[May 17, 2008] EDITORIAL: New rules required: A state-supported group is trying to assess whether Wisconsin manufacturers are ready for a globalized world. Tweet (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, The (KRT) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) May 17--The old rules changed for manufacturers as their markets globalized, which sparked turmoil for some and opportunities for others. Manufacturing remains a strategic asset for southeastern Wisconsin, but remaining competitive requires understanding "next-generation manufacturing," says Mike Klonsinski, chief executive of the Wisconsin Manufacturing Extension Partnership. WMEP is a state-supported consulting organization that provides technical and business assistance to small- and mid-sized manufacturers in Wisconsin. It plans to survey companies this fall to evaluate how well they are doing. In broad terms, next-generation manufacturers are lean and agile and continuously working to improve. They are innovators, they are working to tap global markets, they have a highly skilled workforce and they are incorporating green ideas into their strategic planning. WMEP hopes to create a rough yardstick to assess the state's manufacturing performance and answer this key question: Are Wisconsin companies ready for the global challenges they face in the coming years? WMEP hopes to complete the survey in September then roll out the results to manufacturers and policymakers in the fall. The goal is a good one: to raise the importance of transforming this critical piece of Wisconsin's economic base and provide companies with strategies for improvement. Wisconsin companies should participate. Wisconsin has a long history of making things -- a heritage that still counts for something as long as Wisconsin's companies embrace the changes needed to compete in an increasingly globalized world. To see more of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.jsonline.com. Copyright (c) 2008, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]