/usr/web/www.marshallindependent.com/wp-content/themes/coreV2/single.php
×

MN manufacturers optimistic for the future

Survey says state manufacturing businesses are predicting growth, though labor challenges remain

Photo by Deb Gau Marshall Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Cal Brink and Chandler Industries HR Manager Jacque Peters, discussed issues facing manufacturing businesses in southwest Minnesota.

MARSHALL — Manufacturers across Minnesota are feeling good — very good — about their business prospects, a recently released survey said.

More than 90 percent of the participants in Enterprise Minnesota’s annual State of Manufacturing survey said they felt confident in their businesses’ future, with more than half saying they felt “very confident.” But in spite of the optimism, there are still some challenges facing Greater Minnesota, including a lack of qualified workers.

The results of the 2017 State of Manufacturing survey were presented Monday at Southwest Minnesota State University. Enterprise Minnesota CEO Bob Kill went over some of the survey’s key findings, and a panel of southwest Minnesota businesspeople and educators added to the discussion.

This year’s State of Manufacturing survey is the ninth conducted, Kill said. A total of 400 manufacturing executives participated in the survey, and the Southwest Initiative Foundation also helped organize focus groups of Minnesota manufacturing executives, college students, and high school students. Kill said the survey itself was conducted by Meeting Street Research. Using public opinion research was a way to keep results of the survey open to the public, he said.

The results of the survey showed manufacturers in Minnesota are showing a lot of optimism, Kill said. In March, 94 percent of survey participants said they were feeling confident in their companies’ financial futures. For the first time, a majority of manufacturing executives — 57 percent — said they were “very confident” about the future.

Executives were also optimistic about economic growth, with 58 percent saying they anticipated economic expansion in 2017, and 55 percent saying they were expecting gross revenue increases.

Some of that confidence could be coming from President Donald Trump’s promise to reduce regulations on businesses, Kill said.

“Our pollster clearly said it was the Trump effect,” he said. However, it remains to be seen exactly how business regulations and the economy will be affected by the new administration.

Although manufacturing executives’ outlook for this year is sunny, there are still some areas of concern, Kill said. Survey participants indicated that health care costs, government regulation and attracting and retaining qualified workers were among their top concerns.

“For the ninth consecutive year, health care comes up on top,” with 59 percent of executives ranking it as a high concern, Kill said.

Discussion panelists agreed that health care and insurance costs were a concern for area businesses.

“It is a major concern for every industry,” said Jeff Breitzman, president and CEO of Bedford Technology in Worthington. As a response, Breitzman and Jacque Peters of Chandler Industries in Montevideo said their companies have started taking proactive approaches to encouraging healthy lifestyles.

“It’s a cultural thing. You have to stay on top of it,” Breitzman said.

While health care was a commonly-cited concern, Kill said the importance of employment concerns, like attracting workers and training current and future business leaders, shouldn’t be overlooked.

The concern of finding qualified workers ranked higher among executives for bigger and higher-revenue manufacturing companies, the survey said. It was also a major challenge in southwest Minnesota — 57 percent of executives from the region said it was one of the biggest challenges for their businesses. Survey participants said a lack of applicants with needed skills, or a lack of job applicants, were among their biggest challenges in attracting qualified workers.

Machine operators were among the positions most in demand for manufacturers, survey participants said.

Panelists at Monday’s presentation discussed some of the concerns brought up in the survey, as well as area businesses’ efforts to overcome them. Issues like finding housing and child care, and selling southwest Minnesota as a location, are definitely a concern for southwest Minnesota, they said.

Making sure there are enough workers with needed education and skills is another priority, said Breitzman and Wayne Wormstadt, superintendent of the Windom School District. Wormstadt said the Windom district is forming relationships with area employers to help students build career paths, and to strengthen employee training.

Cal Brink, director of the Marshall Area Chamber of Commerce, said it was encouraging to see the confidence being shown by Minnesota manufacturers in the survey.

“Sometimes you have to think beyond what’s happening in the news,” Brink said. It can be easy to get overwhelmed by negative economic news, but it doesn’t necessarily mean a negative impact for greater Minnesota businesses.

The full results of the 2017 State of Manufacturing survey can be found online, at www.enterpriseminnesota.org.

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

Starting at $4.38/week.

Subscribe Today