Mike Laszkiewicz has played a key role in the growth of Milwaukee-based Rockwell Automation Inc.’s global business and will share his insights with attendees at the Wisconsin Manufacturing Extension Partnership’s upcoming Manufacturing Matters! conference.
“The United States enjoys a proud tradition as a global leader in the manufacturing sector. This leadership has been fueled by bright ideas, a progressive approach to technology, and a spirit of pride and entrepreneurship,” Laszkiewicz said. “As manufacturers, we understand the crucial link between manufacturing and innovation and the indisputable link between innovation and economic power.”
Laszkiewicz, who joined Rockwell in 1988, will deliver the conference’s keynote address at the Hyatt Regency hotel in downtown Milwaukee on Thursday, Feb. 26.
As vice president and general manager of Rockwell’s Power Control business, Laszkiewicz leads the team that’s responsible for the company’s Engineered Solutions business, medium- and low-voltage variable frequency drives, and the medium- and low-voltage motor control centers. Since assuming the role in 2008, he and his team have actively contributed to the enhancement of the portfolio and global market share growth.
A leading industry advocate for manufacturing, Laszkiewicz was appointed in 2010 to President Barack Obama’s Manufacturing Council. In 2013, he was named chair of the council for a two-year term. He also serves as vice chairman of the Wisconsin Governor’s Council on Workforce Investment, formed to help resolve the skills gap issue facing many Wisconsin manufacturers.
He addressed a wide range of topics with the WMEP ahead of the Manufacturing Matters! conference. Following are highlights of the question and answer session:
Q: What is the current focus of Rockwell Automation’s business?
A: “As the world’s largest company dedicated to industrial automation, our mission is to improve the standard of living for everyone by making the world more productive and sustainable.”
Laszkiewicz touts many breakthroughs possible because of the new information technology revolution happening in manufacturing today with the convergence of control and information, including:
- Safer, more accessible food supply achieved by tracking and tracing solutions across the entire supply chain, from farm to fork.
- More efficient water treatment through highly efficient, intelligent motor control solutions.
- Better energy management in production facilities through control and information solutions that integrate energy monitoring, power quality and load shedding into the core of the production process.
- More affordable oil and gas production through advanced process control and high availability systems across the digital oilfield.
Q: Can you explain Rockwell’s The Connected Enterprise and how it ties in with the Internet of Things?
A: “While manufacturing is sometimes seen as a technology laggard, Rockwell Automation sees an inrush of technology that’s changing the landscape: from labor intensity to highly automated production processes; from older industrial-age plants to clean, safe, efficient production facilities; and from isolated operations to an integrated, responsive supply chain.
“As a result, industry is now at an inflection point, driven by the trend of information technology and operations technology convergence. Operations technology is the world of industrial equipment – machines and controllers, sensors, and actuators. Information technology is the world of end-to-end business processes. We call this convergence The Connected Enterprise.
“The Connected Enterprise coalesces people, processes, and technology to achieve enhanced productivity, sustainability, and economic performance. It is enabled by an integrated control and information architecture that allows industry to secure a smarter, more productive and more secure environment. It’s enhanced by the Internet of Things technologies.”
Q: What is Rockwell’s relationship to small- and mid-size manufacturers, which are the companies that drive the WMEP’s business?
A: “We have critical SME relationships supporting our business in all regions, and spend billions of dollars purchasing goods and services from them each year. If you go beyond traditional supplier relationships for automation systems, these companies comprise a significant portion of Rockwell Automation’s supply chain. As a scalable, highly flexible automation provider offering productivity and business improvements to customers of all sizes, our success in part is dependent upon these highly skilled suppliers that enable us to differentiate ourselves and deliver highly scalable automation solutions for all size companies, including SMEs.”
Q: What is Rockwell hearing from its customers?
A: Among customers’ chief concerns, according to Laszkiewicz, are:
- Gaining faster time to market through design productivity, faster commissioning times with intelligent devices, and agility to respond to customer trends more quickly.
- Improving asset utilization and optimization by manufacturing intelligence tools, driving improved reliability, and predictive maintenance.
- Lowering the total cost of ownership by better life cycle management and easier technology migration.
- Better enterprise risk management: protecting company intellectual property and brand image with a safe, secure operating environment while ensuring regulatory compliance and reducing exposure due to poor product quality.
Q: Rockwell has always been viewed as a bellwether of sorts for the economy. How is business at this point? Is the manufacturing sector gaining or losing strength?
A: “Our fiscal year ended Sept. 30 and it was another record year for sales and earnings. Our sales were $6.6 billion in fiscal 2014, up 4.3 percent compared to last year. The U.S. led our sales performance with 7 percent organic growth. Despite heightened uncertainty in some regions, the U.S. economy remains strong, and forecasts call for continued moderate global economic growth. The key drivers of automation growth remain intact, and we believe we have the right strategy to capitalize on these opportunities.”
Q: What are the major issues currently affecting manufacturing?
A: Laszkiewicz mentions taxes, trade, talent and technology as the main challenges facing North American manufacturers.
Taxes: “Tax policy has a profound impact on business investment, economic growth and job creation. The United States has the highest corporate tax rate among major industrial countries. Corporate income taxes are the most harmful for manufacturing growth as they discourage investment in capital and productivity improvements, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The United States is also the only G-8 country to use a ‘worldwide’ tax system that collects U.S. taxes on the earnings of U.S. foreign subsidiaries. It’s an antiquated tax code that’s harming our competitiveness.”
Trade: “Today, more than 95 percent of the world’s population and 80 percent of its purchasing power lies outside the United States. Free trade agreements break down foreign barriers, helping American manufacturers sell more goods and services to these consumers.”
Talent: “Despite a U.S. unemployment rate near 6 percent, The Manufacturing Institute estimates there are more than 600,000 open jobs today, with 82 percent of manufacturers reporting a moderate or serious shortage in skilled production workers. Manufacturing’s success hinges on having a highly skilled production workforce that supports the advanced technologies that are essential to modern manufacturing competitiveness.”
Technology: “Technology is where manufacturers can control their destiny. U.S. manufacturers are creative, industrious risk-takers and among the world’s most productive. They still lead the world in advanced manufacturing. The U.S. market remains the world’s most sophisticated, and American brands are in demand by the world’s consumers. Technology plays a critical role in understanding the future direction of manufacturing.”
Q: You have served on President Obama’s Manufacturing Council and the Wisconsin Governor’s Council on Workforce Investment. What is the current focus of these groups?
A: Laszkiewicz lists as the most important areas of focus: workforce development; tax policy and export growth; innovation, research and development; and exports. The Manufacturing Council recently made these and more recommendations to U.S. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker.
“Workforce development is especially important to Wisconsin, given manufacturing’s share of Wisconsin’s economy. It’s on the minds of small and large manufacturers as they endeavor to grow their businesses while factoring in changing demographics, public perception and talent shortages.”
Q: What advice are you offering?
A: “My advice as outgoing chair of the Manufacturing Council, based on our committees’ recommendations, is to develop a national campaign through The Manufacturing Institute to address misperceptions and promote the career opportunities within U.S. manufacturing.”
Laszkiewicz offers the following recommendations:
- Modify corporate tax rates to a more globally competitive rate in order to increase manufacturing jobs, grow the sector with reinvestment, and increase exports.
- Designate that federal manufacturing innovation programs become an interagency Science and Technology Initiative, by executive decree.
- Increase the number of existing exporting companies by maintaining or expanding current promotion assistance by the Department of Commerce.
