recession of 2008, production of goods picked up about a year later and has risen since. The reason, according to Ford, is that companies have learned how to be more productive and are improving every day.

According to 2013 GaMEP records presented by Ford, manufacturing presents 10.8 percent of employment in Georgia, with weekly wages 50 percent higher than the average of all industries.

Manufacturing is changing, Ford said, with more companies looking for employees with “good heads” over strong arms. At Albany Technical College and in other schools across the state, he said, manufacturers are providing input as to the technical curriculum needed to train tomorrow’s workers, and providing opportunities to train on their machinery.

“You can never stop getting better,” Ford said. “It’s all about helping someone else have a better life, and that pulls up everyone in the community.”

The office of the South Region of GaMEP is located at 125 Pine Avenue, Suite 140.