American automobile manufacturing traces its humble roots back to a man named Henry Ford. It was Ford who introduced the assembly line, increasing productivity and efficiency in an attempt to make the automobile affordable to the average citizen. Since the early 1900s, Ford Motor Company has been a pillar of American manufacturing, giving us the
When you think of Texas, what comes to mind? Tumbleweeds blowing across wide open spaces? Cowboys driving cattle across the open range? Roughnecks working the oil and gas rigs along the Gulf Coast? The tall buildings dotting the skylines of major cities like Houston and Dallas? What probably doesn’t come to mind are high-tech manufacturing
In our current age of on-again/off-again tariffs and a new war in the Middle East causing the cost of everything from food to gasoline to skyrocket, it seems like all of us are getting a daily lesson in the painful truth of the economic concept of supply and demand. There’s another place where the law
If you had to guess, what would you believe are the top challenges facing modern manufacturers? Economic volatility? Sure. Tariffs and foreign competition? Without a doubt. Keeping up with technology and competitors? Always an issue. Perhaps the most critical ongoing challenge for manufacturers, however, remains hiring skilled workers to fill the hundreds of thousands of
In today’s tumultuous world full of economic and political uncertainty, the issue of affordability has taken center stage in many minds. In particular, rising energy costs—from electricity to gasoline—continue to plague the already-battered budgets of most Americans. At the same time, it seems like nearly every technology company is focused on artificial intelligence (AI) and
Remember the good ol’ days when Claude was your uncle from Wisconsin, Copilot was the guy helping fly the plane, and Gemini was your astrological sign if you were born in early summer? Today, these names—along with ChatGPT—are the top artificial intelligence (AI) assistants available on computers and smartphones everywhere. Just a few years ago,
Between the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing trade wars being waged by the Trump administration via tariffs, the importance of manufacturing in the United States has once again taken center stage. To keep up with domestic demand for things like high-tech semiconductors, it’s more important than ever that as many things
Remember those dire warnings about robots coming for our jobs? While there are some people who have certainly been displaced by robots and other types of advanced automation technologies, it’s safe to say that, for the most part, adding robots to manufacturing facilities has not resulted in the massive job losses that some feared. To
On Sunday, March 1, 2026, Americans awoke to the news that the United States and Israel had launched a series of missile strikes against Iran. Despite campaign promises to the contrary, the Trump administration had inserted the U.S. into a new armed conflict in the Middle East. As Americans continue to struggle with inflation and
Put yourself in the shoes of a hiring manager for a local manufacturer. Thanks to an ongoing skills gap issue, the highly skilled workers you need to fill open positions are getting harder to find. You have work that needs to be done. Because of advancements in technology, the roles you need to fill need
The COVID-19 pandemic taught the United States government an important lesson about the importance of supply chains and ensuring the ability to manufacture critical components, such as semiconductors, domestically rather than relying upon overseas suppliers. During the pandemic, supply chains ground to a halt and the inability to acquire important semiconductors from foreign manufacturers like
