Manufacturing Roundtable Discussion

The Capital Region of New York has long been known as an industrial hub, with one of the highest job concentrations in the United States in research and development within the physical, engineering, and life sciences industries.

The area has also played a major role in shaping the power industry for more than a century, ultimately emerging as a worldwide hub for advanced electronics, semiconductors, and so much more.

Like most parts of the world, the Capital Region was hit hard by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although experts predict the Capital Region will experience a strong economic recovery, the fallout has created a shifting industrial landscape in the area.

On June 28, 2022, Innovative Test Solutions (ITS) sponsored the first Capital Region Tech Summit and Manufacturing Round Table at Rivers Casino and Resort in Schenectady, New York. The event brought together representatives from a variety of industries to talk about some of the emerging trends in the manufacturing industry, how COVID-19 affected their companies, and their predictions for the manufacturing outlook across the short-term and the long-term. 

ITS Manufacturing Roundtable Participants

Michael Bucci, Associate Partner of PC Public Affairs, welcomed the group and introduced the three main topics of discussion: participants’ experiences operating manufacturing entities, the challenges faced during the pandemic, and their plans for recovery moving forward.

In addition to Bucci, the executives in attendance included:

• Kevin McEvoy, General Manager of ITS
• Gary McCarthy, Mayor of the City of Schenectady
• Glenn R. Tabolt, CEO of STS Steel
• Rochelle Caruso, Senior Associate Director of Employee Relations in the Career Center at Union College
• Roger Woolsey, Executive Director of the Career Center at Union College
• Mark Rizzolo, Operations Finance Leader at Momentive Performance Materials
• Chris Curtis, Director of Site Operations at Momentive Performance Materials
• Win Thurlow, Executive Director of MedTech
• Eric Fasser, Solutions Program Manager of FuzeHub
• Greg Stevens, Operations Manager of Dimension Fabricators
• Philip Bruce, Director of the Center for Career and Professional Development at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI)
• Michael Lobsinger, Senior Vice President of the Center for Economic Growth
• Matt Rowe, Vice President of Latham Pools
• Andrew Rush, Associate Partner of PC Public Affairs

A Dramatically Different Path Forward

The inspiration behind the manufacturing roundtable was to provide an open forum discussion of how the last few years have impacted area businesses in addition to the economies of the state and nation.

Kevin McEvoy, General Manager of ITS, noted that the idea for the gathering came during his time at tech symposiums.

“A lot of my colleagues and a lot of people I talked to were discussing how much they couldn’t wait to get back to where we were before all this started. That struck me as bizarre, because in my mind, the world has changed dramatically,” McEvoy said.

Even as the pandemic slows and businesses begin moving forward, companies are facing a host of lingering problems, including supply chain issues, escalating energy costs, and wild swings in pricing. These issues impact everything that organizations must do to survive.

McEvoy commented, “We’re looking at a dramatically different path, and we decided that we wanted to open the floor and involve everybody in the Capital Region in manufacturing and industry. We also wanted to pull in educational institutions as well, because some of the future relies on cultivating and bringing in new engineering talent.”

Some of the pressing issues faced by organizations throughout the Capital Region include finding ways to recover lost ground and defining what growth looks like moving forward. McEvoy added that more importantly, it’s necessary to define what employee retention looks like and to find strategies that educate and energize the next generation.

Gary McCarthy, Mayor of Schenectady, pointed out that municipalities face many of the same issues as businesses, including challenges recruiting employees, supply chain issues, and unpredictable pricing. “I tell staff, we solve problems, we don’t create them. The question now is this: How do you create an atmosphere or environment within a community or region that encourages businesses to invest here, people to live here, and foster overall growth?”

Capital Region Organizations are Faced with Workforce Issues Challenges

Recruiting and retaining quality employees, particularly those with a technical background, has been a major challenge faced by all types of businesses. Members from two nationally renowned STEM higher education institutions were present at the roundtable discussion to address the issue.

They were asked how can local manufacturers partner with their respective schools to keep talent in the state and minimize the ’brain drain’ New York State has faced in the past?

Rochelle Caruso started the conversation, noting how important it is to engage students with leaders and their organizations, both on campus and by bringing students to them.

“This can help get them excited and let them know more about what exists in the Capital Region,” she said. “More than ever, we need to be able to get them out and about and have you come to campus to engage in programming and educate students about the work you do,” she explained to the other participants.

Roger Woolsey said that more roundtables in the future could further benefit industries by bringing leaders together to discuss progress and ongoing issues.

“There used to be a theory that when you create jobs, that creates regional wealth. But we have to know what your needs are, be more proactive, and have you come to campus so students and faculty can hear what industry needs are,” Woolsey said.

Students Entering the Workforce

Consider the fact that 75% of students in the United States choose to attend colleges and universities because they want specific jobs, but they often lose their sense of purpose along the way. The more students engage with area businesses, the more likely they are to remain focused. This practice could help to energize the future workforce.

Students want something different. “We would like to focus on investing in transformational experiences,” said Philip Bruce. “That’s going to take a few years. It isn’t something where you can turn right around and bring in a whole crop of entry-level employees immediately. Our goal would be to develop pipelines to transform students’ perspective of the environment they want to work in and guide them.”

He continued, “Internships, coops, experiential learning are all great ways to start a pipeline, but you’re not going to get a full-time employee out of them immediately. It’s your job to show them the culture you want your organization to have. For example, you might assign them an A+ player on your team to them as a mentor.”

Organizations don’t necessarily have to actively recruit. “Just show off what you’re doing. Give them a tour. We need to rethink how we engage the students to create the retention you need. Students come to Union and RPI because they like it here. How we keep them here is by creating that experience and showing them that they can have a wonderful life here.”

The Impact of Supply Chain Issues & Economic Challenges Hasn’t Been Entirely Negative

Moving on from the discussion about workforce issues, the group turned to questions about how supply chain issues may have constrained efforts to recover or grow, the impact of rising energy costs, and other economic challenges faced by their organizations.

These industry trends and challenges are inhibiting companies across the country as well as in the Capital Region.

Michael Lobsinger noted that the Center for Economic Growth conducted a New York-wide supply chain research study with Siena College and worked with the Reshoring Institute to explore this issue. “The common theme was that it all started with COVID, and the backbone of it had to do with workforce and what was happening at our ports,” Lobsinger said.

“People really had to adapt, and we saw a lot of creative solutions. I think 95% of people had a contingency plan in case of an emergency, but they still weren’t prepared for what COVID did. But they adapted very quickly. Part of our research was on business outlook, and, generally, it was favorable. Most manufacturers had recovered already and were facing a backlog, which has sparked a whole new conversation.”

Glenn Tabolt interjected that the issues almost helped STS Steel. “People had to make decisions quicker,” he noted. “When you tell someone that the price is good for a set time, it helps get deals closed faster.”

“There are also some components we use for testing, and the market dried up about eight months ago,” said McEvoy. “Rather than go out to the open market and struggle to find them, we ended up searching through eBay and the used market, and it turned out to be beneficial. We picked up a product that normally costs three times as much, which helped us offset the energy costs. Sometimes it takes a little ‘outside-the-box’ energy to find good solutions to these problems.”

“For our business, it’s about being better than the competition,” said Chris Curtis. “You talk about three to four months of backlog, if you’re better than your competitors, then you can still stay ahead. It’s just a matter of coming out of this.”

The port and getting containers onshore and unloaded are issues for Momentum, just as it’s an issue for many organizations across the country. “A lot of it is about communication with the customers and setting expectations,” Curtis added.

On a brighter note, the participants engaged in a lively discussion about supply chain-focused careers. “I don’t think it’s going to go away. COVID made it hugely problematic, and then the globalization of all our manufacturing compounds it,” Curtis said.

This is always a component of MBA programs. “Getting students excited about it? That’s going to be the challenge,” added Bruce.

The First ITS Roundtable — But Not the Last

“We have an opportunity to bring manufacturing back to local areas,” Mark Rizzolo said. “I think it takes a multi-pronged approach between education, government, industries, and even local developers. Once we start to get the work out, if we can build it, people will come. And I’m excited about the future of this area.”

The future looks bright, particularly if regional companies come together to tackle some commonly faced issues.

Although this manufacturing round table focused mainly on post-pandemic manufacturing industry trends and the manufacturing outlook for various organizations throughout the Capital Region, the discussion will remain ongoing as the industry continues to evolve.

McEvoy ended the roundtable by thanking everyone for joining in. “I think some of the more poignant points is that we all share the pain of how to recruit the next generation and how to keep the excitement going. I’d like to keep the conversation rolling after we walk out of here by maybe making this a quarterly session and putting together a program to work toward a STEM-related program for students. We all want to give back, and this is a great opportunity to do that.”

To learn more about the details discussed during the manufacturing roundtable, please refer to the video from ITS or contact our staff today for further information.