business backgrounder | industry
Timmons was impressed by what
he saw at Spokane Valley Tech.
“Every time I see young people
like the hardworking students at
this great school, I wonder: Who
will be next?” Timmons said. “Who
will take a risk? Who will make
a sacrifice? Who will become a
manufacturer with a dream of giving
their children and grandchildren
opportunities — just like my
grandfather did for my family?”
manufacturing fuels the
american dream
Kevin Person, CEO of Wagstaff, Inc., (center right) talks with, from right, National
Association of Manufacturers’ President and CEO Jay Timmons, AWB President Kris
One of the stops on the 2015 State of
Johnson and Greater Spokane, Inc., President Steve Stevens during February’s State
Manufacturing tour was Chillicothe,
of Manufacturing tour of the Wagstaff manufacturing facility in Spokane.
Ohio, Timmons’ home town.
During his address in Spokane,
Timmons described how one manufacturing job changed his family.
During the Great Depression, his
grandfather Harry Timmons left
the family farm and stood in line
— Jay Timmons, president and CEO, National Association of Manufacturers
for six months at what was then
the Mead paper manufacturing
plant in Chillicothe, Timmons said. Harry Timmons went back every day — 35 miles each way — until he got the
job where he would work for the next 40 years.
That job allowed his grandparents to purchase their first home after saving for 20 years. “That manufacturing
job would move my family into the middle class,” he said. “It’s a story that is as old as the entrepreneurial spirit
that is infused in our nation’s DNA. But it is also a story that is based on the principles that are as fundamental
today as they were 80 years ago. Manufacturing still changes lives for the better.”
“When we were tripped up by the Great Recession
and many wondered whether manufacturing in
America was past its prime, we not only proved the
doubters wrong, but have roared back even stronger.”
leading the way
In Washington state, innovation is leading to a new kind of manufacturing. The old shopfloor is making way
for high-tech manufacturers, including carbon fiber and composites companies. Employers need state leaders
to focus on generating the next-generation workforce to fill
positions, Timmons said.
And they need officials who recognize the impact that
National Association of Manufacturers:
regulations play on the sector.
www.nam.org/StateofMFG
Too often, state and national leaders forget that before
Video, NAM President visits Washington:
items can be placed on a store shelf, they must be built —
bit.ly/AWBmfg2015
manufactured — and that manufacturing is a key job creator.
Timmons envisions a future where lawmakers work together
across party lines to fundamentally change the regulatory
washington manufacturers
process, to streamline and simplify regulation.
Manufacturers are already doing their part, he said. “We’re
• Produce an annual output of $45.6 billion (2012)
making our products and the places where they’re made more
• Export $67.3 billion in goods annually (2013)
energy efficient. We’re leading the way on recycling and reducing
• Offer an average annual compensation of $82,902
• Employ 286,300 Washingtonians (2013)
waste. And we’ll continue developing sustainable solutions that
power our economy and create jobs in America.”
48 association of washington business