GA Manufacturing Extension Partnership (GaMEP) Georgia Tech

What Automation Means for Economic Development

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GaMEP Director, Karen Fite, moderates the Automation Panel at the 51st Annual Basic Economic Development Course.
GaMEP Director, Karen Fite, moderates the Automation Panel at the 51st Annual Basic Economic Development Course.

Automation.

The word and what it represents is driving a lot of discussion about what that means for manufacturers and for those in economic development tasked with bringing industry — and jobs — to their communities.

But automation is not the boogeyman people think it is, said Mark Ligler, vice president of Factory Automation Systems. The Atlanta-based company is a systems integration resource for many of the top manufacturers in the United States and supports them in programmable controller and drive systems, robot integration, and information solutions.

“Automation is not a job killer,” Ligler said. “It’s a job creator and it’s keeping people here employed.”

Ligler made his remarks as part of a panel discussion, “What Automation means for Your Community” at the 51st annual Basic Economic Development Course (BEDC) held Feb. 27 through March 2.

Sixty-five economic development professionals from across the country attended the course held at the Georgia Tech Global Learning Center.
Sixty-five economic development professionals from across the country attended the course held at the Georgia Tech Global Learning Center.

The interactive professional development course is produced by the Georgia Tech’s Center for Economic Development Research (CEDR) and offered in partnership with the International Economic Development Council (IEDC). It provides seasoned economic development professionals and those new to the field with the core fundamentals of business attraction, workforce development, retention and expansion, and entrepreneur and small businesschallenges, as well as transformative trends in the industry.

The 2018 BEDC theme — “Automation and Economic Development” — centered on how that is changing a number of industries and drove the panel discussions and other events for the 65 attendees who came from across the country.

“The research tells us that in roughly 60 percent of current occupations that at least a third of tasks performed in those jobs could be automated,” said Karen Fite, director of the Georgia Manufacturing Extension Partnership (GaMEP).

A federally funded program at Georgia Tech, GaMEP works with manufacturers in the state to increase their competitiveness and efficiency and boost productivity.

Fite, who moderated the panel, said the question for those in economic development and manufacturers is to understand how automation will affect business and industry and how to best prepare for the jobs and skills it will require.

It was a sentiment echoed by other panelists, which included Josh Benton, executive director of the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development; Tom Sammon, a GaMEP project manager specializing on implementing Lean manufacturing practices and helping companies develop capital equipment applications, and John Fluker, president and chief sales officer of Grenzebach Corp. in Newnan, Ga.

“Automation, when you look at it from a longterm perspective, is all about competitiveness,” Fluker said.

“Competitiveness and demographics are driving automation,” he said, adding the technologies behind it are helping create a new landscape with jobs that demand new skills.

“It’s not a job killer,” he said. “It’s a skills changer.”

Automation.

The word and what it represents is driving a lot of discussion about what that means for manufacturers and for those in economic development tasked with bringing industry — and jobs — to their communities.

But automation is not the boogeyman people think it is, said Mark Ligler, vice president of Factory Automation Systems. The Atlanta-based company is a systems integration resource for many of the top manufacturers in the United States and supports them in programmable controller and drive systems, robot integration, and information solutions.

“Automation is not a job killer,” Ligler said. “It’s a job creator and it’s keeping people here employed.”

Ligler made his remarks as part of a panel discussion, “What Automation means for Your Community” at the 51st annual Basic Economic Development Course (BEDC) held Feb. 27 through March 2.

The interactive professional development course is produced by the Georgia Tech’s Center for Economic Development Research (CEDR) and offered in partnership with the International Economic Development Council (IEDC). It provides seasoned economic development professionals and those new to the field with the core fundamentals of business attraction, workforce development, retention and expansion, and entrepreneur and small business

Automation.

The word and what it represents is driving a lot of discussion about what that means for manufacturers and for those in economic development tasked with bringing industry — and jobs — to their communities.

But automation is not the boogeyman people think it is, said Mark Ligler, vice president of Factory Automation Systems. The Atlanta-based company is a systems integration resource for many of the top manufacturers in the United States and supports them in programmable controller and drive systems, robot integration, and information solutions.

“Automation is not a job killer,” Ligler said. “It’s a job creator and it’s keeping people here employed.”

Ligler made his remarks as part of a panel discussion, “What Automation means for Your Community” at the 51st annual Basic Economic Development Course (BEDC) held Feb. 27 through March 2.

The interactive professional development course is produced by the Georgia Tech’s Center for Economic Development Research (CEDR) and offered in partnership with the International Economic Development Council (IEDC). It provides seasoned economic development professionals and those new to the field with the core fundamentals of business attraction, workforce development, retention and expansion, and entrepreneur and small business

Sixty-five economic development professionals from across the country attended the course held at the Georgia Tech Global Learning Center.

challenges, as well as transformative trends in the industry.

The 2018 BEDC theme — “Automation and Economic Development” — centered on how that is changing a number of industries and drove the panel discussions and other events for the 65 attendees who came from across the country.

“The research tells us that in roughly 60 percent of current occupations that at least a third of tasks performed in those jobs could be automated,” said Karen Fite, director of the Georgia Manufacturing Extension Partnership (GaMEP).

A federally funded program at Georgia Tech, GaMEP works with manufacturers in the state to increase their competitiveness and efficiency and boost productivity.

Fite, who moderated the panel, said the question for those in economic development and manufacturers is to understand how automation will affect business and industry and how to best prepare for the jobs and skills it will require.

It was a sentiment echoed by other panelists, which included Josh Benton, executive director of the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development; Tom Sammon, a GaMEP project manager specializing on implementing Lean manufacturing practices and helping companies develop capital equipment applications, and John Fluker, president and chief sales officer of Grenzebach Corp. in Newnan, Ga.

“Automation, when you look at it from a longterm perspective, is all about competitiveness,” Fluker said.

“Competitiveness and demographics are driving automation,” he said, adding the technologies behind it are helping create a new landscape with jobs that demand new skills.

“It’s not a job killer,” he said. “It’s a skills changer.”

Georgia Manufacturing Extension Partnership Launches Outreach Initiative for Food Processing Manufacturers

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Damon Nix, senior project manager at the Georgia Manufacturing Extension Partnership, discusses ergonomic solutions for lifting bags of malt with Bobby Epperson, operations training and safety manager at Terrapin Brewery in Athens, Georgia.
Damon Nix (left), senior project manager at the Georgia Manufacturing Extension Partnership, discusses ergonomic solutions for lifting bags of malt with Bobby Epperson, operations training and safety manager at Terrapin Brewery in Athens, Georgia.

ATLANTA (Aug. 28, 2017) — Georgia is a one of the nation’s leading agriculture states, with the industry contributing about $74.9 billion to the state economy each year.

A related sector — food processing — is a strong and growing component of the Georgia economy, and accounts for $11 billion to $12 billion each year of the state’s gross domestic product. Food processing also employs 69,000 across the state, with 10,000 of those jobs being created since 2010, according to Georgia Power’s 2016 Food Processing Industry Report.

It’s that strength in food processing, which comprises the largest segment of Georgia’s manufacturing sector, that led to the Georgia Manufacturing Extension Partnership’s (GaMEP) new initiative focused on those manufacturers’ unique needs.

GaMEP, a federally funded economic development program at the Georgia Institute of Technology’s Enterprise Innovation Institute, works with manufacturers across Georgia to help them remain viable and economically competitive.

“Food processing comprises many different products and sizes of manufacturers and it is important to assure their viability and growth,” said GaMEP Director Karen Fite. “This effort is in recognition of where the growth is occurring in the manufacturing sector and we want to make sure we’re applying our resources and expertise, as well as cutting edge research coming out of Georgia Tech, that can help our manufacturers.”

Damon C. Nix, GaMEP’s senior project manager, is leading the food manufacturing programming, which includes coaching, analysis, and consulting in:

  • Food Safety
    • Compliance with the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) new Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) requirements.
    • Management system implementation and audit team support.
  • Energy Management
    • Energy assessments to identify cost reduction and performance improvement opportunities.
    • Companies with fewer than 500 employees at a plant site may qualify for a free energy assessment through Georgia Tech’s Industrial Assessment Center program.
  • Environmental Services
    • Environmental compliance services and management system (ISO 14001) support.
    • Environmental Protection Agency P2 grant-funded projects that support pollution prevention through reduced greenhouse gas emissions, water usage, and hazardous materials generation.
  • Worker Safety and Health
    • Implement lean/process improvement approaches to safety problem solving.
    • Partner with the Georgia Tech Research Institute’s Food Processing Technology Division to support Occupational Safety and Health Administration rules compliance, applied research, and technology solutions.
  • Workforce Development
    • Operational Leader and Frontline Supervisor Training.

“Georgia’s food processing GDP ranks it sixth in the country and we rank sixth in employment,” Nix said, noting the state has roughly 680 food processing manufacturers, including the 127 that either relocated to Georgia or built new facilities here since 2010.

“The GaMEP has created significant results serving manufacturers overall,” Nix said. “We want to continue that momentum in food processing. Georgia’s manufacturing industry remains competitive and continues to grow because the food processing industry is expanding. We want food processors to know that the GaMEP is a resource to support their continued growth.”

2nd Annual GA CATT Apprentice Signing Ceremony

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Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle shakes hands with new apprentices at the GA CATT signing ceremony.
Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle shakes hands with new apprentices at the GA CATT signing ceremony.

On Monday, August 14, 2017, the Georgia Consortium for Advanced Technical Training (GA CATT) program kicked off its second year with a signing ceremony for 21 new apprentices. This year the program expanded from one cluster to three, including students in the Coweta, Rockdale-Newton, and Spalding county areas.

Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle spoke at the event, commending the program for creating more opportunities for individualized learning paths for students and for helping meet the workforce needs of manufacturers. He also shook the hand of each apprentice as they signed to a three-year commitment to work with and learn from one of 18 manufacturing companies that are participating in the program this year.

Larry Alford, GaMEP South Metro Atlanta Region Manager, has been involved with GA CATT for the past 2 years as the industry liaison. His primary role has been to connect local manufacturers to the program, helping them to understand the commitment required and the benefits that are available. He facilitates the local team meetings where partners from industry, education, government and economic development identify and address implementation challenges.

Alford said, “At the GaMEP at Georgia Tech, we work with companies to help them solve problems and grow their companies. One of the biggest concerns we have heard in recent years is the shortage of skilled workers. This program benefits the companies by helping them build a pipeline of talent for technical positions that are very hard to fill.”

After being recommended by their teachers, the students must go through a rigorous application, testing, and interview process to be selected to participate. They are selected and hired by a host company and complete a combination of high school credit courses, dual-enrollment courses at a local technical college, and hands-on training modules at the manufacturing facility- while also being paid hourly for their work. When they graduate from high school, they will have made great progress toward a technical college degree, have a USDOL certification, and be able to sit for a prestigious German certification as an Industrial Mechanic.

Levi Coe, who signed with Grenzebach in Newnan last year, attended the ceremony to support the new apprentices in the Coweta cluster. When asked about his experience so far he said, “I recommend this program to other students because I like to see how my education has a technical application. I also know that when I graduate, I will be in high demand to employers because of the skills I will have already learned.”

Watch the ceremony here:

If your company is interested in starting a German-Based Apprentice program in your area, find out more with:

German Apprenticeship Program Overview

Hosting a German-Based Apprentice FAQs

Or attend the upcoming German American Chamber of Commerce’s upcoming International Skills Conference, where GaMEP Region Manager, Larry Alford will be participating in a panel discussion about the program. Find more information and register at:

http://www.gaccsouth.com/en/events/2017-international-skills-conference/