California’s Secret Sauce—What’s the Recipe?

In addition to being chairman of the California Manufacturing and Technology Association Executive Committee, I have the honor of serving on the National Association of Manufacturers board of directors. During the spring board meetings of both organizations, there was a general sense of optimism for the state of manufacturing in our country and California. Nationally, the manufacturing base has grown by 7.5 percent. Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in February for the 26th consecutive month, and the overall economy grew for the 69th consecutive month, according to the nation’s supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM® Report On Business.

Twelve of the 18 manufacturing industries reported growth in February in the following order: paper products; printing and related support activities; furniture and related products; primary metals; nonmetallic mineral products; food, beverage and tobacco products; miscellaneous manufacturing; fabricated metal products; machinery; transportation equipment; electrical equipment; appliances and components; and chemical products. The three industries reporting contraction in February are: textile mills; apparel, leather and allied products; and computer and electronic products.

All the data is good, but why am I optimistic about being a manufacturer, especially one located in California? I travel a lot, so people in foreign countries tend to ask where I’m from. If I tell them the United States, I tend to get a nod—maybe a smile. Usually they ask further, “Where in the US?” When I respond “California,” their face lights up and they’re excited to speak with me. In some ways, the response I get makes me feel a bit like someone famous. There is a worldwide awe about my state.

I say “my state” because I am a rarity: a California native. My father’s grandmother traveled in a wagon to California from Missouri in 1853, got here in 1854 and settled in Healdsburg. I love my state. I am passionate about all that is good about my state. It is truly the land of golden opportunities. But why? What elements make up our state’s “secret sauce?”

1. Resources
California is large and holds vast natural resources. A jaw-dropping coast line, forests, water, sun, wind, fertile ground, agriculture, minerals, oil and on and on.

2. Environment
We have great weather. Need I say more? A temperate climate spurs productivity and prosperity.

3. Education
We are blessed to be a state with so many world-renowned public and private colleges and universities. We also have a great supportive network of community colleges. There is an incredible depth of knowledge we are cultivating and inspiring within our state.

4. Innovation
Our state has been leading the country and the world with innovative ideas since the beginning. Silicon Valley and all it has generated is just the latest manifestation of that trend.

5. Technology
We are a state of early adopters. A fertile ground for fostering the acceptance and exploitation of technological advances. This is especially true in the manufacturing sector. I can’t wait to see how the internet of things and big data will change the face of manufacturing. I know California will be leading the way.

6. Glamour
Hollywood. We are home to creating dreams, be it on the big screen or TV. We have Disneyland, the original home of making dreams come true for children and adults.

7. Money
California as a state has the eighth largest GDP in the world. We are effectively a country unto ourselves. Money attracts money and we have a lot of it here. We are also home to some of the biggest VC and angel funds out there.

8. Diversity
Our state is a melting pot of people. The rich diversity of people who come to California to make their dreams come true continues to fuel our state toward prosperity.

9. Spirit
It is a state of pioneers. As with my family, many who have come to this state took great risk to do so. They came on the belief of a better life, of the belief this state was a place they could make they dreams come true.

So maybe that is what I am seeing in the faces of those I meet. Is that we are a place where dreams can and do come true. What do you think? Did I identify all the ingredients? What did I miss? I’d love to hear from you.

Pi Day 2015 – Combining Math & Food for a Celebration of the Century

Pamela Kan, President
Photo: Melsha Nicole Photography

Full disclosure, math is not my best subject, in fact it ruined my chances at becoming a pharmacist, but when 3.14.15 comes around only once in a century, we need to celebrate!  While I may not be stellar at math I love STEM and making sure our kids are getting a great STEM based experience in school. So we combined two of our favorite subjects – math and food – and built the first ever Bishop-Wisecarver Pie Making Machine in honor of Pi Day 2015.  You won’t find it added to our sales catalog just yet, but you can check out what products we used to build it in a list I’ve included below.

Who says manufacturing, math and technology can’t be fun?  We made pies, had a pie eating contest and then threw, smashed and “gently placed” pies in the faces of our colleagues.  No matter what method was used, the pie made its mark. You can’t fake this kind of fun and you can check out the results in this short video.

We had fun with this historic event and made a big deal of this at our California headquarters – specially designed bright blue Pi shirts worn by all, towels filled with whip cream from wiping faces and lots of laugher echoing on the plant floor. I think I had red icing in my eyebrows for a day! Sounds like a kindergarten class, but that’s what I love about our company – we know how to work hard and play hard together.   

Our Pi Day 2015 event highlights two of the many reasons I love leading the Bishop-Wisecarver team. First, we enjoy what we do and the people we get to work with on a daily basis.  We spend a lot of hours, days, months and years with some colleagues and these relationships help us get better personally and professionally, as individuals and as a company.  When I look at our silly video, I see the smiling faces, but I also see the “stories” of each of the people represented. I know when they started working at Bishop-Wisecarver, the projects they’ve helped make successful and the extra hours they’ve put in to helping a customer realize success.  We don’t think it’s old-fashioned to say we are like a family here – that connection makes a positive difference in everything we do.  And, it’s why we can smear a pie in someone’s face and then go enjoy a beer or a round of golf together.

The Bishop-Wisecarver Family
Photo: Melsha Nicole Photography

Brian Burke, Product Manager
Photo: Melsha Nicole Photography

Secondly, this event is just one of the many ways we try to show students that subjects like math and science, and industries like manufacturing, don’t equate to a boring career.  Learning how to build a pie making machine wasn’t part of my high school curriculum, but when I tell students about our machine, or they see the video, it will open up possibilities and ideas they hadn’t considered.  Helping students understand the opportunities in our manufacturing world is one of our top priorities at Bishop-Wisecarver. We talk in classrooms, welcome tours of students, mentor in a variety of programs and sponsor local science and engineering events as well as several FIRST Robotics teams locally. We are very proud to also sponsor FIRST robotics at the national level.  We do all of this as a way of serving and educating the students of today who will be the employees and inventors of tomorrow. And tomorrow is coming faster and faster all the time! So we made pies, made a mess and celebrated our love of food and math.  Pi Day 2015 was truly a celebration for the century!

Pamela Kan, President
Scott McClintock, VP of Marketing & Technology
Photo: Melsha Nicole Photography

The automated pie making machine is based upon a LoPro® Linear Actuator. The primary linear axis is a lead-screw driven LoPro with a rotary axis made of HEPCO Motion PRT2 360-degree ring. Both axes are driven by servo motors via LabVIEW development software. The machine also has independent mechanisms for applying whip cream and frosting. 

Tell Me What You Want

I am honored to be serving my state and the manufacturing community with two recent appointments — CMTA Chairman and Workforce Investment Board Member. In an effort to identify the needs of industry, create career pathways that provide businesses with the skilled workforce they need, and to assist in putting unemployed and underemployed Californians back to work, Governor Brown has rebuilt and reinvigorated the state's long-neglected Workforce Investment Board (WIB). I am excited to serve on the WIB.

Those who know me or follow me through social media know how passionate I am about technical education opportunities for California's students and workforce.

The stripping of classes in our K-12 educational system that expose students to potential technical career opportunities is an embarrassment. The focus on our states’ four year colleges disenfranchises so many of our state's youths. I feel it has had a direct correlation on our dropout rate from high school. Our current dropout rate is at 23.7 percent, according to a report released in June 2012 from the California Department of Education. This reality then puts a huge burden on our community colleges that then serve the needs of these many students later trying to educate themselves in order to enter the workforce.

In June, I was elected to serve as chairman of the California Manufacturers and Technology Association (CMTA). I am so proud to be associated with this association. The staff is truly world-class and works tirelessly to defend and support manufacturing in our state. As a small manufacturer I feel that CMTA gives me a platform for my concerns to be heard. Being part of this association allows me to make an impact on the state of manufacturing in California. My desire is to see many more small manufacturers join me at the CMTA. Your membership in the CMTA does make a difference.

Our collective voice matters. The only way for us to affect a change is for us to speak up and be heard by our state politicians. So many of our politicians have never run a company and too many of them still believe that manufacturing is a dirty and unhealthy work environment for workers. They need to be educated that manufacturers provide some of the best jobs to be had in our state, and often, cutting edge environments using industry inspired innovations.

As I settle into these positions, tell me how I can help. What do you want me to champion? What do you want me to share with you through social media? I want to be confident that I am speaking for all of you who work within the manufacturing sector in California.