Business Operations

Busine ss Operat ions

By Mike Leigh

Executive Summary:

A salute to the unsung heroes who “make stuff.” Send your questions or comments to Mike@ OpXSolutionsllc.com

Ode to manufacturing

Look around you. Stop reading for a second and scan your surroundings. If you are inside a building, then everything you see was produced by a manufacturer. Computers. Furniture. Buildings. Paper. Books. Food. Everything, including those masks and toilet paper that have been in short supply.

I have had the privilege of working for or with manufacturers for the past 20 years, including many in the Roanoke Valley. During the pandemic, most of them are considered “essential” businesses and need to keep their operations running. Since most manufacturing employees cannot work from home, leaders have been challenged to keep their workforce safe while maintaining operations.

Manufacturing makes up about 12 percent of our local industry. Combined with construction, transportation, and energy, it is about 25%. The industry is an important part of our local economy because unlike healthcare and retail, most of the revenue that manufacturers create comes from outside our area, creating an influx of money into the Roanoke Valley.

Manufacturers are also incredibly resilient. Despite supply chain interruptions, uncertain customer demand, and social distancing, they have managed to keep their operations running and bring their product to the market during COVID-19. And some, such as Hollingsworth & Vose in Floyd and Integrated Textile Solutions in Salem, are producing materials and making masks to keep us safe.

I am currently working with four manufacturing plant managers in a leadership development program. Together they employ over 1,000 people in clean and high-tech work environments, and as of this writing, have had no COVID-19 cases while producing medical and construction components, food packaging, and power generation equipment. They are providing rewarding careers for those who enjoy “building stuff” and using critical thinking and problem-solving skills in diverse professions such as maintenance, human resources, environmental regulations, health and safety, finance, and design engineering.

In this FRONT article dedicated to manufacturing, I’m dedicating this article to the hard-working men and women who are making our masks, building our test kits, assembling our ventilators, putting food on our tables, and producing all the goods we need in our day-to-day lives. You have been unsung heroes during this crisis, and I thank you

for all you do.