On February 27th, President of Bi-Link, Ray Ziganto, was given the opportunity to participate on the Manufacturing for Growth panel during the 2015 Crain's Manufacturing Summit along with three other manufacturing leaders.
During the panel discussion, moderator Dr. David Boulay, President of Illinois Manufacturing Excellence Center, asked the panelists, "What keeps you up at night?" Ziganto responded, "I'm always worried about whether we're innovating fast enough."
Ziganto brought a unique perspective to common topics in the manufacturing industry. Here are 3 of the top takeaways from The Crain's Manufacturing Summit.
How to stay on the "leading-edge".
Ziganto discussed Bi-Link's approach on how to stay on the leading-edge and their willingness to adapt. When the panel began, moderator Dr. David Boulay asked the panelists to rate their level of confidence in the future of the US manufacturing sector on a scale of 1 to 10.
"I give it a qualified 10," said Ziganto, "The opportunities for manufacturing in the US are the greatest I've ever seen, provided your organization can adapt to the new environment."
Success in manufacturing has a lot to do with persistence and agility. For Bi-Link, change is not a seismic shift that happens once every ten years, but a constant shift that aligns with their business. Companies that wait until assets depreciate, both literally and figuratively, will find themselves struggling to get back in the game.
"It's about your ability to adapt to your operating environment," Ziganto said. "Change is hard."
Shaping the future by rethinking education.
Another big topic of the morning was education and how well Chicago is educating the future minds of manufacturing. There was a mutual agreement between the panelists that getting kids involved has a lot to do with persuading parents and exposing kids to manufacturing at a young age.
Bi-Link has already taken powerful action. A few years back, they started hiring high school and college interns, providing them with hands-on experience. During the discussion, Ziganto highlighted the results:
"It was an interesting experience for us. What they brought was a better understanding and a stronger comfort for technology." He went on to state that bringing the interns and veterans together engendered a progression of curiosity.
"Stop thinking about 'apprentices,' where you take raw talent and have to teach them everything. Start thinking about interns, where both parties bring something to the table from day one."
All Big innovations start with small steps.
During a discussion on finances, a couple panelists stated that bankers are not always there when you need them. So when it comes to making financial decisions, it's about being mindful of every decision, but not being afraid to think differently. After all, you can't be innovative if you can't trust your intuition.
Ziganto doesn't let financial risks hold Bi-Link back from investing in innovation. He declared, "Place small bets, you don't need to bet the farm on new tech. Just like startups – if you don't have much cash, then you've got to use your brain. The manufacturers in the room all come from a long-line of 'tinkerers'. Give your people the opportunity to experience and try new things."