Why we should be thankful this holiday season.

CHARLOTTE, NC – In rough economic times it is sometimes hard to find things for which to be thankful and those things to look forward to accomplishing. At Short Run Pro, we feel the crush of an economic downturn just like most other companies in the U.S.

However, we also refuse to overlook the things that put the smile on our faces. This year we had the wonderful opportunity to work with thousands of customers across this great country. Our solutions for custom metal manufacturing helped homeowners and small and large businesses. It is humbling and gratifying at the same time to consider this.

This year we saw many of our manufacturing partners grow while their industry floundered. We have established new production facilities and increased production right here in the USA! Many jobs were kept because of our efforts and for that we can only say – “ thank God!”

We also had the opportunity to grow as a company. The growth extends over the full extent of our company, but the most significant growth is the new faces that we see. New individuals have entered our business and our lives. They bring with them valuable talents that help Short Run Pro help our customers. We are thankful for each one!

All of us here at Short Run Pro, wish you and yours a happy and prosperous New Year. And looking at the last 12 months we can say Bring on 2011, Baby! We hope we will have the opportunity to serve your metal parts needs in the upcoming year. Know that we will continue to push hard to bring more work to the production floors of the United States and to bring to our customer the highest quality products available in the world! ~ www.shortrunpro.com

Custom is the New Fulfillment

OCTOBER 27, 2010 – CHARLOTTE, NC – The Internet is a marvelous thing. Having the ability to communicate immediately within a medium that allows for such an abundance of knowledge and information is really changing the way we live. One of the changes most often missed, but oh so affecting brought on by the information age is the impact on manufacturing.

We are quickly going from the age of mass production to a time of individualized production that meets the customer’s specific needs. No longer is it necessary to purchase 10,000 pieces of a standard part that will be useful to everybody and their uncle. Sure the product for everybody is still the proverbial pot of gold at the end of rainbow. But now the discerning consumer is no longer looking for something lined up by the thousands on the store shelf. They want the one of a kind - their own custom product.

And the fantastic thing about it is that because of the Internet the discerning customer is finding fulfillment in their quest. With the plethora of custom production resources like Shortrunpro.com, Spoonflower.com, Ustandard.com and others dealing with all major product categories, the online buyer has a custom selection that is almost endless.

We recently serviced a customer who purchased some plastic file holders that used magnetic strips to attach to metal surfaces. These file holders was purchased from the catalog of a nationwide office supply store. The holders were an imported product that was likely warehoused by the hundreds by the supply store. Unfortunately, after one night the adhesives used to attach the magnetic strip to the plastic container broke bond and the container fell to the floor. The issue results from poor engineering and a weak product made in mass.

Disappointed and frustrated since the plastic tabs broke off on the container making it useless, the customer began searching for a better mousetrap. What they found was more than a mousetrap. They realized after using Short Run Pro’s custom part design application that they could design the exact part that they needed and we could even place their logo on it in laser etching.

It really does not cost that much more to find fulfillment in buying opportunities. Our example customer paid just over 50% more for their custom products than they did for the cheap plastic file holders. But along with the 50% more they received a solid metal holder, self designed, personalized and made entirely in the USA. They learned something too - you get what you pay for and sometimes you don’t have to pay that much more to get exactly what you want, even with a little personalization! The Internet is a marvelous thing indeed.

Production is Coming Back to the USA

The primary reasons companies have their products manufactured in the USA has always been the higher quality products turned out of factories in the USA and a desire to support the manufacturing base with the United States. The corresponding reasons to order from companies not based in the U.S. is to obtain less expensive parts, thus making one's products more competitive within the market. It is a known factor in importing and a generally accepted principal that lower quality is to be expected in countries where factories depend upon their large populations for cheap labor and therefore produce lower cost parts.

While these opposing purchasing philosophies are still applicable, the manufacturing base in the United States is now realizing other reasons for recapturing production jobs within our production facilities. In recent months, Short Run Pro has seen a greater number of urgent requirements from OEM's and medium sized businesses that had previously sent their production jobs overseas. The explained cause of this shift back to U.S. manufacturing is based upon the following factors:

1. Inadequate Resources
Due to the lack of raw materials and operation supplies within developing foreign economies, production companies in these countries are experiencing significant shortages and higher costs related to these raw materials. This is having an impact on production time frames and in extreme cases is determining whether a company remains in business.

2. Inadequate Labor
The work force within some countries is being greatly affected as the standard of living increases within the respective countries. As workers traditionally exposed to poor and often dangerous working conditions, low wages and few benefits are being exposed to advances that come with booming economies and strong demand for experienced workers their expectations naturally rise. The workers begin to demand benefit and will frequently strike or all together quite. This causes a need to find and train a new workers, which in turn affects production lead times and the quality of the parts being produced. Each time a worker quits a new one needs trained. An unreliable work force makes for an unreliable supplier.

3. Escalating Shipping Cost
Shipping costs have see massive increases over the last 3 years. It seems that as the economy within the USA was hurting its worst, shipping of products from overseas was seeing its most significant increases. Cost of fuel, governmental influences and the decrease in "back hauling" has had great impact on shipping companies. The cost to ship from foreign countries is becoming a large percentage of the entire cost to buy the item. Now customers are finding it easier and more affordable to buy a higher quality, though slightly higher cost, product from a USA-based company, than to buy a cheap inferior product overseas and pay the extensive shipping costs.

All together, these factors make a possible buyer turn from the less expensive production of parts in overseas factories. These buyers, both inside and outside the United States, are finding an excellent alternative waiting for them. An alternative that has been here all along but has been overlooked due to desired lower costs and higher profits. The manufacturing base in the USA is waiting to produce the highest quality products available in the world just for you.

If you want to get pricing from a US based manufacturer contact Short Run Pro at 704-825-1599 or visit our website at http://www.shortrunpro.com.

Independence is Work

The word independence brings up visions of the stars and stripes waving majestically in the wind, of brave men and women risking their lives on foreign soil to preserve freedom for others and visionary leaders standing against powerful rulers in pursuit of happiness that only comes when one is free and a nation independent.

There are other illustrations of independence that do not come to mind as readily but still reflect the sense and the virtue of the word independence. In light of these other illustrations I would like to both thank and celebrate the American worker.

The workforce of the United States has been responsible for some of the most extraordinary accomplishments in man’s history. The imagination and diligent application of independence active in American workers has contributed to the betterment of life for populations all over the world. Consider the revolutionizing of mass production assembly lines that put out the Ford Model T at a price affordable for the “workingman”. Think about the awe inspiring increase in production during war time 1940’s when the USA increased Gross Domestic Product each year and produced more than all axis countries combined. Our great workforce has shown again and again the ability to both hunker down and rise to the occasion.

We have not stopped being independent and we will not stop working. Some may think that the workforce of the U.S. has taken the back seat to workers in other countries. The evidence contradicts this thinking. As continued advancements are made in all areas affecting the way people live, the independent spirit of the American worker continues to lead the way. We introduced the world to duct tape, made the air conditioner safe, affordable and portable, with NASA we accomplished the Space Shuttle system and continued to the successful development of the Mars Rover. The American workforce has been the power behind countless advancement and we will likely be in the lead of bringing the next great breakthroughs realized by man.
In my line of work I often have the opportunity to walk fabrication and metal machining production floors where I truly see the greatness of our country and the independence it nurtures displayed. It can be seen in the faces of the welders with blackened shirts that carry the residue of their trade. It is captured in the hands of the machinists who thoroughly inspect the finished part for imperfection before sending it down the production line. The actions of managers with rolled up sleeves getting in elbow deep on a project to assist in its completion show the character of every virtuous moment in our nation’s history.

There are countless other illustrations in the American workforce that shine with brilliant light on a grateful people that love the land in which they live. While celebrating our independence on the upcoming 4th of July, the 236th celebrated in this great nation of the United States of America, let’s remember to think of the American worker along with all the other heroic figures brought to memory. The building and sustaining of our great nation and its freedom is written indelibly in the words “Made in the USA”.