Manufacturing has been a big part of 2023 SME President Jim Schlusemann’s life. In fact, you could say it’s in his blood. Albeit somewhat reluctantly at first—he thought manufacturing was dirty and noisy, which it was years ago—Schlusemann began his career working as a machinist at the International Harvester Co. (Navistar International Corp.) manufacturing plant in Melrose Park, Illinois—the same facility where his father worked.
Attending night school, he earned several degrees—including a master’s in computer science—and subsequently held positions of process, industrial, and system engineer, ultimately rising to the job of chief information officer for Navistar’s Engine Group. He “retired” in January 2013 after a 40-year career with Navistar (just like his dad).
Schlusemann has long been an active leader with SME, serving several stints on the SME Member Council and Board of Directors. In addition to being 2023 president, Schlusemann is an international director on the SME Board of Directors and the board liaison to Chicagoland Chapter 5. He recently spoke with Manufacturing Engineering (ME) Senior Editor Steve Plumb about his life and career, goals as the 2003 SME president, and trends and challenges in manufacturing.
ME: What drew you into manufacturing and made you pursue it as a career?
Jim Schlusemann (JS): Initially, starting right out of high school, it was the money. I actually started working part-time when I was 13, and later worked nights and weekends cleaning offices for a janitorial firm. Then in my junior year of high school, I went into the Vocational Industrial Clubs of America co-op program, which today is called SkillsUSA. I went to school half a day and worked half a day, where I apprenticed under a mechanic at a bowling alley repairing pin-setting machines.
The summer I graduated high school, I toured the Melrose Park plant as part of an open house. But I didn’t really want to work there. Then, about six months later, I found out they paid janitors $4.80 an hour, which back then was good money. When I hired in, they asked if I wanted to work in the office or the shop. The factory was harder work and I’d get dirty, but they said I’d make more money in the plant and learn things I’d never learn anywhere else. So, that’s what I did.
ME: What type of work was it?
JS: I started in the bulldozer factory, doing repairs and machining on rear main frames, something probably as big as the desk I’m sitting at. From there, I went into conventional machining, running drills, mills, lathes, making these big parts, and eventually learned and started running NC and CNC machines. After about six months, I signed up for a tuition reimbursement program and began night school when I was 18, studying manufacturing technology at a community college.
ME: Were you always curious about how things worked?
JS: Oh, absolutely. That goes back to working on the pin-setting machines. I’d study them and watch how they worked, learned how to fix them when they broke, and enjoyed every minute of it. Once I got to IH, I was intrigued in how all the parts fit together and worked as a system. After learning how to make or machine a part, on my breaks I’d go to the assembly line to find my part and see where it went on the bulldozer and what it did. I wanted to know more about what this is, how it’s made, and how it’s used in the end product. That’s what sparked my interest and when I started studying manufacturing technology.
ME: You were CIO for 16 years. What kept it interesting?
JS: It was challenging, exciting, diverse—always something new—and very rewarding. I’m not a technology expert, but I am good at finding people who are very knowledgeable and skilled at implementing and improving technology. My job was to give them the tools they needed to be successful, then get out of their way. I’d help them overcome barriers, but otherwise it was “There’s the hill, go climb it; I’m not going to tell you how to your job.” That type of transparency works. I still meet with many members of my old IT team three to four times a year to socialize and talk about the old days.
ME: What did your dad think about all your success?
JS: He was honored and very proud to say the least, which made me feel good. One of my drivers is the fact that my father was able to work at the same plant for 40 years, support a family, make a good living, and earn a nice pension. Thankfully, I was able to do the same thing.
ME: What are some of the biggest trends that you see affecting the manufacturing industry?
JS: One would be reshoring. As companies evaluate their overall businesses, they’re learning that while it may be more expensive to make some things here, when you look at the total lifecycle of a product, including inventory, shipping costs, and effects of quality defects that happen offshore—that you may not see for six months—they realize it’s not just the costs per piece, and onshoring makes sense when you factor everything in.
Another trend, which I’m happy to be engaged with SME in, is the area of workforce development. We had been going backward for about 50 years in this country. When I first worked in the shop, skilled workers were doing measurements, layouts, and quality control. However, the older guys were concerned because there were no longer any apprenticeships or training for younger people to learn these skills.
Now the needle is starting to move; people realize that training and workforce development are important for this era of manufacturing. I believe in this country. We’re good at discovering technologies, inventing new ones, and great at finding ways to apply them to improve productivity and efficiency.
ME: Having come up through IT, what do you think about the rapid advances in digital technologies?
JS: It’s rapid, but not as fast as I’d like. It takes a while to find ways to recognize value and put tech in place, then have the talent to execute and implement them. When I was leading the team, I learned you can’t just flip a switch and put a new process in place. First you need to support it with studies, documentation, and design. Sometimes it took three years, and when people didn’t see immediate progress they’d question if we were wasting time and money. Or they didn’t understand why we were implementing computers and data acquisition systems on the factory floor. So, we had to explain to the foreman and general foreman, well, when a machine goes down, would you rather be aimlessly wandering around the shop trying to find the problem or would you like a computer to tell you immediately where to go and what tools to bring to fix it?
I liked to walk the floor and ask people what their computers did. At first, they didn’t know. But as time went on, it was rewarding to have operators on the floor go through their screens and show me how they used computers and data to do their job better. That didn’t happen overnight. And it will be the same type of transition with new technologies, in some cases taking years before we start to really see an impact.
ME: When did you hear about SME and become involved in the organization?
JS: In the late ’80s, I was at a phase of my career where I was a hands-on practitioner, always researching ways to do things better and looking at these new technologies. SME provided me what I needed. At the time, there wasn’t a lot of face-to-face meetings, work groups talked over the phone once a month, exchanging ideas and helping each other. That was a real benefit.
When I started moving up into supervisory roles, there were leadership elements and mentoring you could experience through SME—it was great from that standpoint. SME was one-stop shopping that helped me throughout my career.
ME: How can SME, and you as the new president, help facilitate change?
JS: One of the biggest strengths is SME’s breadth of capabilities, expertise, and touch points throughout the organization: Events, Membership, Media, Tooling U-SME and the Education Foundation. Everything we do is to maximize member benefits, enhance training, grow our scholarship programs, bring the manufacturing community together, and be a thought leader in the industry.
It’s heartwarming to be involved in an organization that’s working so hard to deliver successes. As an alumnus of SkillsUSA, I’m also very excited that we’re starting to reach younger people and get them interested in manufacturing. It’s not the factory I saw coming out of high school, dirty and smoky. Manufacturing is full of interesting and innovative technology.
ME: You’ve remained very active since retiring from Navistar. What are your plans for the future?
JS: While retired from paid professional work, I am busier than ever. The big difference is that I get up every morning and do what I want to do. In addition to my role with SME, I’m a certified business mentor with a national organization called SCORE. We help small businesses start up or become more profitable. It’s very rewarding, listening to people and helping them develop their own path and vision. I also volunteer with Menttium Corp. out of Minneapolis, mentoring senior executives.
I’m really looking forward to this year with SME. To be nominated and selected as president, an officer, and a member of the Board of Directors of this caliber is a huge achievement in my life. And I feel a very strong obligation to make a difference and continue to enhance our capabilities to support and advance manufacturing.
The future is very exciting.
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