“This is not to be judgmental,” said Wilmes, “but times have changed. And while the return on investment is obviously always a consideration, the main concern now is “can I get the production done that I need to get done.” The issue now is companies can’t hire help, period. Wilmes said it used to be customers would ask for a two or three-year return on investment, any longer and it would be too much. Now more than ever, it makes sense to take advantage of that trend and start implementing automation in your company.” This means you are getting a lot more capability for your dollar. “And one of the other trends we’ve been seeing over the past few years,” said Brandon Alberts, general manager of 1905 Automation, “is that the cost of labor has gone up significantly, while the cost of machinery, automation, electronics and robots has come down. And most people today would rather push buttons than push boards.” It’s a lot harder to find people willing to do that work at any price. “There was a time 20 or 30 years ago in which you could find people at a reasonable wage who were okay with feeding boards into a saw or pulling them out of the back end. Automation frees up human beings from this kind of work to do other work that they would prefer to do.” “A lot of the work inside of woodworking facilities is dull, dirty and dangerous, which is another reason it is often hard to hire people. Wilmes outlined it wasn’t just the shortage of labor, it was also the type of work in a lot of these facilities is not “desirable work.” “Let’s be honest,” said Wilmes.
The lack of labor was putting a real cap on his sales – the only solution was automation.”
“One example was a recent sales call to a customer who needed 45 people to run his facility, but he only had 18. “We have been in the field and seen firsthand from customers who are very short on workers who are looking to automation,” said Wilmes. “But we saw the labor shortage has created a demand in woodworking for automation beyond just material handling, which is why we created a division dedicated to automation in all its forms.” And it’s not just Mereen-Johnson, but WMMA companies more generally that are embracing the demand for automation in the future. “Mereen-Johnson has always done automation, especially as it comes to material handling,” said Wilmes. Wilmes believes this is a gigantic problem, which is why Mereen-Johnson created a new division called 1905 Automation.
This gap can only be filled with automation.” “As you are keenly aware, the biggest crisis facing many industries, and particularly the woodworking industry – is the fact companies cannot hire the hands needed to meet their production needs.
“What that means is that we need to replace functions requiring human hands with advanced automated machinery,” Wilmes said. Paul Wilmes, who is also the CEO and president of Mereen-Johnson, says there is one word that describes what is going on in American woodworking technology today and he believes that word is going to be a key word for the foreseeable future - “automation.” And as WMMA President Paul Wilmes explains, this is one of the many reasons why Canadian woodworking manufacturers should buy from WMMA member companies. woodworking machinery companies for more than 120 years. manufacturers versus foreign competitors.Īs such, the WMMA considers itself to be the gateway to American woodworking technology and has worked to increase the productivity and profitability of U.S. This includes showcasing the competitive position of U.S. manufacturers of woodworking machinery, cutting tools and supplies. The job of the Wood Machinery Manufacturers of America (WMMA) is to advocate for U.S.
0 kommentar(er)
