DETROIT -- Changes in technology are spurring manufacturing to expand in the U.S., speakers said this week at a trade show.
“A lot of companies are investing more in the U.S.,” Raj Batra, president of Siemens Digital Industries USA, said in an address at Manufacturing in America 23, held at Ford Field in Detroit. “A lot of companies are investing in digital.”
Technology such as artificial intelligence, collaborative robots, 3D printing, and digital twins are making it possible to bring manufacturing back to the U.S. after a long period of “offshoring,” speakers said.
“COVID was the huge wakeup call,” said Tom Kelly, CEO of Automation Alley, Troy, Mich., which advocates for manufacturers to adopt advanced technology.
COVID-19 disrupted manufacturing supply chains. Companies had sent work outside of the U.S. as they sought to cut costs. COVID-19 made it more difficult to maintain such extended supply chains.
Batra of Siemens said the pandemic demonstrated the need to have more manufacturing closer to home.
“We’re changing from just in time to just in case,” Batra said.
Just in time refers to manufacturing delivery where components arrive at a plant only a short time before they are used. The idea was to reduce inventory costs.
Now, Batra said, U.S. companies want to shorten their supply chains. Digital technology can make that possible, he said.
“You can get ROI (return on investment) quickly with this digitalization approach,” he said.
The Reshoring Initiative estimates that reshoring and direct foreign investment in the U.S. accounted for 364,000 jobs in 2022, up from 238,000 jobs the year before.
At the same time, Automation Alley’s Kelly said, many job shops are slow to adopt such technology.
“We need to focus on innovation,” Kelly said. “The world is going to change very quickly on us.”
Manufacturing in America 23 was sponsored by Siemens and Electro-Matic. The event was held April 12-13. It included displays inside Ford Field as well as a series of presentations about specific technologies.
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