This belief is not true, according to applications engineers at Makino, aglobal provider of advanced machining technology. They say the automation ofmanufacturing processes, including the robotic and conveyor integration ofmanufacturing work cells, can actually drive the parts production or die andmold manufacturing costs down while maintaining or enhancing quality. Makinohas documented such manufacturing examples through customer contacts andinterviews.

Investing in such technologically advanced processes has become soproductive that the low per-unit-part cost makes domestically manufacturedgoods competitive with the production of goods with foreign labor wages. Also,the local customer service and the shorter lead time aspects of U.S. and NorthAmerican manufacturing aides in this competitive formula, making the companymore valuable to its customers.

Making these technological upgrades will also save U.S. and North Americanjobs. Many manufacturers initially feared that by investing in automationtechnology, jobs would only be lost to the machinery as opposed to foreigncompetitors.

However, as a number of manufacturing case studies prove, such atechnological investment actually helps save and maintain jobs. Hiring alsocontinues to grow at a significant annual rate to keep up with increasing workvolume.

In one case study, the cycle times and lead times for many productionprocesses improved dramatically. Some high-volume production parts that werepreviously manufactured at a rate of two per hour are now being manufactured ata rate of 126 per hour. And, some processes that used to take 12 weeks can nowbe completed in six.