How It Started – The State of the Union
As we start the new year by packing away our holiday decorations, unpacking our suitcases from traveling to see friends and family, and settling back into our normal routines, it’s normal to reflect on the previous year. We, at Blue Silk Consulting, had a spectacular year!
We met amazing people all over the country who are working hard on Reshoring and bringing manufacturing back to the U.S. We met with government officials who are invested in bringing manufacturing and jobs back to their states and cities. We have also spoken at several conferences about the need for Reshoring and for localization. It has been quite the ride but as we started planning for the upcoming year and the work that needs to be done we realized that it started about this time last year with the State of the Union.
Last year, in his State of the Union address, President Obama stated that he wanted America to be a magnet for new jobs and manufacturing! He is asking that manufacturers like Caterpillar, Ford and Apple bring manufacturing back the U.S. He talked about the new Innovation Institutes that are working on innovation and technology such as 3D printing that will help companies with Lean Manufacturing. He talked about the innovation in renewable and clean energy and how our future is dependent on both. The cameras panned the crowd and focused on Tim Cook, CEO of Apple (see above photo), and explained that Apple had made a commitment to bring some of its manufacturing back to Silicon Valley. And sure enough, Apple did open a US assembly operation to make Apple laptops for the US market.
Regardless of your political affiliations, clean energy, more and better jobs and innovation are the right ideas. What future does the next generation(s) have if we continue to off shore all of our manufacturing? Reshoring and localization are the key! .
2013 was the start of the journey and we look forward to the many adventures 2014 is sure to present to us. We also look forward to what President Obama says in this year’s State of the Union. We hope that he will continue to call Business Leaders to action and we will have a record year of jobs returned!
Originally published on Blue Silk Consulting website on January 13, 2014
