Dad Caps
Five Panel Hats
Mesh Back Hats
In Stock Blanks
Snapback Hats
Stretchfit Hats
Duffel Bags
Backpacks
Tote Bags
Computer Bags
Sling Messenger Bags
Cooler Bags
Cuff Hats
Beanies
Scarves
Zipper Folders
Stitched Folders
Accordion Folders
Ring Binders
Letter Folders
Clipboards
Union Made In USA
From Unionwear to RoboBurger: Manufacturing, Innovation & Success on Shark Tank
Join us for an insightful conversation with Mitch Cahn, founder of Unionwear, and Audley Wilson, CEO of RoboBurger, as we explore their entrepreneurial journeys, manufacturing success, and innovation. Mitch shares how he grew Unionwear into a leading U.S. manufacturer, supplying brands like Supreme and Budweiser while reshoring textile jobs. Audley discusses RoboBurger’s rise, automation in food tech, and its Shark Tank success. We dive into industry trends, challenges, and how the business ecosystem has supported their growth. Tune in for expert insights on U.S. manufacturing, automation, and entrepreneurship.
With major events like the USA’s 250th anniversary, the World Cup, and the Olympics on the horizon, the “Made in USA” trend is expected to gain momentum. Automation and AI-driven customization will play a critical role in shaping the future of domestic manufacturing.
How Unionwear and Mitch Cahn Win Big Regardless of the 2024 Election Outcome
Unionwear, a Newark-based manufacturer specializing in union-made, American-produced apparel and accessories, has found itself at the intersection of politics and business during the 2024 presidential election. Led by CEO Mitch Cahn, the company has experienced a significant surge in demand for its products, particularly hats, as political campaigns seek merchandise that aligns with their “Made in USA” ethos.
Founded over three decades ago, Unionwear has carved a niche in the manufacturing industry by producing union-made, American-manufactured apparel and accessories. This commitment has made the company a go-to supplier for political campaigns that prioritize domestic production and labor standards. In the realm of political merchandise, especially hats, Unionwear’s products have become emblematic of a candidate’s commitment to American manufacturing and union labor.
The 2024 election cycle has been particularly lucrative for Unionwear. The company’s strategic positioning and readiness to adapt to the evolving political landscape have resulted in a substantial increase in orders. This surge underscores the importance of domestic manufacturing in political branding and the electorate’s growing interest in supporting products that are both union-made and American-produced.
Mitch Cahn, the founder and CEO of Unionwear, has been instrumental in steering the company to its current prominence. His entrepreneurial spirit and commitment to union principles have not only sustained the company’s operations but also positioned it as a trusted supplier for political campaigns across the spectrum. Cahn’s leadership reflects a blend of business acumen and a steadfast commitment to ethical manufacturing practices.
Unionwear’s success during the 2024 election cycle highlights a broader trend in American manufacturing. There is a growing appreciation for products that are domestically produced and ethically made. This shift indicates a potential resurgence in American manufacturing, driven by both consumer demand and political advocacy for domestic production.
Unionwear’s trajectory during the 2024 presidential election serves as a testament to the enduring value of American manufacturing and union labor. Under Mitch Cahn’s leadership, the company has not only capitalized on the current political climate but also reinforced the significance of ethical production practices. As the nation moves forward, Unionwear’s success story may inspire other manufacturers to embrace similar commitments to quality, domestic production, and fair labor practices.
Unionwear’s Global Impact: Newark Manufacturer Featured on ‘Newark Today
In the October 17 edition of ‘Newark Today,’ host Michael Hill engages in a conversation with Mitch Cahn of Unionwear, a Newark-based manufacturer renowned for producing hats and other wearables that have garnered international attention. The discussion delves into Unionwear’s journey from a local enterprise to a globally recognized brand, emphasizing its commitment to quality and ethical manufacturing practices. Additionally, the program highlights initiatives by Newark students exploring careers in fashion, showcasing the district’s efforts to integrate education with industry opportunities.
Celebrating HBCUs and Supporting Mentorship in Newark
Welcome to the Yard” is an initiative by MENTOR Newark to celebrate Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) while supporting mentorship programs for local youth. The event aims to inspire future leaders through education, networking, and community support. Donations help sustain programs that provide guidance and opportunities to Newark’s young people.
Unionwear will be honored by MENTOR Newark for our commitment to the Newark community at this amazing event celebrating HBCU’s at the Hahne’s Building in Newark 9/26. Please consider attending or making a donation. MENTOR Newark focuses on programming and building relationships that help Newark youth achieve success.
News12 Video: Unionwear, Made in NJ
News 12’s Syma Chowdhry and photojournalist Matt Nash visited Unionwear in Newark for their Made in NJ series. They focused on Unionwear as a national company that makes things for union members to wear. Full video here.
Inaugural Innovate100 Honors Unionwear
New Jersey’s innovation landscape shines brighter with the upcoming celebration of INNOVATE100 leaders on May 14th in New Brunswick. Among the honorees is Unionwear, recognized for its innovative contributions to American manufacturing. This recognition fuels our enthusiasm to maintain our commitment to continuous improvement.
We are known for our high-quality, made-in-USA baseball caps and sewn bags, which have drawn attention from the INNOVATE100 initiative. Our commitment to incorporating advanced technology and automation underscores the value of skilled manufacturing traditions.
The event at the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center is not just a book and digital project launch; it’s a platform to highlight Unionwear and our colleagues’ pioneering achievements in domestic manufacturing.
Unionwear: Celebrating 125 years of American Craftmanship. JK.
Unionwear has found a drawing of our Newark building, probably done from a hot air balloon, in 1902. The building looks almost identical, but now we are adjacent to the Newark City Subway line, and every plot of land for miles is fully developed. The company that occupied our factory in 1902 manufactured parts for the cotton gin. Prior to construction, during the Civil War, this property was the Union Army Training Grounds. Unionwear turns 32 this year, but we have used the image to show how we might have advertised 125 years ago.
Unionwear: Resilience and Craftsmanship in Post-Pandemic US Manufacturing
The New Jersey Society of CPA’s has written a great article about Unionwear’s pandemic “hustle and grit”.
In the age of globalization, domestic manufacturing often takes a backseat to cheaper alternatives. But the coronavirus pandemic has proven that prioritizing local sourcing and production is essential for ensuring long-term national security and fostering sustainable economic growth. Unionwear, a Newark-based manufacturer of union-made hats, bags, and binders, is leading the charge in championing US-based production. Their powerful story of resilience during the pandemic demonstrates how embracing innovation, collaboration, and a lean manufacturing mindset can propel a small business towards growth and success.
Lean Manufacturing: The Backbone of Unionwear’s Resilience
Unionwear has maintained a competitive edge in the market for over 25 years, despite facing stiff competition from low-wage countries. At the core of their resilience lies a lean manufacturing mindset that focuses on eliminating bottlenecks, streamlining production, and optimizing resources. This approach enabled the company to pivot quickly during the pandemic, supplying healthcare workers with personal protective equipment (PPE), keeping the majority of their workforce employed, and protecting the business from collapse.
Overcoming challenges through collaboration and innovation
When faced with unprecedented challenges during the pandemic, Unionwear relied on the hustle and grit of its employees and external partners to overcome obstacles. The company developed innovative workarounds, such as sourcing supplies from other industries, collaborating with competitors, and engaging local communities to find home-based sewers.
They didn’t simply sell PPE or flaunt their “Made in USA” label; they sold determination and resourcefulness. By taking calculated risks, sharing best practices, and embracing change, Unionwear positioned itself as a bastion of hope amidst an uncertain economic climate.
Adapting and thriving during the pandemic
Navigating the uncharted waters of a global crisis required Unionwear to rethink its strategy, leading to a substantial shift in workstyles and priorities. The adoption of remote work for administrative staff necessitated a strict adherence to process, while employees showcased an increased focus on safety, accountability, and shared responsibility.
Although budgeting and projections proved difficult during the pandemic, the company seized the opportunity to invest in growth by building a new government business segment and eagerly anticipating a resurgence in demand for event-related merchandise.
Lessons learned and a brighter future
Unionwear emerged from the pandemic as a testament to the power of adaptability, creativity, and perseverance. The experience highlighted the importance of remaining open to new opportunities, fostering an agile production environment, and fostering a results-oriented culture.
Now poised for long-term success, the company remains vigilant in monitoring market trends, anticipating challenges, and capitalizing on opportunities for growth.
Conclusion
Unionwear’s story serves as a shining example of resilience in the face of adversity. By remaining true to their roots and embracing innovation, they are not only contributing to America’s rich manufacturing legacy but also inspiring other small businesses to follow suit.
As we move forward in a post-pandemic world, companies like Unionwear remind us that we can overcome any challenge by working together and committing to a common goal. By investing in domestic manufacturing and prioritizing quality, we can create a sustainable economy that works for everyone – one meticulously-crafted hat and bag at a time.
NJMEP: Unionwear’s Workforce Success Story in Domestic Manufacturing
NJMEP’s Mike Womack wrote an article in Manufacturing Matters about Unionwear, summarized here.
The Secret Behind Unionwear’s Domestic Manufacturing Achievement
At a time when so many American industries struggle to maintain their presence on home soil, Unionwear stands proud as a testament to determination, innovation, and a skilled workforce. Mitch Cahn, President of Unionwear, built the company on the foundation of American manufacturing, particularly in the baseball hats and sewn bags sectors. Unionwear’s unwavering commitment to domestic manufacturing and its unique approach to workforce development have ensured its continued success in a fiercely competitive global market.
Unionwear’s Origin: The Birth of a Hat Company
Unionwear began in 1992 with Mitch Cahn’s vision to create baseball hats for the burgeoning fashion industry. At the time, baseball hats were primarily worn in sporting events and promotional activities. However, Cahn observed a growing trend of baseball hats in popular culture that was not yet reflected in the retail space.
Cahn recognized an opportunity and seized it, purchasing the equipment from a defunct baseball hat factory in Jersey City and hiring its original six employees. Fast forward to today, and Unionwear boasts around 135 full-time employees and a successful track record in the textile industry.
The Workforce Secret: Maximizing Employee Potential
Unionwear’s achievements are a direct result of its commitment to its workforce. The company utilizes automation not as a tool to replace jobs, but to optimize the productivity of existing employees. By investing in state-of-the-art technology and continuously improving its manufacturing processes, Unionwear can keep pace with – and even outshine – its rivals in the industry.
The Challenge of Training and Development
But technology is just one piece of the puzzle; another crucial factor lies in the development of Unionwear’s human capital. Mitch Cahn emphasizes the importance of ongoing training and nurturing employees to reach their full potential, noting that the management’s role is to ensure workers are well-versed in the best practices for the company.
In a world where skilled laborers are becoming a scarce resource, Unionwear has found a way to attract and retain talent by offering a well-structured onboarding program that clearly defines employees’ roles and responsibilities. This streamlined process, alongside effective vetting and analysis of candidate strengths, ensures that new hires are set up for success from day one.
The NJMEP Partnership: A Win-Win Collaboration
For nearly two decades, Unionwear has worked closely with the New Jersey Manufacturing Extension Program (NJMEP), which provides vital support to manufacturers in the state. The NJMEP has placed professionals in a variety of non-production roles within the company, helping to fill vacancies and strengthen its workforce further.
The NJMEP partnership is particularly valuable as Unionwear seeks to attract young talent to the manufacturing industry. With an average full-time manufacturing employee salary approaching six figures annually in New Jersey, the opportunity for a well-paying, challenging career in the sector should be more than enough to grab the attention of job seekers.
The Unwavering Commitment: Keeping Manufacturing Domestic
What truly sets Unionwear apart from other manufacturers is its commitment to domestic manufacturing, using continuous improvement, lean manufacturing, automation, and technology to produce high-quality products in a fiercely competitive global market. The company remains dedicated to ensuring its workforce is equipped with the skills required to drive its ongoing success, with sustainability and growth at the forefront of its agenda.
In conclusion, Unionwear is an inspiring example of how a small, determined manufacturer can flourish on American soil. Its dedication to developing its workforce and providing high-quality products has made the company a shining beacon and a case study for other companies seeking to make their mark in domestic manufacturing. As a company built on true American values and an undying patriotism, Unionwear symbolizes the successful marriage of skilled labor and visionary leadership – truly, a story of manufacturing success made in the USA.
How can we prevent future supply chain disruptions in the US
Unionwear CEO Mitch Cahn had the opportunity to speak at New Jersey Manufacturing Day and discuss the recent global supply chain disruptions due to the COVID 19 pandemic.
When asked how we can prevent supply chain disruptions, Cahn said the pandemic exposed weaknesses in our global supply chain that we didn’t even know existed. Thus, it is reasonable to assume that future disruptions of unknown origin will likely expose additional weaknesses that we cannot even think about.
On the plus side, those domestic manufacturers who managed to survive outsourcing and Amazon have proven to be very flexible. In fact, they learned so much during these tumultuous times that many manufacturers, including Unionwear, were making PPE in a matter of days even though they had zero knowledge of manufacturing such items before. For instance, Cahn said he had never heard of a face shield before the pandemic hit. But after getting specs, he was able to quickly assemble prototypes in less than two days. It was only a matter of repurposing items Unionwear already had — including foam from backpacks, plastic from binders, and headbands from hats — and turn them into useable face shields.
To prevent supply chain disruptions, companies need to invest in domestic manufacturers. It is imperative to do so, as our national security continues to be at risk. To justify its cost, The Reshoring Institute created a formula that calculates the true cost of importing. These costs include:
- Travel
- Prototyping
- Shipping
- Time
- Lines of credit
- Delays
- Pirating
- Transportation problems
- Reputation cost
When taking these into account, importing oftentimes looks more expensive than domestic manufacturing.
Ultimately, if the US government is serious about preventing future supply chain disruptions, American policymakers and regulators need to incentivize increased domestic manufacturing. Meanwhile, purchasers need to support these manufacturers by actually buying materials from them and not letting them go out of business. Although domestic manufacturers came to the rescue during COVID-19, we lost tens of thousands of lives because we didn’t have domestic-made PPE. This needs to be a major national priority.
Links:
NJMEP – Manufacturing Day 2020
How Unionwear stays competitive in a high labor cost environment
Unionwear Wins “Dream It, Do It: What’s So Cool About Manufacturing” Award
Unionwear and the Louise A. Spencer School in Newark deserve sincere congratulations for winning this year’s video competition, What’s So Cool About Manufacturing? This award, given annually, stimulates the imagination of students, inviting them to pursue careers in manufacturing. Its secondary aim is to boost the profiles of New Jersey’s factories. A range of awards are bestowed by judges in each regional contest, and online votes for the Viewers’ Choice Award are tabulated at WhatsSoCool.org.
In 2013, Allentown Pennsylvania’s Manufacturer’s Research Center (MRC) created the What’s So Cool About Manufacturing? contest, and now hundreds of schools in the region participate. Teams of teachers, coaches, and students receive professional guidance, software, and camera equipment as they learn to edit, record, and script their video stories. The objective? To change students’ perceptions of manufacturing careers.
The winning video, which runs two minutes and 30 seconds, begins with several schoolgirls admiring a shirt worn by one of them and discussing where it came from. Realizing that anything purchased from “the mall” originates from somewhere else, they ponder what goes into the manufacturing process. Enter Unionwear and Mitch Cahn, President. He discusses his manufacturing company and how it works.
The video also features Agi Tamrakar, a recent graduate of NJIT who elaborates on his education and internship with Unionwear. Upon completing his masters, he accepted a permanent, full-time position at Unionwear. Mr. Tamrakar also explores the many facets of the manufacturing industry. The video concludes with the original schoolchildren reiterating how cool manufacturing is. The video is informative and enjoyable, and the performance given by the schoolchildren is admirable.
Dream It, Do It promotes advanced careers in manufacturing for educators, adult family members, and students. Dream It, Do It is a companion of the What So Cool About Manufacturing? video contest and provides career resources. Additionally, Dream It, Do It selects and manages a dream team of dynamic manufacturing professionals. This team makes presentations at community locations and schools for students and teachers.
Newark Mayor Baraka Launches Manufacturing Initiative
Hon. Mayor Ras J. Baraka: We need economic growth and job creation. We need a trained workforce to fill those jobs. We believe that manufacturing and advanced manufacturing is a large component of that growth. We are going to organize our resources to begin investing and expanding our manufacturing base and training our workforce to accept those jobs. In the first week of May we are hosting a Manufacturing Conference partnering with Mitch Cahn of Unionwear, NJIT and the NJ EDA to help identify best practices, develop a point person from City Hall and to help grow the manufacturing industry in our city. We are also asking that every major anchor corporation, business and public entity begin to identify their partners that they do business with and begin with the help of economic incentives from this city to encourage manufacturers to relocate their shops to Newark as we have a stronger infrastructure than any other municipality in this region for manufacturing and advanced manufacturing. We want them to come here, develop here, grow here and we will train our residents for these jobs.
In Newark, NJIT, Rutgers Renew Focus on Edison’s Legacy: Manufacturing
BROOKINGS INSTITUTION Metropolitan Innovation Series
Last month, manufacturers gathered at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) in Newark for a roundtable with government officials, educators, and industry leaders. The event spotlighted Essex County manufacturing partnerships and incentive programs and featured testimonials by companies such as Unionwear, which produces hats and bags in Newark’s North Ward. Otis Rolley, chief executive officer of the Newark Community Economic Development Corporation, told attendees about the resources available to manufacturers seeking to grow within Newark’s borders.
Meanwhile, at Newark Liberty International Airport on the other side of the city, students and faculty from Rutgers Business School were running a kiosk that sells merchandise made by New Jersey artisans and small manufacturers. The kiosk project, called Jersey Bound, complements the work of the Newark Industrial Solutions Center, which is housed at the business school’s Center for Supply Chain Management.
The zeal for product development and manufacturing has deep roots in Newark. For over a century, the city was a pioneer in America’s adoption of new industrialized methods and a production-based economy. Numerous products of global importance were invented in the Newark area, including Thomas Edison’s light bulb and air conditioning. These transformative breakthroughs and favorable policy and regulatory conditions contributed to rising incomes and improved economic security for a growing, skilled middle class. Yet, in recent decades, this knack for scientific discovery and making things has not translated into a more competitive production base and workforce.
Today, the 24-square-mile city of Newark is home to 400 manufacturers employing roughly 10,000 workers, and the greater Newark area is a base for 800 manufacturers, a diverse mix of small and mid-sized businesses largely serving regional markets. Despite some bright spots, greater Newark manufacturing is underperforming on employment and output metrics, as well as on the assimilation of appropriately skilled workers and tools that support product and process innovation. The unfortunate result is that Newark is failing to leverage a host of advantages that could favor small-scale production by design and manufacturing start-ups or by retooled, existing businesses. These advantages include density, ample industrial building stock, proximity to markets and service providers, and enviable logistical assets, including a globally connected airport and the largest maritime complex on the East Coast, Port Newark-Elizabeth.
Encouragingly, the city’s higher education institutions show signs of a focused commitment and invigorated strategies behind next-generation design, research and development, and production, as well as support for manufacturing-career readiness in areas ranging from robotics and digital design to technical operations management and market analysis. There are few manufacturing naysayers in the classrooms or around the seminar tables of University Heights—home to the Rutgers Business School as well as NJIT— or at nearby Essex County College or Newark Tech High School, but rather a growing focus on hands-on learning and industry-centered partnerships. Perhaps the boldest example of this activity is the launch last year of NJIT’s New Jersey Innovation Institute, which strives to align industry, educational, and economic development goals through partnerships and strategic clusters.
The challenge (and opportunity) that University Heights now faces is ensuring that the fruits of its initiatives and collaborations reach the area’s neighborhoods and residents, including through the reactivation of older industrial sites and locally embedded training options. Another key will be stemming the brain drain of qualified students out of the area. These goals are becoming increasingly critical in light of sweeping demographic shifts, including an aging industrial workforce and a youth unemployment crisis, as well as the need for infrastructure upgrades and strategies to manage transformation associated with the ongoing expansion of Port Newark-Elizabeth.
Through inclusive and sustained coordination as well as smart investment, a robust industrial commons is within Newark’s reach—an industrial commons that would make hometown hero Thomas Edison proud.
Nisha Mistry is director of the Urban Law Center at Fordham Law School in New York City. Previously, she served as a visiting fellow at Rutgers Business School and manufacturing advisor with the Department of Economic & Housing Development in Newark, N.J. under the administration of Mayor Cory A. Booker. From 2012 to 2014, Mistry served as a mayor’s office fellow (Office of Mayor Cory A. Booker) and nonresident fellow with the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program, where she authored a report on manufacturing in Newark.
SOURCE: http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/the-avenue/posts/2015/06/24-newark-higher-ed-manufacturing-mistry#.VYv-FCUXbWI.twitter
Newark Video Promotes Local Sourcing
Unionwear is featured in this video for Maker’s Row / Newark, a site for sourcing local cut and sew contractors.
http://www.MakersRow.com/Newark
The video was launched at an event on May 28, when Unionwear CEO Mitch Cahn spoke at a Brookings Institution panel along with Mayor Cory Booker and NJIT President Joel Bloom on Newark’s Manufacturing Moment, discussed here in NJ Biz Magazine:
Unionwear featured in “Recognize Newark” Promotional Video.
Unionwear is featured in The City of Newark, NJ’s new promotional video,
Recognize Newark, for our contributions in bringing together and raising the profile of the city’s manufacturers. 3:50 in.
NJBIZ: Newark Putting It All Together
Getting all the stakeholders on board is critical in push to help manufacturing expand.
Newark’s infrastructure and geographic advantages have drawn manufacturing to the city, but the Made in Newark movement says there are challenges, too. – (Photo By AARON HOUSTON)
Newark has become New Jersey’s urban manufacturing laboratory, as the Brick City engages stakeholders from business, government and education to help employers thrive while churning out products from clothing to chemicals, to paintbrushes and mattresses.
A key milestone in the three-year-old Made in Newark movement came in May, with the release of a Brookings Institution study that found Newark has drawn a cluster of diverse manufacturers that benefit from the city’s favorable geographic location, as well as its international port, rail and highway connections. But it also pinpointed serious challenges that can blunt Newark’s competitive edge: an aging workforce, insufficient investment in innovation and sustainability, and poor participation in regional and global markets.
Brookings fellow Nisha Mistry, a co-author of the report who also is an aide to Mayor Cory Booker, said Newark has a real concentration of manufacturing assets; getting them to perform more efficiently “will require the active involvement of many voices and institutions.”
Stakeholders looking to Newark’s manufacturing renaissance are hoping their involvement helps accomplish that. Among them are the New Jersey Institute of Technology, which wants to educate the next generation of shop floor leaders, and Rutgers Business School, which is launching the state’s first urban manufacturing resources hub through its supply-chain management program; both campuses are in Newark. The state Department of Labor’s advanced manufacturing talent network, launched in 2011 at NJIT, is working with all stakeholders, including community colleges and technical high schools, to train a pipeline of manufacturing workers in the skills needed on a computerized factory floor. The Newark Regional Business Partnership also is a major supporter of the city’s manufacturing initiative.
That level of involvement was the kind of thing Mitch Cahn envisioned when he helped launch the Made in Newark support group in 2011, with the help of Booker’s economic development team.
At the time, “I thought maybe there were a dozen manufacturers in town,” said Cahn, who launched his Unionwear apparel company in 1992 and has been in Newark for 12 years, where he now employs 110. When a research effort turned up 400 manufacturers in the city, “I was shocked,” he said.
Manufacturers, he said, have found “Newark is at the intersection of inexpensive space and abundant skilled labor.” But they tend to underfly the radar, because while they may employ a couple hundred people, they work in nondescript buildings scattered throughout the city. It’s hoped that the partnership with Newark’s universities can help power further growth in the sector.
“It’s very difficult to hire management in manufacturing, because individuals coming out of engineering schools and business school were not preparing for jobs in the manufacturing sector over the past 20 years,” said Cahn, who said his company makes baseball caps, backpacks and other textile products for companies seeking items made in America, including political campaigns, labor unions and the military. “Now that manufacturing is roaring back here, there’s a big gap.”
The challenge is finding factory managers who understand both manufacturing processes and new technology, he said: “In certain positions, we hire two people — someone with technological expertise and someone with manufacturing expertise — and hope they can work together.”
NJIT is eager to train the new factory management, said Donald Sebastian, its senior vice president for research and development. He said NJIT has long been committed to manufacturing: In 1995, he launched the New Jersey Manufacturing Extension Program, which provides consultants to manufacturers to help them boost efficiency, provide training and develop new product lines. Originally housed at NJIT, today NJMEP is an independent nonprofit in Morris Plains.
“We’ve never stopped beating the drum to get people to understand that we have to be a producer country, and this needs to be a producer state,” Sebastian said. “People have gotten back to the business of understanding that we need to make the things that we consume and that we sell, and that innovation is not just about clever products — it’s about cleverness in producing those products.”
Sebastian said NJIT is considering an undergraduate program to prepare engineers for manufacturing. He said industry is evolving, and factory leaders must be prepared to manage rapid changes in product life cycles.
“Small and midsized companies have to be part of the design process, they have to be part of the innovation and thought process,” Sebastian said. Years ago, an auto parts supplier might make the same General Motors part for a decade. “Now, you may be a supplier to three or four automotive manufacturers, and those platforms change on a three-year time cycle — you can’t do the same thing over and over and over again.”
He said NJIT hopes to convene groups of Newark industrial firms and help them “develop a sense of identity and community, and chart a course for growth.”
Gale Tenen Spak, associate vice president of continuing and distance education at NJIT, said the university is exploring ways to replenish the pipe of “technologists” — workers with the training and credentials for advanced manufacturing’s computer-driven workplace. One idea is for workers to take “stackable” industry-vetted courses leading to credentials “that are accepted for an associate’s degree leading to bachelor’s degree. Then, you have the ability for individuals to have that long-term career with a family-sustaining income.”
Meredith Aronson, who for the past two years has headed the state’s advanced manufacturing talent network, said the Brookings report revealed “food and textiles are substantial and important manufacturing activities in Newark,” and recognized that “we are not performing as aggressively as we need to in Newark with regards to exports.”
And while it may be difficult to find large parcels of land to locate a factory in Newark, the city could attract high-tech factories that need less space: “I see opportunity for urban or metro-focused manufacturing, because the footprint can be smaller in many cases” and they can tap the urban workforce, she said.
E-mail to: beth@njbiz.com
On Twitter: @bethfitzgerald8
source: http://www.njbiz.com/article/20130624/NJBIZ01/306219989/Putting-it–all-together
NJ Econ Development Guide Features Unionwear
Unionwear was featured in the State of New Jersey’s Economic Development Guide, for their commitment to lean manufacturing and public / private partnerships.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/117260243/3/Industrial-Strength
Unionwear: Made in NJ on NJTV
State of Manufacturing in New Jersey: In part 2 of New Jersey, NJ Today’s David Cruz reports on how a public-private partnership is helping Unionwear compete in the international market place.
BCDC – Newark, It’s Your Move
BCDC – Newark, It’s Your Move: Newark Highlight video for Brick City Development Starring: Chip Hallock – Newark Regional Business Partnership, Dr Lezli & Chris Harvell – DentalKidz, Don Katz – Audible.com, Mitch Cahn – Unionwear, Joe Taylor – Panasonic Corporation, Dr dt ogilvie – Rutgers Business School, Marketing Agency/Art Direction – Princeton Partners, Video Production – Visitivity Media.
‘Made in Newark’ Initiative Hopes to Introduce Visitors to City’s Businesses, Locally Made Products
‘Made in Newark’ initiative hopes to introduce visitors to city’s businesses, locally made products: Newark – Activity buzzed inside a nondescript, one-story manufacturing building near Newark’s Branch Brook Park. Workers from Unionwear carefully cut zippers to length for royal blue gym bags emblazoned with a block-lettered “Made in Newark” logo on the side.