MATT KIRCHNER: "The Number One Problem Facing Surface Finishers Today"
Matt writes: With nearly one in five American workers either unemployed or underemployed it seems inconceivable that coaters and manufacturers alike would have such a difficult time finding the right people.
The absolute best part of my job is spending time around paint, powder, e-coat and plating facilities and leaders. Custom coaters, OEMs, job shops… you name it, I love it. One of my favorite questions to pose to the leaders of these facilities during my visits is: “What’s your biggest challenge right now?”
For more than a year now I get the same answer almost every time. The number one problem facing surface finishers today is … finding qualified employees.
On its face, this almost defies belief, and had I not heard the same answer from so many coaters and experienced the problem in my own business, I would have a hard time accepting it myself.
As of the date I author this article, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics places the official unemployment rate at 9 percent. According to Gallup, the underemployment rate—which takes into account those wishing to work additional hours, an additional job or a new job with longer working hours—hovers just above 18 percent.
With nearly one in five American workers either unemployed or underemployed it seems inconceivable that coaters and manufacturers alike would have such a difficult time finding the right people. Mention this problem to a friend working outside the manufacturing sector and your statement produces a confounded gape. Raise the issue with a coater and watch for the knowing acknowledgement. What’s the problem? There are three, actually.
New product from Custom Fabricating & Supplies (CFS) prevents part loss during coating processes.
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Dear Products Finishing Audience Member:
Starting on Thursday August 8, 2024, PF will begin “gating” its premium content, asking all new website users to provide some information about themselves — name, title, employer, email address — before they are provided free access to the content.
We are doing this because the ways PF’s audience finds and accesses our content is changing. Google’s search algorithms, increasingly, make it difficult to connect PF’s content with the people who might make use of it. On top of that, generative AI like ChatGPT is serving up PF content to internet users without attributing that content to PF.
As a result, it has become increasingly important for PF evolve its audience development strategy and learn as much as possible about who is accessing our content, what content they are accessing and how they are accessing it.
With this audience development strategy, we hope to do two things:
First, we will be better able to deliver directly to our audience the editorial content that aligns with the surface finishing materials, processes and technologies that interest them.
Second, we will be better able to connect the materials, equipment and services our advertisers supply with the audience that is most interested in them.
PF plays a distinctive role and has earned a place of esteem within the focused and specialized industry it serves. Large developments in the media landscape are forcing us to change the way we communicate with our audience. We are confident that our audience values the role PF plays in their professional lives and will join us in this effort to stay connected to them.
We thank you for your continued interest in and support of PF and welcome any questions you might have about the brand’s new content gating strategy.
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