BROOKFIELD—The Wisconsin Manufacturing Report, released today, sheds light on the challenges that are top of mind for Wisconsin manufacturers, including workforce needs, automation and the impact of COVID-19.
“It’s really important for manufacturers to understand where the industry is and where their peers are,” said Buckley Brinkman, Executive Director/CEO of the Wisconsin Center for Manufacturing and Productivity. “And also for policymakers and anyone interested in manufacturing to get a view that’s balanced across the state.”
The 2022 Wisconsin Manufacturing Report was developed from a poll of 400 Wisconsin manufacturers and five follow-up focus groups in July and August. It is a comprehensive, annual report that gauges Wisconsin manufacturing executives’ perceptions of the state of their business, their outlook on manufacturing and identifies and explores key issues impacting their business and employees.
The study was commissioned by the Wisconsin Center for Manufacturing and Productivity (WCMP) in collaboration with WMEP Manufacturing Solutions (WMEP) and the University of Wisconsin-Stout Manufacturing Outreach Center (MOC).
“We hope manufacturers themselves will use this data to see where their peers are headed,” Brinkman said. “We will use it internally to strengthen our offerings around the most critical needs. For example, we have a major productivity initiative going right now with the state of Wisconsin that has to continue because there just aren’t enough people. It’s not about training workers anymore; it’s about finding people, period.”
Key takeaways from the report include:
- Only half of manufacturers think the Wisconsin business climate is headed in the right direction. Compared with five years ago, 76% say the business climate in Wisconsin has gotten worse or stayed about the same.
- COVID-19 is still impacting the industry. Many manufacturers haven’t fully returned to their pre-pandemic levels. Only 18% of manufacturers report a complete recovery, 39% say they are mostly recovered and 27% are recovered by less than half.
- Large companies are having more workforce challenges than smaller companies. Larger manufacturers are pursuing multiple strategies for attracting and retaining workers including increasing wages and salaries, raising prices, and offering employee training and more competitive benefits.
- Companies are using automation to address workforce issues. Overall, 61% of those surveyed said automation will be important to the future of their companies. Forty-six percent of companies, particularly larger manufacturers, are addressing workforce challenges through automation and implementing new technologies.
“We hope that policymakers look at this data because you can see some of the larger issues and where the community and state has a vested interest in addressing some of these broader issues that individual manufacturers can’t address at all,” Brinkman said. “Automation for small companies becomes a much riskier endeavor than it does for larger ones. It’s important we are taking some of the financial risk out of that, but also the operational risk.”
Upcoming public readouts:
- Wednesday, Oct. 5, 3:30 p.m. at Titletown Tech – The Monumental Staircase Meeting Room, 1025 Lombardi Ave., Green Bay. Register to attend here.
- Thursday, October 6th, 8:00 am at UW-Stout Applied Arts, 415 13th Ave E, Menomonie.
