10-16-96 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

• Minneapolis since 1990.Tow- tinued progress in high tech- ers says,citing as evidence that nology,variable national eco- "the use of our funding pro- nomic cycles,and increasing grams is on the increase."Al- globalization. In the early though that's the best evidence 1990s,the storm clouds that that he currently has,the city threatened manufacturing in of Minneapolis this year sur- Minnesota included declining veyed 680 businesses in depth employment in some high- on 72 questions on topics from wage,high-value-added indus- employee recruiting to city set- tries,antiquated equipment at vices.The businesses—primar- some companies,and the drift ily medical products,printing outside the state of manufac- and publishing,computer soft- turing operations of some Min- ware and hardware,and ma- nesota-based companies like chining and metalworking— Valspar,as Frederick Zimmer- were chosen on the basis of man,professor of manufactur- their strength and potential for ing systems engineering at the future growth."The survey University of St. Thomas, will help us identify ways to pointed out in the April 1994 nurture companies,'Towers issue of Twin Cities Business says.The biggest surprise from Monthly.In 1996,manufactur- the survey's preliminary re- ers still face problems in Min- sults,he says,has been the nesota,Zimmerman says.AI- large number of firms that said though there are still topnotch business was going well. plants,like Sheldal in North- And"I don't see[manufac- field and Hutchinson Technol- turingl going backwards," ogy,he says that in the core Towers says."It's steady and cities,"there are a lot of plants improving."In August,prelim- where we need the jobs most inary results from the survey that have not been kept up to showed that more than 50 per- date so they can compete inter- cent of the companies sur- nationally.... It's the kind of vcyed plan to add jobs;howev- problem that shows up in a ve- er.42 businesses are consider- cession.Nobody closes a plant • ing relocating part or all of during a boom time." their operations because of the Zimmerman is less con- lack of available employees. cerned about an increase in manufacturing jobs than the Preparing for tomorrow quality of those jobs and In May.the Minnesota De- would prefer to see growth in partment of Finance released high-value-added industries. employment projections show- He notes that"manufacturing ing an expected 13 percent includes the production of growth in new jobs in Min- junk mail—that's growing."As nesota by 2001. Although Minnesota slips in high-value- more than half of those jobs added manufacturing,he says, will be in the service industry, the results will be a less-pros- the report predicted that man- perous manufacturing sector ufacturing growth statewide and,ultimately,a less prosper- will continue to"significantly ous society. outpace the national average." Greater scrutiny of the fi- Nevertheless,change will be nancial industry should be car- part of Minnesota's manufac- ried out,Zimmerman says, turing future,because of con- with an eye to how it promotes TWIN CITIES BUSINESS MONTHLY OCTOBER 1996 45 •