2015 Automotive / Aerospace Special Industry Report - Area Development

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Special Industry Report

Implications of Additive Manufacturing for the Auto Industry The Case for Supplier Parks in the Automotive Supply Chain Choosing the Optimal Site for an Aviation-Related Project Industry/Education Partnerships Hold Promise for Industry U.S. Auto Manufacturing Through the Eyes of a Design-Build Contractor Aerospace Skills Gap: Can Manufacturers Fly Above the Turbulence?

A Special Supplement to

AREADEVELOPMENT

2015

The road to your company’s profitability and success may run right though central and southern Indiana or southeastern Illinois. And in fact that road may look a lot like a highway, runway, railway or river port. That’s because Hoosier Energy has some of the best sites for distribution and logistical operations that the Midwest has to offer.

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812-876-0294

Hoosier Energy Rural Electric Cooperative is an equal opportunity employer.

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THERE’S NO DENYING IT: NORTH CAROLINA IS A GREAT PLACE TO DO BUSINESS. In fact, Site Selection magazine ranked North Carolina 2nd in its annual Top Business Climate survey for 2013. The state also came in at #4 on Forbes Best States for Business 2013 rankings. Safe to say that when it comes to business, North Carolina is where it’s at!

team illuminate the way. We represent more than 70 NC Public Power communities across the Tar Heel state.

Plus, we’re well-heeled with homegrown information, industry expertise and economic incentives to help you reach your goals.

So if you’re looking at NC (and you should be), let ElectriCities of North Carolina’s Economic Development

Got your sights set on NC? We’ve not only got the vision—we’ve got the sites, too.

See for yourself…

CONCORD

KINSTON

International Crossing Business Park Location (Under Construction) Building size: 277,253 s.f.

Build-to-suit office space Ceiling height: 32’ clear height Sprinkler: ESFR Sprinkler System Dock doors: 70 dock doors with 10 knock-outs Trailer: Storage onsite Depth: 240’ Column spacing: 45’ typical Doors: Two drive-in

Highway 70 West Industrial Park Location: 2010 Smithfield Way, Kinston, NC 28504 Building size: 40,000 s.f. expandable to 160,000 s.f.

Year built: 2009 Acreage: 9 acres with additional 8 acres available Ceiling height: 30 feet Dock doors: 2 dock-high, 1 drive-in Flooring: 10 mil vapor barrier

MONROE Monroe Corporate Center Location: 447 Goldmine Rd., Monroe, NC 28110 Building size: 102,000 s.f.

Year built: 2013 Ceiling height: 30 feet clear Dock doors: 4 dock-high, 1 drive-in Flooring: Stone

JUST SOLD!

CONCORD International Business Park Location: 4541 Enterprise Dr., Concord, NC 28027 Building size: 88,527 s.f. expandable up to 141,000 s.f.

Year built: 2011 Acreage: 12.8 acres Ceiling height: 28 feet Dock doors: 4

We partner with our member cities to provide customized assistance with all aspects of economic development. Our comprehensive approach begins at project outset and continues through the site selection and building processes.

What can we do for you? From site selection to targeted recruiting to grant assistance and marketing, we’ve got all the tools and expertise you need to successfully develop your business. To help us serve you better, let us know more about your needs and areas of interest, or go to

CONCORD

SHELBY

electricities.com/ecodev

Concord Airport Business Park Location: 7055 Northwinds Dr., Concord, NC 28027 Building size: 150,000 s.f.

Year built: under construction Ceiling height: 32 feet clear Dock doors: 20-30 side loading Flooring: 6 inch concrete Adjacent to Concord Regional Airport

Foothills Commerce Center Location: 1001 Partnership Drive Shelby NC 28152 Building size: 100,000 s.f. expandable to 200,000 s.f.

Year built: 2013 Ceiling height: 30 feet Rail: .56 miles Walls: Structural precast concrete 100% ESFR

for more information.

Brenda Daniels Manager, Economic Development 800.768.7697, ext. 6363 bdaniels@electricities.org

CONCORD Concord Airport Business Park Location: 7035 Northwinds Dr., Concord, NC 28027 Building size: 400,000 s.f.

Year built: under construction Ceiling height: 36 feet Dock doors: 40-80 side loading Flooring: 6 inch concrete Adjacent to Concord Regional Airport

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~ Editor’s Note As the economy continues to improve, the automotive and aerospace industries are growing concurrently. Air travel is increasing at an annual rate of 5 percent, translating into a projected need for more than 37,000 new planes. Meanwhile, the automotive industry has bounced back from the depths of the recession, with sales on track to top an annualized rate of 17 million vehicles this year.

New technologies — everything from additive manufacturing to driverless cars — are on the horizon as well. And as these technologies take hold, both the auto and aerospace industries are

Table of Contents 3

Choosing the Optimal Site for an Aviation-Related Project

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U.S. Auto Manufacturing Through the Eyes of a Design-Build Contractor

In undertaking an analysis of a project’s costs, the project team shouldn’t neglect to include the cost of living and lifestyle choices of a potential location.

Though uncertainties always exist, Gray Construction is optimistic about the future of the automotive industry and looks forward to opportunities the changing industry will provide.

Implications of Additive Manufacturing 11 for the Auto Industry Additive manufacturing is evolving from prototyping to diagnostic tools to the production of vehicle bodies, although it’s still not feasible for use on a large scale.

increasingly partnering with academia to fulfill their need for skilled workers.

These issues are addressed in our 2015 Auto/ Aero Site Guide. The articles in this publication were written by experts in the field who can help your company with its next location/expansion decision.

Additionally, contact information for the organizations sponsoring this publication — including web and email addresses — can be found in the back of the magazine. Please address any additional questions to gerri@areadevelopment.com.

Partnerships 14 Industry/Education Hold Promise for Industry

As older skilled workers retire and younger workers take their place in industries with constantly evolving technology, the boundaries between industry and academia have begun to blur.

for Supplier Parks 20 inThetheCaseAutomotive Supply Chain

With the auto industry in a cycle of growth, OEMs need to meet new industry standards while keeping costs in check; locating at a supplier park may help to achieve these goals.

Skills Gap: Can Manufacturers 24 Aerospace Fly Above the Turbulence?

Although the number of U.S. aerospace workers is shrinking, the skills need has increased, and a gap exists as older, experienced workers leave the labor force.

31 Sponsors Directory

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Auto/Aero Site Guide Exclusive Online Content…

First Person: Scott Livingston, President and CEO, Horst Engineering Family of Companies ©2015

PUBLISHER: Dennis J. Shea ART & DESIGN: Patricia Zedalis EDITOR: Geraldine Gambale PRODUCTION MANAGER: Jessica Whitebook FINANCE: Mary Paulsen PRODUCTION ASSISTANT: Talea Gormican

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ADVERTISING: Bill Bakewicz Valerie Krpata

FOR FREE SITE INFORMATION, CALL

DIGITAL MEDIA MANAGER: Justin Shea BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT: Matthew Shea WEB DESIGNER: Carmela Emerson

BUSINESS SERVICES: Barbara Olsen

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~ Choosing the Optimal Site for an Aviation-Related Project

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By Von Hatley, Managing Director, Jones Walker Consulting, LLC

In undertaking an analysis of a project’s costs, the project team shouldn’t neglect to include the cost of living and lifestyle choices of a potential location.

Since the 1970s, commercial global air traffic has doubled every 15 years, equating to an approximate annual growth rate of 5 percent. This trend is expected to continue until 2035 and beyond, which will equate to a total global demand for the airlines of more than $5 trillion, and the need for over 37,000 new planes.

While certain dynamics such as economic prosperity or recession, political unrest, fuel prices, and new technology will have some effect on short-term trends, this inevitability of the aggregate industry trend now requires aviation industry manufacturers and suppliers to gain a deeper understanding of the various factors associated in a location decision to increase or consolidate capacity.

The site selection process of a large facility (roughly defined as over $100 million in CAPEX and hundreds of new jobs) will normally take a year or more and require a core project team comprised of a handful of key personnel. The time commitments of this team are primarily in addition to their normal job duties and, in almost all instances, will ultimately require several of the key team members to relocate to the new facility once chosen. However, more than 90 percent of the siting projects in

the industry are not this size, but smaller. Since 2009, the U.S. has announced roughly 500 aviationrelated projects, valued at roughly $11 billion in investment and 53,000 jobs, thereby making the average project size during this timeframe a little more than 100 jobs and $23 million in investment.

A DECISION ANALYSIS A general framework for factors affecting the average size project can be defined by breaking the decision analysis into four main areas: Physical site requirements — The overall analysis includes cost to develop the site to not only be “shovel-ready” but also “ready for project requirements.” While it should be fairly easy to calculate the cost of the real estate acquisition, the underlying costs associated with development of an actual site for a company’s particular needs may be exponentially greater.

It is an expected and normal occurrence for elected officials and/ or economic developers (EDOs) to attempt to “close the deal” by making an offer in advance of the project team doing its due diligence of overall site costs. More sophisticated EDOs have already developed their economic model on project benefits, so they already have in mind a figure of what they can offer. What the EDOs cannot do is AutoAero site guide ~ 2015 3

Building on a History of Success in Aviation That Began With the Wright Brothers On June 16, 2015, Allegheny Technologies Incorporated, known as ATI (www.ATImetals.com) announced that they would invest approximately $70 million in a new building and new equipment at their complex in Monroe, North Carolina. ATI is one of the world’s largest and most diversified specialty materials and components producers. The company’s major markets include aerospace and defense.

Richard J. Harshman, chairman, president, and CEO of ATI noted, “The positive business (L-R) Chris Platé, Executive Director, Monroeenvironment and employee work ethic in the region Union County Economic Development; were key factors in the selection of Union County John E. Skvarla III, NC Secretary of Commerce; for the expansion. Our confidence in North Carolina Richard J. Harshman, Chairman, President, and CEO of ATI; and Hunter R. Dalton, Executive is validated by our investment that now exceeds Vice President, ATI ‘s EVP of Strategic Growth $300 million dollars during the last decade.”

Initiatives Hunter Dalton, ATI’s executive vice president of Strategic Growth Initiatives, further noted, “For over 50 years we have had an operating base in North Carolina and we are pleased that the economic development and public sector leadership of the state of North Carolina, Union County, and the City of Monroe continue to recognize ATI as a valued corporate partner as we, once again, expand our Monroe area operations.”

North Carolina’s manufacturing tradition fits well with the aerospace and aviation industry.

North Carolina ranks first in the Southeast, and ninth nationally in total manufacturing employment. More than 180 aerospace and aviation companies employ more than 9,500 skilled workers in the state. In fact, employment in aircraft engine and engine part manufacturing has increased by 68 percent in North Carolina compared with a decline of 25 percent for the United States as a whole.

In addition, more than 26,000 people are employed in engineering fields in North Carolina and the number is projected to grow 12.78 percent over the next five years. Additionally, more than 10,000 highly trained individuals are available to join North Carolina’s labor force annually as they complete their military service. The state’s five military installations continually train people in fields such as aviation and avionics, communications, electronics, engineering, heavy and specialized equipment operation, information technology, and transportation and logistics.

According to Brenda Daniels, economic development manager of ElectriCities of North Carolina, which represents 70+ municipal power providers, “North Carolina is one of the best places for an aerospace manufacturer to locate.”

prepare a site based on information about a company’s particular project that has not been provided to them.

With this in mind, it is up to the project team to first determine total site prep costs based on items that are not simply limited to acreage needed, but also include the additional costs to make the site suitable for the development necessary for the project. While a particular parcel may have a purchase or lease cost identified, the team must also evaluate other costs. The team also needs to 4 AutoAero site guide ~ 2015

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identify clearing, fill, and soil stabilization needs based on an actual, not perceived, layout, in addition to ancillary costs associated with identifying and removing encumbrances that may or may not have been identified, even with a single owner parcel, by an ALTA survey. Once these costs are determined, connectivity costs to connect to transportation and utility infrastructure must also be identified to determine total site costs.

It is in the best interest of the company to not attempt to receive or negotiate an incentive early

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courtesy GE Aviation

on in the process, but rather to wait until all costs are evaluated, starting with the requirements of the physical site. A best practice state or local EDO will have funds available to help the company perform the due diligence, and have an inhouse ombudsman with specific aviation industry experience to shepherd the project through GE’s Customer Technical Education Center (CTEC) houses a multitude of engines its particular needs. In addition, designed, developed, and tested in Cincinnati, Ohio, including the GE9X for the world’s best selling widebody (Boeing 777) along with the world’s best-selling engine of all time, the EDO should also be able the CFM56 family of engines. Customers are taught repair and maintenance practices to to help identify creative ways help their engines last longer and operate optimally in flight. that may or may not be in its normal incentive toolkit to help alleviate start-up costs, with purchases and staffing for university-led research, recent real-life examples on how it has done this for in collaboration with long-term cluster-based activipartners the company is familiar with in its industry. ties, can be made available. On occasion, the funds Workforce and training support — A gennecessary for these endeavors can be utilized from eral rule of thumb is that, from an available workexisting public capital and educational programs; force standpoint, a region can absorb a project therefore, these can be considered by the company’s project team over and above the “offer” provided by that creates up to 1 percent of the existing industry the public economic development entities. workforce. While a myriad of factors can affect this general rule, once a company’s human resources professionals are comfortable with existing short-list- Long term incentive and tax structure — While it is commonplace to identify and determine ed sites, it should consider other regional attributes the overall net present value of the total cost of opthat support development of a skilled labor pool. erations for the project, it is quite another to identify For most regions, there are numbers of programs that can provide some support funds necessary to re- risk or hidden opportunities associated with the state cruit, screen, and train a workforce to meet compaor region under consideration. Besides evaluating ny needs. However, in many instances, these funds the long-term availability of incentives, a company may not be managed by the economic developers, should evaluate the potential to utilize programs but rather educational institutions, departments of that may be brand new and available but haven’t labor, or workforce investment boards. Several of been used in a particular region, or perhaps can be these programs, however, are generally targeted to modified to fit its particular project needs. incumbent companies, rather than companies new In addition to the states mentioned earlier, Florida, to the region.

Mississippi, Colorado, Ohio, Missouri, Connecticut, The most recent best practices adopted by several Washington, and South Carolina have all passed restates — such as Georgia, Alabama, and Louisiana cent legislation to support aviation-related projects.

— have targeted programs that absorb most or all On the local level, several localities now have or are of the costs associated with development of the considering the capability to eliminate property taxes necessary skills, in addition to providing grants for in perpetuity though various legal structures despecific aerospace training equipment needs, such signed to promote development. Conversely, several as flight simulators, or dedicated space either on-site states have either reduced state incentives and/or are or at a local community college. For larger projects, facing impending fiscal situations in which they likely development and funding for housing equipment will have to reduce or even eliminate programs.

AutoAero site guide ~ 2015 5

Custom-Tailored Training Helps Aerospace Firms to Innovate and Succeed With more than 100 aerospace companies, a network of 15 community colleges, and worldclass research institutions, Mississippi’s aerospace companies are positioned to climb to new heights of success and innovation.

“I’ve always considered the state of Mississippi as a business partner to Airbus Helicopters,” says Earl Walker senior director of business development and government relations for Airbus Helicopters.

“It’s been very easy to negotiate around through the channels with the state to get things to meet our challenges and to meet our needs.”

Airbus Helicopters and East Mississippi ComIn less than a decade, Airbus Helicopter’s munity College have developed a highly workforce training partners at East Mississippi skilled aviation workforce in Mississippi’s Golden Triangle region in just one decade.

Community College and the state have developed specific training programs that have built a superior and sustainable workforce, Walker says.

GE Aviation is another example of a global aerospace leader thriving in the state of Mississippi. In 2013, the company opened its second manufacturing facility in the state, investing $56 million and creating 250 jobs in the company’s Ellisville plant.

Mississippi’s innovative approach to helping companies solve challenges while building a skilled workforce is a tremendous benefit to his entire organization, GE’s Ellisville Plant Manager Nate Beach notes: “One factor around workforce development that I think puts Mississippi ahead of the pack is really the responsiveness and willingness to customize to meet the exact needs of the business. It’s not a cookie-cutter approach. The partnership we have with the state and with the community college system around workforce development is really top-notch. It’s been benchmarked by other companies, by other sites within GE in other states, and it is really held up as a best practice for how workforces should be developed.”

While established industry leaders like GE Aviation, Rolls-Royce, Airbus Helicopters, and many more continue to grow in Mississippi, the state also is leading the way in the next frontier of aviation — unmanned aerial systems (UAS).

Mississippi State University recently was named the FAA’s Center of Excellence for Unmanned Aircraft Systems, which will integrate UAS technologies and policies into our national airspace. The Center of Excellence will pave the way for Mississippi to open new economic opportunities in aerospace and aviation.

Mississippi’s distinct business advantages help global aerospace leaders in the state remain competitive in this dynamic and complex industry sector. Whether a company needs access to a productive and skilled workforce or to the latest research and development, innovation, and testing opportunities, Mississippi provides the edge these companies need to meet worldwide demand for their products.

It is imperative of the project team to gain an understanding of not only the current availability of incentives, but also the sustainability of existing programs. An analysis of taxes and incentives in general, in addition to an analysis of a state’s historical trends and the impact of future large public fiscal notes associated with items such as retirement, transportation infrastructure needs, public education costs/ performance, and healthcare costs as a percentage 6 AutoAero site guide ~ 2015

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of the overall public financial budget should also be considered in the siting decision.

Quality of life and employee cost of living analysis — A company’s business is built upon ideas; ideas can only come from people so, therefore, people are a company’s greatest resource. Locating in an environment that can maximize employee discretionary spending — while

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concurrently providing a safe, healthy, and wide array of diverse social, sporting, recreational, and cultural activities — can be deemed as important as any overall tax and incentive environment offered by a state and local partnership. However, on many siting projects, this analysis is done after the corporate financial considerations are evaluated, or in some cases, not weighted heavily in the overall final decision, since these costs do not fit inside corporate financial statements or aren’t used in reporting corporate performance to financial markets.

In the United States, aggregate employee costs average between 65 percent and 70 percent of overall corporate costs. Since quality-of-life/cost-of-living analyses can be evaluated separate from site location costs, and are most likely evaluated by internal skillsets normally not included in the initial formation of the core project team, it is in the best interest of the overall project that this analysis be done in conjunction with, and as a core part of, the site analysis.

Most importantly, the results of this analysis should be given enough weight that these factors alone can be the deciding factor once the overall corporate financial and risk analysis is performed.

A LONG-TERM DECISION If current trends continue, a conservative estimate reveals there will be more than 1,000 announcements of aviation-related projects in the United States over the next decade. The best location decisions will be made by project teams that not only look at the current overall costs, but also have a deep understanding of hidden site development costs, in addition to the long-term political/financial stability that can be provided in a region that allows the company’s employees to be happy and prosper. While there never will be a “perfect” site, by utilizing the criteria mentioned above, in addition to a sound overall project cost analysis, the project team will be well prepared to make the long-term generational decision for its organization.<> AutoAero site guide ~ 2015 7 AREA0454.indd 1

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~ U.S. Auto Manufacturing Through the Eyes of a Design-Build Contractor

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By Stephen Gray, CEO, Gray Construction

Though uncertainties always exist, Gray Construction is optimistic about the future of the automotive industry and looks forward to opportunities the changing industry will provide.

The current state of the automotive industry appears to be strong both on the manufacturing side and the retail side.

But, just a few short years ago, the industry had a very different guise. Recent changes have breathed new life into the industry, but they have also brought new questions and challenges.

THE CHANGING LANDSCAPE For starters, the 2008 recession obviously left the U.S. automotive market in turmoil. The “Big 3” in Detroit consisting of Ford, GM, and Chrysler experienced significant declines during this time, while international automakers seized their opportunity to gain market share.

Fortunately, the landscape has since changed as U.S. auto sales are on track to top an annualized rate of 17 million1 this year, which has not been seen since 2001. This trend is only expected to increase.2 A C C O M M O D AT I N G NEW RULES AND R E G U L AT I O N S Regulations have been another area in which the industry has been altered. As new rules from the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) bill continue to be rolled out, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is also imposing fuel

8 AutoAero site guide ~ 2015

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economy requirements on mainstream manufacturers. As a result, automakers are being forced to turn to new processes to increase fuel efficiency and reduce gas emissions.

EMBRACING NEW SYSTEMS AND M AT E R I A L S Reducing the weight of vehicles, a concept known as lightweighting, is one such process that has developed in recent years. In a recent issue of the GrayWay,3 Rick Schreiber, assurance partner in the manufacturing and distribution practice of leading global accounting, tax, and consulting firm BDO USA, LLP, explained the correlation between energy and the use of metals in manufacturing: “Energy is a big cost component for the metals industry and metal manufacturing. With the energy renaissance, we’re seeing growth in the metals space.”

Automakers are looking to different materials such as aluminum, titanium, and carbon fiber to meet these new demands. For instance, Ford utilized aluminum to cut 700 pounds off its 2015 F-150.4 Thai Summit America Corporation,5 a Gray customer, supplies the aluminum door panels for the F-150.

As a major supplier of stamped parts for the automotive industry, the manufacturer expects this trend in metals to continue. Since lightweighting continues to sig-

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Preparing for the Next Big Thing With auto manufacturers facing more restrictive emissions targets, a move to lightweight materials has become imperative. At the center of that change is the implementation of aluminum automotive bodies, also known as Body-in-White.

Last year alone, the booming aluminum industry produced $2 billion for Kentucky’s gross domestic product and currently employs nearly 20,000 Kentuckians. Over the past two years, some 40 companies have announced aluminumrelated projects in Kentucky, which has led to nearly $735 million in new investment.

Kobe Aluminum Automotive Products, LLC (KAAP) in Bowling Green, Ky. Aleris in Lewisport is one of the companies taking advantage of the move to lightweight materials and has announced a $350 million expansion of its rolling mill.

“Aleris has been a provider of state-of-the-art lightweight aluminum solutions to the European auto industry for a number of years, and we expect our Lewisport investment will allow us to extend those capabilities to our automotive customers in North America,” said Steve Demetriou, Aleris chairman and CEO. “We believe the shift toward greater aluminum use in automotive manufacturing is one of the most significant opportunities in our industry’s history, and we are excited to establish our Lewisport facility as a strategically important site in this evolution.”

Constellium N.V. and UACJ Corporation have joined to build a $150 million aluminum production facility in Bowling Green. Constellium, a European aluminum company, and UACJ, a Japanese aluminum company, both will supply the aluminum coils that will then be processed.

“This project is very significant for UACJ in terms of our Body-in-White market strategy,” said Mitsuru Okada, CEO of UACJ. “We look forward to supplying automotive OEMs throughout the U.S. with advanced products utilizing the technologies each party has separately developed in Europe and Japan. We welcome this joint venture with Constellium to tackle the strategic automotive market in the U.S. Both companies have been working hard together in the spirit of equal partnership, allowing us to finalize the agreement in a timely and efficient manner.”

Other companies also have announced expansions to take advantage of Kentucky’s aluminum expertise. Those include Hendrickson USA LLC, Martinrea, T.RAD North America, Gibbs Die Casting, Century Aluminum, Kobe Aluminum, Tower Automotive, and Angell-Demmel North America.

Use of aluminum sheet for vehicle bodies is projected to increase from 200 million pounds in 2012 to four billion pounds by 2025, so it is no wonder Kentucky is getting in on the ground floor of this rapidly growing industry.

nificantly impact fuel efficiency, it’s inevitable that more auto manufacturers will embrace these lighter materials more aggressively.

Also, automakers are finding that adopting fuelsaving tech like 8-speed transmissions is helping them meet the tightening regulations. This trend is consequently a growing demand for manufacturers such as ZF, one of the 10-largest automotive suppliers worldwide. ZF recently authorized a 458,137-squarefoot expansion to its Gray Court, S.C., manufacturing facility6 to accommodate the production of 8- and 9-speed transmissions due to increasing demand. The

9-speed transmission is actually the first of its kind to be introduced to the global market.

DEVELOPING TECHNOLOGY A N D I N N O V AT I O N Other technological advances and innovations have had a major effect on the auto industry as well. A decade ago, who would have thought that the debut of the world’s first 3D printed car7 was in the near future? New technology is also taking us to the place where driverless cars are actually being considered viable. While the latter is still a futuristic concept, the AutoAero site guide ~ 2015 9

tech capabilities within vehicles today are truly astounding.

more customizable projects.

This enables the manufacturers to get their products THE to market faster, CUSTOMERS’ while also ensurPERSPECTIVE ing more predictThough the able safety and industry has quality measures. changed and is The start continuing to do of production Thai Summit America Corp.’s 58,000-square-foot expansion to its automotive stampso, automotive (SOP) is always ing and assembly facility in Michigan was built to supply door panels for Ford Motor manufacturing a priority for all Company’s F-150 pickup trucks. is strong. Our our customers, customers, which but especially consist of autoour automotive makers, assemplant construction blers, and tiered customers since suppliers, indicate they have new that growth is models that need still very much to either get to on the horizon. another supplier Expansions are to finish producbeing projected tion or directly for existing to market. If we, locations, and as the designZF Friedrichshafen AG expanded its manufacturing facility in Gray Court, S.C., supplier networks to accommodate the production of its new 8- and 9-speed transmissions. The builder, fail to 458,137-square-foot expansion includes both a manufacturing area and a Product are growing as finish on time, Engineering Support Center (PESC) for R&D. the supply chain we’ve impacted becomes much our customer’s more complex. schedule, which Volkswagen, for instance, is one example of an OEM can be detrimental to their bottom line since it costs that continues to expand its footprint at its existing them money and potentially sales. This impact is also location in Chattanooga, Tenn., in order to accommo- felt on the economy. date new product lines and increasing volumes.

From automakers to suppliers, the pace of the Direct foreign investment into the U.S. is expected industry is rapidly accelerating, which means that to continue and expand for reasons involving energy innovation is key to increasing future market share. (both for the abundance and cost-effectiveness), the This also opens the door for new players to enter the close proximity to the American consumer, the rising market and shake up the industry both for the good costs of international transportation, and the fact that and for the challenges. <> capital investment in America is much less risky than Notes: 1 investing in other countries. The U.S. has come to be http://www.ibtimes.com/february-2015-us-new-auto-sales-forecast-8-toyota-leading-growthcorolla-returns-top-1829868 known as a safe place for manufacturing investment 2 http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/2015/03/26/Car-Sales-Are-Pace-Do-SomethingThey-Haven-t-50-Years due to the democratic freedoms the country upholds.

3 https://www.gray.com/news/blog/2014/11/19/the-growing-role-aluminum-titanium-is-playingManufacturers can rest assured that the government in-the-manufacturing-resurgence 4 http://www.caranddriver.com/ford/f-150 will not overtake their operations.

5 https://www.gray.com/project/thai-summit-america-corporation 6 https://www.gray.com/project/zf Due to their growing demands, our automotive 7 https://localmotors.com/ customers prefer more of a turnkey solution for the design and construction of their plants as opposed to 10 AutoAero site guide ~ 2015

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~ Implications of Additive Manufacturing for the Auto Industry

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By Joshua Cregger, Project Manager, Center for Automotive Research (CAR)

Additive manufacturing is evolving from prototyping to diagnostic tools to the production of vehicle bodies, although it’s still not feasible for use on a large scale.

The automotive industry is rapidly changing: adding new consumer features in its products, optimizing designs, using new materials, and adopting new manufacturing methods.

Even as globalization pushes automakers toward global platforms and more shared parts and components between different vehicle models, the demand for personalization and customization is still strong.

Additive manufacturing — sometimes referred to as threedimensional (3D) printing — is an emerging area in the automotive industry that could not only expand customization options, but also has the potential to influence the design and manufacture of vehicles, parts, and tools, creating many new opportunities in the industry.

A RANGE OF TECHNOLOGIES Additive manufacturing involves the deposition of material rather than removing material through processes such as cutting, drilling, and grinding. Additive manufacturing actually represents a range of technologies that can be used to create objects composed of diverse materials — polymers, metals, ceramics, wood, and others. In order to create an object, computer-aided design (CAD) drawings representing

a 3D object are sent to a machine that precisely deposits material, layer-by-layer, slowly forming an object. The slow nature of forming objects with additive manufacturing and limited materials available have thus far prevented it from becoming more widely adopted in manufacturing operations.

As additive manufacturing continues to mature, some automotive futurists see it as having a bigger role in new production methods.

They might suggest that, one day, customers could go to their local 3D printing workshop to print out a new car, custom-built to their preferences, rather than purchasing a standard vehicle from a dealer after it has been shipped halfway across the country from a large assembly plant. While such lofty imaginings of the future may not actually materialize, additive manufacturing is already having a substantial effect on automotive production.

Since the 1980s, the automotive industry has used additive manufacturing technologies to prototype tools and components during product development. The technology allowed designers to use physical models of parts without the high cost and long delay of creating a part using more traditional methods. Most automakers use 3D printing for rapid prototyping of parts at their research, development, and design centers.

AutoAero site guide ~ 2015 11

In more recent years, the proliferation of additive manufacturing technologies, advancement in 3D printers, and creativity of designers and engineers have expanded the use of additive manufacturing outside of vehicle design studios and into other areas. As the technology continues to develop and companies increase their proficiency, new opportunities for additive manufacturing in the automotive industry will become apparent. These opportunities, however, will only emerge if the technology is able to meet cycle time, quality, performance, material option, and cost requirements of automotive companies.

Manufacturing Engineers, was quoted as saying, “We’re really on the cusp of large manufacturers evaluating the technology as a manufacturing process rather than [to] just use for prototyping.”

Over the last couple years, 3D printing has been widely discussed in the popular media. In 2012, doctors at the University of Michigan made headlines after they saved an infant’s life using an airway splint produced with a 3D printer, a feat that has been repeated multiple times since then.3 Just as additive manufacturing held promise to save lives, the world became aware that the technology could produce deadly THE PROMISE weapons when, in the summer OF ADDITIVE of 2013, it was reported that 3D M A N U FA C T U R I N G printers produce inexpensive, Additive manufacturing is plastic guns capable of firing slow — producing components multiple shots.4 A Ford technologist with a 3-D printed part; 3D printing saves millions of dollars in the through additive manufacturing In December 2014, the Naproduct development process. requires relatively a long processtional Aeronautics and Space Ading time compared to incumbent ministration (NASA) announced technologies (e.g., metal stamping or plastic injection that it was able to design a ratcheting socket wrench molding). Additive manufacturing has an advantage, on Earth, transmit the design to the International Space however, when it comes to low volume parts, one-off Station, and have the on-board 3D printer successfully manufacturing projects, or components with elaboproduce the tool. Without a 3D printer, the astronauts rate geometries. Traditional manufacturing methods would have had to wait for months until the next mistypically require expensive tooling that is best suited sion to the station was able to deliver the tool from for mass-produced parts, whereas additive manufacEarth.5 turing does not require the use of such tools, making In the 2013 State of the Union, President Obama it relatively cost-effective at low volumes and allowing mentioned the National Additive Manufacturing Inmanufacturers to begin production sooner. novation Institute (now known as America Makes) in Additive manufacturing methods result in little Youngstown, Ohio, as a model for a larger network of material waste, and they can be used to produce sumanufacturing expertise centers in the United States. perior products with complex internal structures. Parts The center received $70 million in federal funding and formed with additive manufacturing can be designed matching private funds. It has 140 members drawn to be stronger, lighter, or more functional than parts from academia, nonprofit organizations, and industry, made with conventional manufacturing processes. including many automotive supplier firms.6 Though the materials currently available for additive manufacturing are somewhat limited, many compaRAPID PROTOTYPING, DIAGNOSTICS, nies are working to expand the list of available materi- A N D N E W E R A P P L I C AT I O N S als and to provide better characterization of material Rapid prototyping can save an automaker millions of properties. Additive manufacturing could lower the dollars and allow production to begin months earlier. barriers to entry for manufacturers, resulting in more For example, Ford Motor Company used 3D rapid companies and a greater diversity of products. prototyping to create a cylinder head for its EcoBoost Many Fortune 1000 manufacturing companies, engines. Traditional casting of the part would take four such as Boeing, Ford, General Electric, and Nike,1 are or five months, but using 3D printing, Ford was able already using 3D printers to produce tooling and com- to design the part, print the sand mold, and cast the ponents for commercial products. In an Automotive metal in just three months. By saving time and producNews article,2 Mark Tomlinson, CEO of the Society of ing higher-quality products, additive manufacturing can 12 AutoAero site guide ~ 2015

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Auto Manufacturers Need to Be Ready for Day-One Production In 2013, Feuer Powertrain announced the German crankshaft manufacturer was locating its first U.S. operation in Tunica, Mississippi. Feuer’s investment of $140 million is creating at least 300 new jobs for the state’s workers.

In order to be ready for day-one production, Feuer partnered with Northwest Mississippi Community College and the state to prepare and train its workforce.

“Every company in the world is looking to make sure that they have the labor force that is right to manufacture the project or the product,” said Mississippi State University’s Center for Feuer’s Human Resources Manager Wanda McKinnon. Advanced Vehicular Systems partners with “Working with, building a relationship with the automotive manufacturers like Nissan North America’s Canton, Miss., plant and parts governor’s office, Mississippi Development Authority, suppliers around the state to assist with workNorthwest, the chamber of commerce, will help us force training and engineering needs day one get a great start and produce a much higher quality product than we would without the arms that are available to us.”

Mississippi’s research institutions collaborate with the state’s automotive manufacturers and suppliers providing innovative solutions to production and workforce challenges. And Mississippi State University’s Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems, a private-public partnership, is paying big dividends for both large and small manufacturers throughout the state.

“CAVS Extension works with companies at varying levels of needs, and sometimes, the assistance is in helping to justify new technology and new capital that will increase the level of automation, that will increase the level of productivity of the workplace, and so we’re involved in working with the companies to justify new technologies,” said CAVS Director Clay Walden. “Our clients report through a third-party survey conducted on behalf of the manufacturing extension partnership over $5.5 billion in economic impact since we’ve opened.

In addition, our clients have reported 3,500 jobs either retained or created as a direct result of our work.”

By creating an environment that fosters growth, innovation, and sustainability in the automotive sector, Mississippi has all the tools automotive manufacturers need to be successful in this growing sector. In fact, Mississippi’s productive workforce and distinct business advantages have positioned the state as a leader in the Southern Automotive Corridor in a little more than a decade. Having assembled nearly three million vehicles in that time, thanks to Nissan, Toyota, and a growing list of Tier I and Tier II suppliers, Mississippi continues to be a top destination for the automotive sector.

help automakers be more successful and retain jobs at factories.7 In addition to prototyping and design, additive manufacturing techniques can be used to expedite diagnosing and resolving mechanical issues in vehicles.

In 2010, engineers at Ford used additive manufacturing to address a brake noise issue in the Ford Explorer shortly before it was scheduled for launch. If additive manufacturing tools had not been available, the company may have faced a four-month delay in bringing the new Explorer to market.8 In 2011, $48 million in revenue was collected for

additive manufactured goods in the U.S. automotive industry, representing nearly 20 percent of all U.S. additive-manufacturing shipments that year.9 As the technology matures and automotive companies begin using additive manufacturing in more activities, shipments will continue to increase. Already, automakers are using additive manufacturing to make tools and parts, for example, assembly tools and automotive body components.

Additive manufacturing also enables manufacturContinued on page 30 AutoAero site guide ~ 2015 13

~ Industry/Education Partnerships Hold Promise for Industry

“

By Dave Claborn

An unbroken egg in Paris is part of America’s answer to filling the skills gap in its automotive and aerospace plants.

The egg was cushioned inside a rocket launched at the 2015 Paris Air Show by the first place U.S. team in the International Rocketry Challenge. The seven winning rocketeers, from Alabama’s Russellville City Schools, outscored teams from the UK and France.

The winning rocket had to reach an altitude of 800 feet within 48 seconds, and then return its payload of one hen’s egg to the ground, uncracked.

As older skilled workers retire and younger workers take their place in industries with constantly evolving technology, the boundaries between industry and academia have begun to blur.

Courtesy: Raytheon

For sponsor Raytheon, the object wasn’t to preserve an egg, but to grow a future workforce. “Rocketry

requires a strong command of math, a solid foundation of physics, and a tremendous amount of patience and determination,” said Raytheon Chairman and CEO Thomas Kennedy — exactly the qualities the company requires of its scientists, engineers, and technicians.

This is Raytheon’s tenth year supporting the U.S. team at the international air show. “The achievement of these competitors deserves a global stage and we hope to show other students around the world that hard work and a love for science can lead them to great things,” said Kennedy. The program is part of the company’s broadbased MathMovesU® initiative to encourage students to pursue careers in STEM fields (science, tech-

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Getting Workers Up to Speed Securing a skilled workforce is critical to companies in advanced manufacturing industries, including those in the automotive sector. In addition to possessing the right skills, a positive work ethic and a commitment to ongoing training are essential. The seven-county Joplin region of Missouri, Kansas, and Oklahoma has received high marks from its automotive employers for all of these attributes.

It is located in the center of North American consumer markets and central to the 100 auto plants that stretch from Ontario, Canada, to Chihuahua, Mexico.

The Joplin region has a long history of making things America and the world need, including components for all sorts of vehicles. The region offers significant workforce advantages to automakers and the companies that supply them. Both K-12 school districts and postsecondary education providers — including a network of community colleges — have a strong focus on workforce development, offering programs that deliver the skills today’s automotive manufacturers need.

One of the companies that took advantage of training offered by the area’s community colleges is Modine Manufacturing, according to Lori Scott Dreiling, the company’s human resources manager. The 100-year-old maker of EGR components for the diesel industry — whose customers include Volvo, Navistar, and Ford, among others — needed to advance its workers’ skills in industrial maintenance and electricity. In order to accomplish this, Modine partnered with the Webb City, Mo., campus of Kevin Glisson, senior electronics Crowder College. Modine paid all its workers’ expenses for a technician at Modine Manufacturtwo-and-half-year training program at Crowder that was recently ing Co., prepares to troubleshoot the ABB robot. successfully completed by 10 of its employees. The company has now enrolled another six in the program.

Additionally, the region aggressively worked with ACT to implement career-ready certification to national standards. According to state sources, Jasper County is the first ACT Career-Ready Certified community in the United States. Other counties in the region are working on their designations, but even now, more than 5,000 people in the workforce have their skills certification.

nology, engineering, and math). It is also indicative of a larger trend of companies becoming much more proactive in developing the workforces they’ll need in the future.

A PERFECT STORM Industry benefited from the cornucopia of available workers made possible by the baby-boom demographic bulge. Now, however, they must deal with the rapid deflation of the workforce bubble as the boomers retire. Replacing them are generations X, Y, and millennials who have come of age in an entirely different technological and cultural environment.

In their labor force projections through 2022, the Bureau of Labor Statistics sees slow growth (0.5 percent annually) in the U.S. labor force, but continued declines in the labor force participation rate as babyboomers age out of their prime working years.

Within 10 years, millennials are projected to

comprise 75 percent of the available workforce. As experienced workers retire, they leave with knowledge and skillsets often crucial to meeting customer demands. This perfect storm of departing skills and a younger workforce, perhaps not as enamored of industrial production as their parents or grandparents, presents unique challenges to automotive, aerospace, and many other industries.

W O R K I N G C O L L A B O R AT I V E LY On the plus side, changing demographics are bringing a new crop of younger CEOs to the helms of many companies like Boeing and Harley-Davidson.

They tend to be focused on talent and technology development, and open to partnerships between educators and corporations. These partnerships can develop a skilled workforce pipeline for companies and relevant curriculum for educators.

One such partnership is just now taking shape AutoAero site guide ~ 2015 15

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WANT SERIOUS CONTENT? Get More from Area Development.

Washington Governor Jay Inslee learns about riveting from Boeing engineer Riley Hanson Smith (left) and Sai Krovvidi, a doctoral student in mechanical engineering, at the opening of the Boeing Advanced Research Center on the University of Washington campus.

through the Boston-based non-profit Jobs for the Future (JFF). The workforce development organization has formed the College Employer Collaborative with four community colleges around the country, online training provider CorpU, and several major employers including AGCO, MetLife, and Boeing.

A unique feature of the Collaborative is that employers, rather than schools, create the educational curriculum, says JFF Senior Program Director Mary Wright. “It’s essentially shifting the supply and demand because we’re saying, now, the employers are going to supply the content. But we are asking the community colleges to provide the structures and support that community colleges are really good at in terms of trying to get people to complete and understand how to work this into their course of study, as well as providing the technology that allows people to be able to access this material. And so, theoretically now, with the employer creating the content, the people who are taking the classes will have both the technical and soft skills that the employers are really looking for.”

The first community colleges to join the Collaborative are Neosho County Community College in Chanute, Kansas; LaGuardia Community College in New York; Alamo Colleges in Texas; and Everett Community College in Washington State.

“Community colleges have always been a critical pipeline of talent,” says Dr. Brian Inbody, president of Neosho County Community College. “By working with employers to actually develop course content, we are able to help students develop high-demand skills in the context of a meaningful academic environment.

The Collaborative is a natural extension of our mission, and we’re proud to be a founding member.”

The first courses open this fall. The Collaborative is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, but

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Jobs for the Future’s business plan anticipates the program becoming self-sustaining as more companies and colleges join. As the course library expands, JFF’s Wright believes companies will use the Collaborative’s courses to train incumbent workers. “If they’re a member of the College Employer Collaborative, they would be able to use those classes on their own workforce at a fraction of what they would have to pay to design something on their own.” Those fees, she believes, will sustain the program once grant funding ends.

K - 1 2 I N I T I AT I V E Stung by criticism (sometimes warranted, sometimes not) that students are leaving their institutions unprepared for the workplace, schools at various levels are taking the initiative to form partnerships with companies in their areas.

One example in central Ohio is the combination of K-12 schools, a career center, technical college, and four-year university reaching out to area employers in and around Marion, Ohio, to design career paths that make sense for the employers as well as each institution’s students.

With two Honda assembly plants, numerous supplier plants, a robotics integrator, and the world’s largest clothes dryer plant within a 40-minute drive, the schools were hearing the lament of the employers.

Marion City Schools Superintendent Gary Barber took the hint: “We’ve spent pretty much a year going around and talking to all of our businesses and industry to really start identifying what are the high demand jobs where we might be able to fill a void. When you’re

talking about the automotive industry, or whether it’s Wilson Bohannan Locks, or it’s Nucor Steel, or it’s Whirlpool — what we keep hearing is it’s about students having a skillset to problem-solve, for students to be able to have a skillset to look at processes and be able to make processes better.”

With an intermodal facility a mile down the road, one gap identified by Barber was in logistics training. “So, we went out and pursued a Global Logistics

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An Educated Workforce Is Critical to Success The suburban city of Rochester, New Hampshire, is modernizing its centuries-old manufacturing tradition by shifting to space-age production, focusing on leading-edge sectors such as composite materials, medical devices, and aerospace equipment. The Granite State Business Park is home to a state-of-the-art aerospace composites facility more than eight acres in size and utilizing not just the latest in manufacturing technology, but actually creating specific new technology to make composite engine components for the next-generation Albany Engineered Composites facility LEAP engine. The engine components, as well as this 343,000-square-foot facility, are the result of a unique partnership between Albany Engineered Composites, a division of U.S. Albany International Corp., and Safran Engineered Composites, a division of the French firm Safran, a global leader in jet engines and aerospace components.

Satisfying the need for a large number of skilled and semi-skilled employees to be ready at the opening of the facility was one of the greatest challenges of the location process. In response to those needs, Great Bay Community College Advanced Technology & Academic Center (ATAC), which opened in March 2012, offers a focus on technical composites manufacturing and academic courses for job-seekers and business owners throughout the region. It was recognized in 2014 as “Project of the Year” by the Northeast Economic Developer’s Association. “We are proud and grateful for this award, which represents the culmination of a lot of hard work by people at both the state and local level,” said Great Bay Community College President Will Arvelo.

In 2015, the college expanded the Advanced Technology & Academic Center (ATAC).

It is currently teaching the sixth cohort of students enrolled in the Advanced Composites Manufacturing Certificate program, graduating students every four months. According to Debra Mattson, the curriculum designer, out of the 20 students who recently graduated, all are currently employed. The program is growing from 60 graduates the first year to more than 200 graduates this year.

Earlier this year, Albany International CEO Joe Morone praised the City of Rochester and the collaboration of Great Bay Community College Advanced Technology and Academic Center, as Albany and Safran prepare to kick their manufacturing production into high gear, noting that the center and the educated workforce “are critical to our success.”

Advanced Career Tech program and we’ll be the only school district in Ohio that’s offering that program next year. We already have 15 students signed up for the first year. It’s a two-year program,” explains Barber, “where they’re able to leave with some industry credentials in logistics that will not only make them employable right now, but will allow them to go to college with some of the articulation agreements — to be able to leave with college credit.”

Barber is a product of Youngstown where a collapsing steel industry left the town reeling, so economic displacement and revival are close to his heart.

Now, heading a school district of 4,700 students in a once-thriving industrial town, he’s not leaving career prep for high school.

“I think it really has to go down even further, 18 AutoAero site guide ~ 2015

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believe it or not, to the middle school,” Barber says.

“We are really ramping up our programming at the middle school. Every kid is going to have robotics.

Every kid is going to have an allied health field. Every kid will have a business course. The biggest thing is that we need to make sure that our pathways are broad enough that they’re not going to pigeon-hole a student.”

Barber is also reaching out to nearby Tri-Rivers Career Center, whose superintendent, Chuck Speelman, has developed RAMTEC (Robotics & Advanced Manufacturing Technology Education Collaborative) that utilizes equipment supplied by Fanuc, Allen-Bradley, and other automation suppliers to deliver advanced manufacturing skills to high-school-age and adult students. The RAMTEC concept has been recognized

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by Ohio’s Department of Education, which recently awarded $14.99 million to replicate the Tri-Rivers model in eight other career centers around Ohio.

They will be tied together in the RAMTEC Consortium where they can share instructors and best practices and serve the training needs of companies around Ohio and beyond.

ACADEMIA AND I N D U S T RY In the state of Washington, aerospace is an $85.7 billion industry accounting for 11 percent of the state’s wages. Some 132,000 people work on the Boeing assembly lines or in supplier plants. With the 777X labor contract sealed, Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Ray Conner is now focused on hiring 20,000 to 30,000 younger workers by 2020 to replace aging boomers.

Working with the Washington Aerospace Partnership, a 501(c)4 nonprofit, Conner is creating German-style apprenticeships in high schools. Partnership Director and Secretary of the Governor’s Office of Aerospace Alex Pietsch says, as part of its promise to Boeing, the state is investing heavily with 10 new skill centers created in selected high schools and $8 million in state funding per year for 1,000 new slots in 24 community college aerospace programs.

Cooperation between industry and education can also be found on the University of Washington campus, where Boeing engineers are working as adjunct professors in the new Boeing Advanced Research Center. “In my understanding, that’s the first time anywhere in the

country where the company has put its employees on campus working side by side with professors and students,” notes Pietsch.

As companies continue to face the demographic deficit, it is likely the Boeing-University of Washington partnership won’t be the only place where the boundary between academia and industry grows blurry.<>

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~ The Case for Supplier Parks in the Automotive Supply Chain

“

By Kim Hill, Managing Director and President, HWA Analytics, LLC; and Greg Burkart, Managing Director, Duff & Phelps, LLC

With the auto industry in a cycle of growth, OEMs need to meet new industry standards while keeping costs in check; locating at a supplier park may help to achieve these goals.

Almost six years ago, the CEOs of the “Big Three” automakers testified in front of Congress about the state of the U.S. industry. In 2009, just after the Big Three executives testified, auto sales sank to 10.4 million vehicles. The volume drop caused a huge shakeout in the industry as a number of suppliers went bankrupt along with General Motors and Chrysler.

As sales increase, automotive production in North America is returning to pre-recession levels.

With 11.7 million vehicles produced in 2014 in the U.S., employment is increasing to 715,000 workers, according to the Center for Automotive Research (CAR). By 2018, CAR is predicting that the industry will produce almost 800,000 more vehicles. The added volume, which is equivalent to four more assembly plants, should also raise employment to 780,000 workers by 2018.

CHALLENGES AHEAD With sales increasing, suppliers are struggling to meet several important challenges in the coming years. First, OEMs (original equipment manufacturers — or vehicle assemblers) are increasingly relying on suppliers. According to a recent KPMG survey of the automotive industry C-suite, one of the top five keys to success is for OEMs to

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outsource more noncore services to suppliers. Between 2013 and 2015, there was a 67 percent increase in the percentage of OEM executives who thought that outsourcing to suppliers is very important to their future success.1 Next, the industry is facing big technological challenges, e.g., increased fuel economy requirements, which will reach their peak in 2025, as well as safety mandates.

Currently the industry is focused on a “mid-term review,” scheduled for 2017, where the efficacy of the OEMs’ efforts to reach the 2025 targets will be analyzed.

To meet the new fuel economy standards, OEMs are investing in new engine and powertrain technologies and lightweight materials.

To help meet the safety challenges, the OEMs and their partner supplier firms are increasing the capacity of new onboard electronics for automated vehicles and safety devices such as lane departure warnings and active cruise control. These new technologies are bringing non-traditional supplier companies into the industry.

For example, electronics firms and integrator companies are needed to bridge the challenges of technology compatibility across the vehicle and its many subsystems.

Innovation and collaboration are required to solve these challenges.

New physical and virtual environments are increasingly necessary for

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testing the compatibility and functionality of many electronics systems, both individually and collectively.

New entrants into the automotive supply chain from West Coast and Gulf Coast areas that are not traditional auto suppliers are looking for locations closer to the intellectual center of the automotive industry, and those that have many attributes similar to the locations they came from.

Finally, in the face of these challenges, the industry remains sensitive to cost. The OEMs have to adopt these new technologies, which require huge investments; but in order to maintain consumer demand, they also need to preserve the current price of the vehicle. Suppliers are facing giveback demands that allow the OEMs to maintain the current price structure.

pliers say that once they have a need to build a new facility, they want to begin the next day. Oftentimes, the supplier has a contract in hand and time is of the essence. Someone has to make the first move.

Third, the parks reduce costs. According to a large national logistics firm, an OEM can save $1 million in annual shipping costs for every five miles closer that the supplier locates to an assembly plant. Importing components is getting expensive and risky.

For instance, Chinese logistics costs are now 18

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SUPPLIER/TECH PA R K S Supplier/technology parks offer three unique benefits that could help OEMs and suppliers meet the challenges. If envisioned and structured properly, the parks foster an innovation ecosystem. Clemson University in South Carolina, in coordination with the International Center for Automotive Research (ICAR), has developed a 250-acre research park. Under the banner of systems integration, it has blended education and research programs to enhance product design, development, manufacturing, and advanced electronic systems research.2 Second, the parks accelerate the development timeline. Project cycles are accelerating. Suppliers have less and less time to launch a project. An existing park targeted to auto industry suppliers and integrators overcomes the â&#x20AC;&#x153;chicken vs. eggâ&#x20AC;? phenomenon. Developers contend that they will build a supplier park if customers exist who are willing to invest; meanwhile, sup-

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AutoAero site guide ~ 2015 21 AREA0449.indd 1

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Willingness to Negotiate Seals Deal on Major Auto Parts Expansion In May, global manufacturer Faurecia announced its intent to expand its operations in Columbus, Indiana, with plans to construct a new 469,000-square-foot manufacturing facility. Faurecia creates and distributes OEM auto emissions control systems for auto manufacturers all over the world. In the United States the company supplies systems for Ford, GM, Mercedes, Volkswagen, BMW, Nissan, FCA, and Cummins vehicles.

Faurecia is the third-largest industrial emHoosier Energy headquarters ployer in Columbus, with a pair of buildings — an R&D facility and an emissions control center (FECT). So news that it finalized plans to construct a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility adjacent to its current locations is exciting for everyone. The company will create 131 new jobs, while retaining its 1,635 existing workers. It hopes to have the facility “bare bones” operational by the end of the year.

Though all sides were anxious to make the deal happen, the selection of the location of the plant was the result of amicable local negotiations aimed at “sealing the deal.” The property in question is part of the former Walesboro Airport. The local aviation commission has divided the land into sites zoned for an industrial park and planned to lease the sites to businesses. The Bartholomew County Rural Electric Membership Corp. (REMC) is among the “early takers” that relocated to the park in 2010.

Rather than lease the land, Faurecia wanted to purchase the land outright, and made an offer “slightly above” the appraised value, says Jason Hester, executive director of the Columbus Economic Development Board. The company was able to purchase the 36 acres and will invest $30 million to construct the new manufacturing plant.

According to Hester, Faurecia received a pledge of $1.5 million in conditional tax credits based on the company’s job creation plan. The Indiana Economic Development Corp. will provide the City of Columbus with up to $250,000 in infrastructure assistance. “The airport board and the company both came ready to negotiate, and both sides accepted several concessions to speed this along, so all sides walked away happy,” notes Hester.

While negotiations proved complicated, the announcement of the deal at a public hearing emerged quickly. Jim Wittman, Key Accounts manager for Bartholomew County REMC, noted that, although the news was sprung on them, “It will take less time for us to address [Faurecia’s] new power need than it will for [the company] to build the plant. We’ve had customers that needed power in four to six weeks, and we’ve met that need. We already have the infrastructure in this area, we just need to run the wires.”

“Faurecia is a proud member of the Columbus community,” says Dave DeGraaf , president of FECT in North America. “While we considered several other communities for this new operation, our decision to continue to grow in Columbus is a direct result of both the quality of the skilled workforce here and the important considerations we’ve received from the state and city governments and utilities.”

percent of its GDP. The total cost of China’s logistics continues to rise 18.5 percent due to the rising price of raw materials, labor, and lending rates. Transport costs rose by 15.5 percent, storage costs soared 22.7 percent, and interest expenses jumped 24 percent.3 China’s logistics costs are more than double the average in Western Europe, Japan, and the U.S.4 Not only are logistics costs high, the floods in Thailand and the tsunami in Japan demonstrate that it’s prudent to mitigate risks in the supply chain associated with natural disasters by locating supplier opera22 AutoAero site guide ~ 2015

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tions near the end customer. Even if this is redundant for the supplier, it will be less expensive to ship goods, and there is a large amount of risk moderation that is realized by the supplier and the OEM. IDA-sponsored supplier parks also reduce real estate costs. With an industrial development agency serving as the developer and landlord, there are no private-sector administrative costs or added profit margins. Moreover, by tapping public-sector financing, the supplier parks can offer reduced lease rates from using potential tax-exempt financing, leveraging

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their own higher credit ratings, offering longer tenors on debt but shorter leases, and blending incentives such as tax-increment financing, New Market Tax Credits, direct loans, grants, and sales/use and property tax abatements or exemptions.

IDA-sponsored parks can also reduce redundant overhead costs. Embracing the “sharing culture” that is prominent in business today, suppliers can tap time-shared tool rooms and testing/validation centers to reduce these costs, while converting these activities from a fixed to variable cost.

For example, in 2008, Harris County, Georgia, developed an industrial park and, during a difficult time in the automotive industry, adopted innovative strategies creating a vibrant ecosystem of support for Hyundai’s suppliers. In West Point, the county IDA packaged state and local incentives to reduce the operating costs for Hyundai’s suppliers and encourage their development. The centerpiece of its incentive was an IDA-sponsored lease. The IDA floated a bond of $6.5 million bearing an interest rate of 5.68 percent for 15 years. At the time of loan, Aaa corporate debt was bearing an average interest rate of 5.63 percent according to Moody’s. By comparison, the supplier was seeing financing costs from landlords in the 7 percent to 12 percent range. The bonds were general obligation of the county, payable from any funds including general funds. In addition, the county offered property tax abatement for 10 years and the state provided a $1 million One Georgia grant to pay for site prep and leasehold improvements. To integrate all of the incentives into one package, there was an Indus-

Gestamp will complete the available space in this supplier park to Volkswagen, Chattanooga, TN, by constructing a stamping plant.

trial Development Agreement between the IDA, the company, the city of West Point, and Harris County covering site preparation, water supply, sewer, natural gas and electricity, and permitting assistance.

IN SUM To be successful, supplier parks have to incorporate new thinking and new locations, as suppliers are suggesting that they will locate in urban cores if there are adequate supplier parks and customers are nearby.

The parks depend on economic developers adopting a new mindset and becoming “community developers” serving the changing needs of the industry and its host communities. With communities and companies contributing, there is a virtuous cycle of enlightened benefit. <> Notes: 1 KPMG’s Global Automotive Executive Survey 2015, “Who is fit and ready to harvest?” See page 29.

2 Dr. Kurfess, Director of the Campbell Graduate Engineering Center at Clemson University and BMW Chair of Manufacturing 3 “Chinese logistics costs rise as US, Europe stagnate.” Finished Vehicle Logistics. www.fvlmagazine.com/Article.aspx?aid=643 4 Ibid.

Auto Industry – Vehicle Sales Forecast 2014 – 2018

U.S. LV S al es i n Mil lio ns

20 18 16

16.1

14

14.5

13.2

12

10.4

10 8 6 4 2 0 2007

11.6

12.8

15.6

16.3 **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** ****

16.6 **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** ****

16.9 **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** ****

17.3 **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** ****

17.6 **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** ****

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

Source: CAR Research (10/14)

AutoAero site guide ~ 2015 23

~ Aerospace Skills Gap: Can Manufacturers Fly Above the Turbulence?

“

By Jim Freaner, Advanced Technology Services

Although the number of U.S. aerospace workers is shrinking, the skills need has increased, and a gap exists as older, experienced workers leave the labor force.

It’s a mixed bag for the aerospace industry these days.

Commercial orders have never been stronger — but a reduction in defense spending in the U.S. and abroad has U.S. aerospace companies both large and small looking for answers.

According to the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) 2014 Year-End Review and Forecast, total aerospace industry sales in 2015 are estimated to come in at $240.4 billion, up 5.2 percent from 2014’s $228.4 billion.

Aerospace exports continued to climb in 2014, up $8.1 billion to $118.9 billion, with most of the increase occurring in the civil sector.

Sales for large commercial aircraft, particularly Boeing’s 787, 737, and 737 MAX, are robust. U.S. operations for Embraer, Bombardier, Beechcraft, and Cessna are increasing as well. Military sales by contrast are flat; both the F-22 and, more recently, the C-17 Globemaster programs have ended, and while foreign military revenues are expected to play a larger role in the future, that increase will not make up for the net downturn in domestic spending.

WORKFORCE DECLINES, AS SKILLS NEEDS RISE All this means that the U.S.

24 AutoAero site guide ~ 2015

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aerospace workforce must become smaller, smarter, and even more productive. Research by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that aerospace manufacturing employment has been on the steady decline since 2012. Over the past three years, in fact, total employment has dropped from 498,600 to 479,900. The decrease has hit factory personnel particularly hard; the number of production workers has dropped 6.6 percent over this period versus 3.8 percent for all manufacturing employees. Current employment stands far below the high of 516,700 total workers reached in 2000.

At the same time that the workforce is shrinking, the need for skilled workers has never been greater. A private survey conducted by Advanced Technology Services (ATS) and ACNielsen shows that 41 percent of all skilled tradesmen in the U.S. will retire by 2017. An Industry Week survey, also commissioned by ATS, found that 39 percent of aerospace companies believe the labor shortage is having an “extreme” effect on their ability to grow their businesses. Aviation Week, in a 2012 study, reported that the average age of aerospace employees is 45 — and only 4.19 percent of all industry employees are between the ages of 22 and 25.

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60-year-old mileThe need stone in the next for aerospace couple of years. manufacturers More will folto do more with low — and with fewer employees them, a vast trove is driving producof technological tivity initiatives and engineering like never before. knowledge.

The imperative for new solutions S H O R T- A N D and smarter ways Sales for large commercial aircraft — like the Boeing 787 — are robust.

LONG-TERM of working was S T R AT E G I E S summed up in Replacing this the AIA’s Year-End brain drain will require Review: “Companies will need to become even more a combination of short-term efficient to stay competitive. Whether it’s exploitand long-term strategies. The best way for aerospace ing mature technologies in new and different ways, companies to address their long-term needs is to developing new approaches to existing problems, or work at changing the way the millennial generation exploring cutting-edge processes, technologies, and views manufacturing jobs. The task can be daunting. products, U.S. [aerospace] companies will need to deLast year the National Society of High School vote even further energy to innovation in the future.” Scholars published their annual survey of the “emergIf firms are searching for answers from their most ing workforce,” defined as millennials aged 15 to experienced workers, they better ask quickly. Long26. Among the 18,000 young people questioned, time aerospace workers are retiring in record numGoogle, Walt Disney, St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, bers; the chart of employees reaching retirement Apple, and the FBI topped the list of the 100 preage looks like a bow wave, with many crossing the ferred companies to work for. Lockheed Martin (#45)

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Building on an Established Aerospace Industry The NMBorderplex has a history built around the growth of aerospace and high technology industry. Over 65 years ago, the Department of Defense built a testing and evaluation site called White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) near Las Cruces, New Mexico, changing the area into one of the most technical centers of aerospace influence in North America. Today, the NMBorderplex is now home to the pioneers of commercial space like Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic.

The NMBorderplex boasts NASA’s White Sands Test Facility, New Mexico State University’s (NMSU) Physical Science Laboratory, and Spaceport America, the first purpose-built commercial spaceport in the world. The region is home to the first UAV Flight Test Center, the original UAV Center of Excellence, and ARCA Space Corp.’s AirStrato, an electrical WSMR. Together, these entities create a unique and powered aircraft able to fly almost twice as diverse testing and evaluation air space. high as a commercial airliner, will be tested But the NMBorderplex isn’t just about aerospace and manufactured at the PSL UAV Flight Test Center in Las Cruces, N.M. testing and research. The region covers three states and two countries, and is a manufacturing hub. Over 60 percent of the components that go into an airliner are manufactured within the Borderplex region. Union Pacific’s new $500 million intermodal facility is the largest of its kind, bringing direct access to major seaports. With mild weather year-round, transportation problems rarely affect I-10 and I-25.

The region’s workforce is young and educated, boasting a student population of over 100,000 between NMSU, the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), the Universidad Autonoma de Ciudad Juarez, and 14 more community college branches across the region.

Companies are invited to come discover why Las Cruces, New Mexico, along with the NMBorderplex, is the perfect site for aerospace development.

and Northrop Grumman (#87) were the only aerospace manufacturers to make the list.

To overcome this “glamour gap,” aerospace companies need to raise their visibility as viable career alternatives before young people begin making their post-high school decisions. Job fairs, in-school presentations, and high school internships are great ways to spread the message, as are professional websites for academic and job counselors. Social media campaigns directed at students and their parents will also help change attitudes.

Trade schools are another category for outreach.

Skills for America’s Future, a non-profit founded by now-Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker, is a resource well known for helping foster partnerships between employers and community colleges. Other ways to connect with trade school students include certificate programs, scholarships, internships, and work-study programs. These kinds of initiatives not only create a natural pipeline for recruitment, but also connect employers with the best students.

Many aerospace employers overlook military veterans as potential hires. The armed forces provide a

26 AutoAero site guide ~ 2015

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broad variety of technical training in avionics, hydraulics, computers, electronics, calibration, mechanical engineering, and other key disciplines. Transition counselors, the VA, and community colleges close to military bases are great ways to make connections with these highly skilled individuals.

Finally, company-sponsored talent management and development programs can also give existing workers the specific skills required for changing manufacturing needs. “Trade schools on wheels” are gaining in popularity precisely because they can deliver highly customized training at the hours that make sense for employees and employers alike. One of the best reasons for formal training and development plans for technicians is consistency; teams and work groups all receive the same information at the same time, tailored to the company’s culture and business objectives.

S T R AT E G I C S O U R C I N G Long-term solutions are certainly a necessity, yet for a large number of aerospace manufacturers, the productivity needle needs to move now. For these

800-735-2732, EXT. 225, OR VISIT US ONLINE AT www.areadevelopment.com

150

219.4 228.4 240.4

200

Aerospace Industry Sales

B illio n s o f D o lla rs

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100

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20

02

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03

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04

20

05

20

06

20

07

20

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20

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Source: AIA 2014 Year-End Review and Forecast

ARLINGTON, TEXAS Ready for take oďŹ&#x20AC;

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Meeting the Workforce and Education Needs of the Aerospace Industry In order to continue to meet high levels of demand and remain globally competitive, the aerospace industry must continue to maintain the highly skilled workforce it requires, while keeping labor costs competitive. Arlington, Texas’ assets help make this possible. Workforce development areas in and around Arlington provide an ample supply of leading occupations required to support the sector. In addition, the region’s wage rates compare favorably to national levels.

Centrally located within the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area, Arlington is at the center of Arlington Municipal Airport is a full-service the region’s aerospace cluster. Minutes from DFW reliever airport to DFW International.

International Airport and home to the region’s corporate airport of choice, Arlington is surrounded by the state’s highest concentration of aerospace manufacturing workers, the headquarters of two major airlines, and operations of major aircraft manufacturers, including Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, and Bell Helicopter.

Beyond a concentration of firms and employment, Arlington offers access to a dense network of higher education institutions. Chief among these is the University of Texas (UT) at Arlington, the second-largest institution in the UT system, where research activities, engineering strengths, and early-stage product development are assets for the continued support of the region’s aerospace manufacturing and aviation industry — and companies are taking notice.

L-3 Communications, a leader in the aircraft simulation and training industry; Progressive, a global player in the aerospace industry; and Triumph Aerostructures-Vought Aircraft Division, a leading global manufacturer, represent just a few of the key aerospace companies taking advantage of Arlington’s workforce and educational strengths.

“To succeed, a company has to grow and that’s exactly what we have been able to achieve by having our headquarters in Arlington, Texas,” says Lenny Genna, president of L-3 Link Simulation & Training. “Recently, we added capability in Arlington with a new 27,000-squarefoot facility where we’re building flight simulators. We benefit by having a close working relationship with UT at Arlington, which serves as a source of qualified new workers and as an educational resource that allows our employees to gain advanced degrees.”

firms, strategic sourcing may be the answer. Partnering with outside service providers is nothing new — most companies contract their janitorial and grounds maintenance duties. Today, however, options exist in IT, HR, and building maintenance, as well as critical manufacturing and logistics functions. These outside sources can not only deliver skills and best practices, but also cost savings over time since they are contractually required to perform.

To maximize production efficiency, companies are wise to ask themselves what services they can reasonably source externally. Machine maintenance is an often-overlooked area that has benefitted in recent years from huge advances in technology and strategy.

Especially for facilities moving to lean manufacturing techniques, maintenance is a key issue — and one that specialists can improve significantly.

For any factory to perform, production equipment 28 AutoAero site guide ~ 2015

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must run smoothly, efficiently, within tight standards, and without expensive downtime. So important is maintenance to profitable operation, in fact, that it helps to frame the issue not simply as maintenance but as an equipment reliability program — a term that much better captures its true value.

There are service providers today who offer a multitude of solutions for contract technical services; these include process/production asset maintenance, calibration management programs, and repairable part management programs that can allow manufacturers to focus their shrinking technical talent on more critical areas. These specialists also use mobile technology in the plant to improve technician utilization and reduce the time required for tasks like conducting technical documentation searches, locating and acquiring spare parts, and work planning and scheduling.

Predictive maintenance (PdM) is perhaps the most

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thinking, new technologies, and alternative business advanced offering in the machine maintenance arsenal. Research has shown that PdM, a conditionmodels will be essential. Most importantly, decisionbased approach to equipment reliability, can elimimakers will need to take informed risks in their apnate as much as 30 percent of all routine preventive proaches to problem-solving. By putting innovation tasks. These and other proactive equipment reliability first, aerospace manufacturers can ensure that no programs have been shown to result in major cost matter what global turbulence affects the industry, reductions, with some manufacturers tracking savthey’ll have the resources to fly through to calmer, ings as high as 80 percent. Furthermore, a proactive clearer, and more favorable skies. <> approach results in a reliable, more productive manufacturing environment upon which other FALL EDITION process efficiencies can be built.

Programs like PdM, as well as other strategic sourcing options, talent development, recruitment, and outreach programs will all be needed to meet the skilled worker needs of the future. The loss of experienced employees, lack of qualified job candidates, and the combined challenges of multi-year commercial backlogs and declining defense spending make such solutions imperative.

Spaceport America CRITICAL CHALLENGES As companies deal with these issues, upstream suppliers and producers may be hardest hit. The AIA reports that “while larger companies continue to mitigate the effects of the [U.S. government] budget environment by diversifying, seeking new markets, and downsizing, smaller companies in the defense industrial base are bearing the brunt of the funding side and face critical challenges to keeping their businesses viable.”

It’s clear that for aerospace firms to thrive in the years ahead, fresh

• • • • • • • • • •

UAV Center of Excellence Flight Test Center Virgin Galactic SpaceGrant Space X NMSU WSMR NASA ARCA

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Implications Continued from page 13

3-D printed hand tool used at BMW; the thumb cover reduces strain on workers who use it to press rubber plugs into vehicle frames.

ers to make lighter, customized tools to improve the ergonomics of manufacturing operations for workers.

For example, BMW has used additive manufacturing to make custom-designed hand tools used in assembly. These tools have improved ergonomics and reduced weight, cost, and production time compared to hand tools produced using traditional methods.10 BMW has used 3D printing to produce a lightweight tool used to align and affix the rear name badges to vehicles. Another example of a 3D-printed assembly tool is a reinforced thumb cover, which is customized to precisely fit the hand of each worker. The thumb cover reduces strain on workers who use it to press rubber plugs into vehicle frames.11 Automotive startups, such as Kor Ecologic,12 Local Motors,13 and Divergent Microfactories,14 have explored using additive manufacturing to produce vehicle bodies. Oak Ridge National Labs (ORNL), which printed parts for the Local Motors “Strati” model in 2014, used 3D printing to create a replica 1965 Shelby Cobra 427, which was displayed at the 2015 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.15 The use of 3D printing for vehicle bodies allows for unique designs and reduced vehicle weight. Production of the 3D-printed body parts requires a much longer time than conventional manufacturing methods, but may be cost-effective for low-volume production runs. Another drawback is that large 3D-printed pieces could complicate repairs should a vehicle be damaged. (Instead of removing and replacing a small damaged component, a much larger portion of the vehicle may need to be replaced, leading to higher repair costs).

OPPORTUNITIES ABOUND As with any emerging technology, adoption of 30 AutoAero site guide ~ 2015

FOR FREE SITE INFORMATION, CALL

additive manufacturing in the automotive industry will be facilitated through greater awareness, a more developed infrastructure, and new standards. Additive manufacturing is already undergoing a paradigm shift, as companies begin using it to make actual parts and tools rather than relegating it to the prototype shop. There are potentially many opportunities for new and already existing automotive suppliers to use additive manufacturing in their production processes.

As companies adapt to new technologies and market needs, they will need to invest in new machines and human capital. In addition to investments from automakers and tier-one suppliers, there are many more opportunities throughout the supply chain.

As materials and processes change, all the parts of the supply chain must also change. For instance, 3D printer providers will need to continue improving additive manufacturing technologies to support more materials and more complex operations, faster part production, and higher quality. Material suppliers will need to develop and produce new materials and additives for 3D printers, as well as characterize and model those materials. Tooling providers may need to invest in new equipment and explore new ways of making tools for manufacturers. Community colleges and workforce skills development organizations will need to develop curricula and provide training to ensure that workers are able to meet the requirements of additive manufacturing jobs. And economic developers should focus on assisting existing companies that are transitioning to work with additive manufacturing technologies that may require more complex engineering, enhanced skills, and R&D support. <> Notes: Catts, Tim. (2013). “GE Turns to 3D Printers for Plane Parts.” Bloomberg Businessweek.

November 27, 2013.

2 Walsh, Dustin. (2012). “Decades-old Manufacturing Process Gets New Life: 3-D Technique Can Cut Costs of Some Complex Parts.” Automotive News. August 8, 2012.

3 Mostafavi, Beata. (2015). “New Study Shows How Babies’ Lives Were Saved by 3D Printing.”

University of Michigan Engineering. April 29, 2015.

4 Greenberg, Andy. “How 3-D Printed Guns Evolved Into Serious Weapons in Just One Year.”

Wired magazine. May 15, 2014.

5 Temperton, James. (2014). “NASA Just Emailed a Wrench to Space.” Wired magazine.

December 19, 2014.

6 America Makes. (2015). America Makes Website (www.AmericaMakes.us). Accessed June 26, 2015.

7 Boulton, Clint. (2013). “Printing Out Barbies and Ford Cylinders.” Wall Street Journal. June 5, 2014.

8 Bunkley, Nick. (2014). “Auto Industry Uses 3-D Printing Heavily in Product Development.”

Automotive News. October 27, 2014.

9 Thomas, Douglas. (2013). “Economics of the U.S. Additive Manufacturing Industry.” NIST Special Publication 1163. National Institute of Standards and Technology, U.S. Department of Commerce. August 15, 2013.

10 Stratasys. (2013). “Direct Digital Manufacturing at BMW: Manufacturing Jigs and Fixtures with FDM.” Stratasys. July 2013.

11 Bunkley, Nick. (2014). “Thumbs-up for 3-D at BMW Plant.” Automotive News. October 27, 2014.

12 Bargmann, Joe. (2013). “Urbee 2, the 3D-Printed Car That Will Drive Across the Country.”

Popular Mechanics. November 4, 2013.

13 Robarts, Stu. (2014). “’World’s first’ 3D printed car created and driven by Local Motors.” Gizmag.

September 17, 2014.

14 Tarantola, Andrew. (2015). “The Blade Is a 3D-printed Supercar.” Engadget. June 24, 2015.

15 Starr, Michelle. (2015). “The Rare 1965 Shelby Cobra Rolls off the Printbed: At the North American International Auto Show, a 1965 Shelby Cobra 427 with a Difference Is on Display.”

CNET. January 13, 2015.

1

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SPONSORS DIRECTORY

ILLINOIS AND INDIANA

KENTUCKY

Hoosier Energy Hoosier Energy is an electric generation and transmission cooperative providing electricity and other services to 18 electric distribution cooperatives, in central/southern Indiana and southeast Illinois. The Hoosier Energy economic development team provides a wide array of services including site and building searches, incentive guidance, site analysis, and electric rate estimates.

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Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development Kentucky is open for business. Whether your company is looking for an ideal location, competitive utility rates, a highly skilled labor pool, or flexible workforce development programs, Kentucky is the choice for companies to do business. Explore the many advantages of the Commonwealth and you’ll find Kentucky will go the extra mile to exceed your needs.

Harold Gutzwiller Hoosier Energy P.O. Box 908, Bloomington, IN 47402 812-876-0294 • Cell: 812-360-4796 Fax: 812-876-5030 hgutzwiller@HEPN.com www.HoosierSites.com

Mandy Lambert, Commissioner, Business Development Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development Old Capitol Annex, 300 W. Broadway Frankfort, KY 40601 Mandy.Lambert@ky.gov www.ThinkKentucky.com

KANSAS, MISSOURI, OKLAHOMA

MISSISSIPPI

Joplin Regional Partnership The Joplin Region is the Heart of Work…Central. Connected.

Capable. Learn more about manufacturing opportunities and our quality workforce by contacting The Joplin Regional Partnership.

Mississippi Development Authority Consistently ranked as a top state for business, Mississippi’s list of global companies continues to grow. From the state’s efficient permitting process to its business-friendly climate, more companies are discovering how a Mississippi location and workforce can give them a competitive advantage.

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Kevin Welch, Director Joplin Regional Partnership 320 East 4th Street Joplin, MO 64801 417-624-4150 Fax: 417-624-4303 kwelch@joplinregionalpartnership.com www.joplinregionalpartnership.com

LOCATION.

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NEW HAMPSHIRE 7

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Confidential assistance with site selection, incentives, financing, and permits is available.

Karen Pollard, CEcD, ED, Economic Development Manager Rochester, New Hampshire, Economic Development 31 Wakefield Street, Rochester, NH 03867 603-335-7522 Fax: 60-335-7597 Karen.pollard@rochesternh.net www.thinkrochester.biz

NEW MEXICO

29 Mesilla Valley Economic Development Alliance As the leading economic development organization in Southern New Mexico, the Mesilla Valley Economic Development Alliance (MVEDA) provides local businesses and those considering relocating and expanding in the New Mexico Borderplex with the information, tools, and resources they need to succeed. Our professional staff is just a phone call away.

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JobsOhio JobsOhio, a private, non-profit corporation, helps businesses locate, expand and prosper in Ohio. Our managing directors have extensive work experience in various industries so they understand the needs of business and stand ready to assist you. Contact us to learn why your company should call Ohio home.

JobsOhio 41 S. High Street, Suite 1500 Columbus, Ohio 43215 614-300-1151 contact@jobs-ohio.com jobs-ohio.com

TEXAS

27 City of Arlington Office of Economic Development Located at the epicenter of the thriving North Texas region and minutes from DFW International, Arlington is strategically positioned in a region widely recognized as a hub for automotive and aerospace industries. Beyond our world-class entertainment is the backbone of our city: economic vitality, a business-friendly environment, and a skilled workforce.

Davin Lopez, President/CEO Mesilla Valley Economic Development Alliance (MVEDA) 277 E. Amador, Ste. 304 Las Cruces, NM 88001 800-523-6833 Fax: 575-523-5707 davin@mveda.com www.nmborderplex.com/aerospace

NORTH CAROLINA

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Raleigh, NC 27604 1-800-768-7697 ext. 6363 Mobile: 919-218-7027 bdaniels@electricities.org www.electricities.com

Bruce C. Payne, Economic Development Manager City of Arlington Office of Economic Development 101 W. Abram Street, Arlington, TX 76010 817-459-6155 ecodev@arlingtontx.gov www.arlingtontx.gov/ecodev

The Wright Brothers conducted the first powered flight in Ohio. This feat kicked off a legacy of continual innovation and leadership in both aerospace and aviation. Ohio is now ranked first in the U.S. for its aerospace manufacturing industry presence and is the number-one supplier state to Airbus and Boeing.

And Ohio is committed to staying at the forefront of the industry.

Companies across the state are developing advanced technologies that will evolve the way aircraft components and systems are made. With world-class assets such as the GE Aviation Additive Manufacturing Research Center, America Makes, Wright Patterson Air Force Base, and NASA Glenn Research Center, Ohio is positioned to continue to lead innovation in the industry.

Currently 27 Ohio colleges and universities offer Aerospace and Aviation programs, including Sinclair Community College’s National Unmanned Aerial Systems Training and Certification Center. In addition, renowned academic institutions such as the University of Cincinnati partner with businesses like GE Aviation, Airbus, Boeing, and Aerojet Rocketdyne to develop programs that train workers with the exact skills companies need.

Access to resources and expertise are only part of the Ohio story. Location, logistics, and infrastructure are also why businesses choose to build in the state due to its close proximity to everything they need to be successful: materials, markets, and suppliers. Advanced material and component manufacturers including specialists in landing systems, propulsion, and fluid-handling are all within a day’s drive of Ohio.

Ohio’s business climate enables aerospace and aviation companies to enjoy the lowest tax rate in the Midwest on new capital investments. The Utica Shale formation provides access to reliable, low-cost energy. A balanced budget with a $2 billion surplus and stable credit outlook from the nation’s top three credit rating agencies mean companies can depend on the state’s financial and regulatory certainty.

Available resources, a skilled workforce, easy access to supply chains, and a business friendly-climate are why industry leaders such as GE Aviation, UTC Aerospace Systems, Airbus, and Boeing call Ohio home. The future of aviation is happening in Ohio. Come be a part of it.

To find out more about the Ohio story, visit Jobs-Ohio.com for information on the benefits of expanding or locating a business in Ohio.

32 AutoAero site guide ~ 2015

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EXPERTS IN FLIGHT SINCE THE DAY WE INVENTED IT.

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That’s why so many companies have found success in Ohio.

And it’s why your business can too.

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