Sonic Packaging and MFG Day and Month

Sonic Packaging and MFG Day and Month

Mon Oct 14, 2013

It is that time of year again, time for Manufacturing Month! On October 4, businesses and communities across the U.S. came together to celebrate everything that is great about American manufacturing. Manufacturing Day (or MFG Day as it is known) is only in its second year, but already it has become an important day on the calendar. Co-produced by a number of different organizations including FMA,  NAM, and MEP, MFG Day , which kicks off Manufacturing Month in many states, was created to show both the benefits of and to reverse any misperceptions about manufacturing in America. Manufacturers celebrate the day and the month by opening their doors to their surrounding communities, allowing people, especially high school and college-age students, to get a hands-on look at what manufacturing is and for that matter isn't.

So why is MFG Day so important? It is no secret outsourcing took a great deal of American manufacturing overseas in the past 40 years. For some time now, we've been told repeatedly that manufacturing anything in America is simply cost-prohibitive.  At Sonic Packaging, our goal for MFG Day is to prove this just isn't the case. Thanks to easier access to high-tech equipment and practices, manufacturing in America is not only more affordable but also beneficial in other critical ways.

One of Sonic Packaging's U.S. based clients recently designed their new product line here in the USA, yet decided to outsource the manufacturing of the parts to an Asian manufacturer. The project quickly took a turn to for the worse when they started to experience lead-time issues and quality inconsistencies from run to run. They had to quickly re-group, and decided to simplify their supply chain and bring the manufacturing back to America. This process allowed them to redesign their products with manufacturing efficiency in mind, and in the end, was able to reduce their labor costs by 50%. Combined with greater supply chain control quality and the flexibility of local production, our client made the discovery that more manufacturers are making every day; outsourcing actually outside of the USA leaves a lot to be desired!

If you want to learn more about this year's MFG Day and Month and how you can participate in next years' festivities, please visit their website or contact Sonic Packaging directly. In addition, make sure to check back in because, in our next blog, we will continue this important conversation by taking a detailed look at why "Made in the USA" means so much to the future of America.