2017 is almost gone and we welcome 2018! 2017 turned out to be a filled with bigger surprises than expected. With the election of President Donald J. Trump, we all knew it would change our lives, economy and the way the world operated on a daily basis but I don’t think many expected how much change really did happen. Our foundry and machining industry certainly saw an increase in volume and customer activity. There is great momentum going into 2018 with expectations high on the economy and business in general. The one factor I don’t think many consider is how it will be different from previous years. Technology is forcing business operations and manufacturing to be different in the future with further integration of automation, artificial intelligence, 3D printing, additive manufacturing, social media, communications and the next generation of work force. Sitting back and thinking that doing business in 2018 will be the same as previous years will not be comfortable for many. I can only speak for Bremen Castings, Inc (BCI) in how we MUST change as a company to adapt to the new world (and be certain that this “new” will soon be “old” as the world will continue to be changing faster and faster).
BCI is announcing the theme for 2018 as “Redefine”. Our team will be “Redefining” our people, mission, goals, core values, policies, procedures and anything that will continue to make BCI a successful manufacturing supplier to the world market. We have to admit that in 2017 we pretty much stayed stagnant but that is about to change. We all see what happens when companies and people stay status quo-it sucks. No one should expect the same day in and day out. Daily improvements must become a part of the business plan with full participation and expectations need to be high internally and externally. I can’t express enough that when all of this comes together how rewarding work, life and family will become. As a start, I challenge everyone to make one daily improvement and share it with others in 2018 by recording it. Let’s Redefine 2018 and remember #StatusQuoSucks!