Hi 87 / Lo 58
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Volume 72, Issue 59,
Friday, November 10, 2006
News Firm helping to rebuild coast TMACGC gets grant to aid businesses hurt by hurricanes in working with reduced labor force by SYRIA BOYD
The National Institute of Standards and Technology awarded the Texas Manufacturing Assistance Center Gulf Coast an $800,000 grant this fall to assist manufacturing firms still affected by Hurricanes Rita and Katrina more than a year after the devastation. TMACGC is housed in and affiliated with the UH College of Technology. David Walker, the center's director, said a major misconception is that businesses have sustained mostly physical or capital damages because of the storms. "The biggest problem is the workforce shortage . . . We help companies produce at a higher level with a smaller workforce," he said. Bill Reid, president of Ohmstede, a manufacturing firm that is more than 100 years old, described the labor shortage in the area of eastern Texas and western Louisiana -- also known as the Golden Triangle -- as a matter of economics. "It's money, pure and simple. We have kids dropping out of college to become welders at $100,000 a year versus making $40,000 per year as college graduates," Reid said Given the scope of the reconstruction of the areas devastated by the hurricanes, Reid and other business managers anticipate steep labor shortages and high labor costs in the future. TMACGC, on the other hand, helps manufacturers create "lean strategies" to make their workforces more efficient and improve plant layout and design. Reid chose TMACGC to assist with streamlining businesses processes over other competitors in the field because of the value of the services. So far, Reid said Ohmstede has seen immediate results during the early stages of implementation. For more information about TMACGC, contact Walker at (832) 842-7043 or dawalker@uh.edu. Send comments to dcnews@mail.uh.edu |
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