I was visiting my son a few years ago in Los Angeles, California,
and was enjoying the limited time I get to spend with him. On this particular
day he had some things to do, so I contented myself with visiting a small book store
not far from his apartment.
As someone who has worked in manufacturing most of his
career, I was naturally attracted to a section that featured books on this
subject. To my dismay, the books I browsed contained page after page of once thriving
factory buildings lying in various states of ruin.
 |
| Robert Slass on the site of Rotor Clip's first building
in 1972. Bob founded the company in 1957 and it is
still a successful U.S. manufacturer supplying
retaining rings and wave springs to a global market.
|
I had seen similar books back home particularly those on the
steel industry and the theme seemed to be the same: manufacturing in the US is dead
and all we can do is mark its demise with grotesque photos of rusted steel and
collapsed walls.
That was the last straw.
When I returned home, I vowed to write a book that portrayed
Rotor Clip as a U.S. manufacturing company that spanned the very era of demise
depicted in these books, yet was not only still standing, but thriving. I wanted
it to be a tribute to our founder, Robert Slass, and, to a greater extent, to
the very qualities of innovation and entrepreneurship that he exemplified as part
of our country’s manufacturing culture.
I was determined not to make this a public relations piece
that was more glitz than substance. Many company histories are well-meaning,
but they tell a very parochial story that only those close to the company would
really care to hear.
Finally, I wanted to call attention to careers that a young
person could pursue in manufacturing that involve the same technology and
innovation we equate with hi-tech companies. Jobs in manufacturing today are not
the boring, monotonous ones that our grandfathers performed. Rather, they are career
paths, requiring higher level skills as well as manual dexterity that can be
very satisfying and rewarding.
I have been fortunate to work with a group of dedicated
folks here at Rotor Clip who are assisting me in this project. With their help
we hope to have the book available in e-book form by the summer. If you’d like
to receive automatic excerpts over the next few months, click here and e-mail me your request. I'll add you to my mailing list for updates.
One of the books I skimmed while at that LA bookstore was a photo
collection depicting the ruins of Detroit. It noted how many developed parts of
the city were being overtaken by trees, grass and flowers.
“Its emptiness is an
invitation to wander and reflect upon the new and radical solutions for the
Detroit of the future,” noted the author, Andrew Moore. Perhaps this passage is
exhorting us to look at the decay of Detroit as a kind of creative destruction.
The old must make way for the new. Or, as the motto after the Detroit fire of
1805 put it more aptly,” We hope for better things; it (Detroit) will arise from
the ashes.”1
In case you haven’t noticed U.S. manufacturing has begun its rise
from the ashes. It won’t be meteoric, but it will be reminiscent of the ambition
and drive of entrepreneurs like Bob Slass who through their collective vision made
U.S. manufacturing the envy of the world.
It’s time we see American manufacturing in a new light, not one
obscured by the images of past decay.
Joe Cappello is Director
of Global Marketing for Rotor Clip Company. If you would like to receive
excerpts from his upcoming book on Rotor Clip and American manufacturing, clickhere
1DetroitDisassembled, Philip Levine, Andrew Moore, Akron Art Museum and Damiani
Editore, Copyright 2010, Page 119
