Category Archives: B&A Newsletter

B&A Newsletter, Manufacturing News 2016

Manufacturing and China: Volume 5

Offshoring/Onshoring and the South China Sea The history of Offshoring/Onshoring of jobs from/to America over the past two decades is now taking a turn toward a larger global perspective in which the On/Offshoring economic issue has now become but a piece of the history. The increasingly volatile political climate of China has seen a rise in Reshoring efforts by manufacturing companies who seek to  return production to the United States and more stable environments. Since the 1970’s and 1980’s China has been involved in confrontation with other nations in the area such as Vietnam over rights to fishing and exploration. That dispute between China and the other Asian nations (more…)
B&A Newsletter

Wine, Lubricants and the 5 S’s

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Wine, Lubricants and the 5S’s Ever wondered how wine and lubricants go together? Actually, they don’t, but lubricants help assure E.J. Gallo wines come out tasting great every time. In 2012 E.J. Gallo wineries committed the resources needed to move its current asset management and maintenance program to a world class Asset Management and maintenance reliability program in order to improve their ROI. How does a 705% ROI sound? Gallo’s three main goals were: 1. Improve overall equipment efficiency 2. Reduce costs 3. Improve overall plant profitability. As part of their preliminary data collection process Gallo utilized it’s 5S system – Sort/Straighten/Shine/Systematize/Sustain. The 5S’s are a valuable tool for (more…)
B&A Newsletter

Manufacturing and China Volume 3

Click Here To Subscribe Newsletter China & Reshoring Volume 3 In Volume 1 and Volume 2 of: ‘China’s Global Position: Offshoring and Reshoring for American Manufacturers’, we’ve indicated that offshoring trends in China have leveled off as more companies calculate “Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)” for their outsourced large scale facilities and production.  Manufacturing executives are no longer as confident that outsourcing their operations to China are in their best interest. Volume 3 of this series focusses on factors surrounding growing disenchantment with China and examines the reasons American manufacturing jobs are gaining slow traction. In a survey conducted annually by the American Chamber of Commerce in China, 25% (more…)
B&A Newsletter

Manufacturing and China Volume 2

Exclusive Newsletter B&A January 2016 China’s Devaluation of the Yuan – Part II In our last newsletter, we looked at China’s devaluation of the yuan and the ramifications of that action on manufacturers at home and abroad. The devaluation is a strategic economic move by China which de-incentivizes trade with the rest of the world by making imports to China more expensive and exports out of China more competitive. In continuation of that topic … Energy expenses are also driving the total cost of ownership higher in China: this comparison of energy costs will inevitably intensify the ongoing struggle of communist bureaucracy that has held the price of natural gas (more…)