Today’s brutal economy is forcing people to do things they would have thought to be preposterous a year and half ago. In Japan, as unemployment grows to levels not seen since World War II, unemployed factory and office workers are going to the countryside to try to be farmers. Recently, I traveled to Japan and witnessed a place with high-tech, amenities I couldn’t imagine beforehand. Restaurants have computers to order from, taxies have doors that open automatically, public toilet seats are heated and ultra fast trains dominate transportation. People used to this world are attempting to learn to farm, in…
Author: Noah Graff
By Lloyd Graff The General Motors train is lumbering toward bankruptcy. Does it give you any comfort that Elmer Fudd in pinstripes, otherwise known as Fritz Henderson, is now running the show at GM? Henderson is another GM lifer who has been a successful bureaucrat politician at General Motors—not exactly a guy who looks like the next Lee Iacocca or Steve Jobs. What a mess the company has become. Alfred Sloan must be laughing or crying in his grave as he watches jokes like Rick Wagoner and Elmer Fudd, excuse me, Fritz Henderson, fumble toward bankruptcy. I felt like retching…
By Lloyd Graff, At least three times per summer we hear the sirens blare, signaling the possibility of a tornado in our vicinity. We take cover in the basement or the safest corner and wait for it to pass over. We listen for the “all clear” signal and the absence of thunder. For the machining industry, particularly in the Midwest, the tornado sirens keep shrieking and the all clear has yet to sound. Since September a lousy recession has become a depression worthy event for anybody who cuts or bends metal. The only hiding places have been in guns which…
I had always seen GM head, Rick Wagoner, as a figure like Leonid Brezhnev, the Russian Premier who just seemed like he would rule forever. When Wagoner was finally ousted from GM on March 30th, I was compelled make a video blog to reflect upon the man’s contributions to his company. If Wagoner did remain GM’s ruler for life, what would be the arguments to justify his reign?
By Lloyd Graff Just saw on the Internet that Delphi is selling its brakes and suspension businesses to two Chinese companies and the Chinese government. Sale is set to close in fourth quarter. Does anybody know exactly which plants will be affected. Any of you bloggers doing work for this part of Delphi?
By Noah Graff Here’s what I keep asking. You all are asking it too I’m sure. Is GM’s plight almost entirely the fault of Wagoner. Would a different person, a super genius, an extraordinary motivator make the company thrive, or would anyone have fallen victim to our awful economy? I think that it could have been somewhat different. After all, Toyota and Honda (although they are in tough times too) are not on the brink of bankruptcy. But was Wagoner handcuffed to begin with by crappy designs, terrible UAW agreements…etc.? Could Apple’s Steve Jobs have made GM thrive?
In honor of Rick Wagoner being ousted from GM, we thought it would be nice to reminisce about a brighter time in the company’s history. Here’s a little time capsule to the “Golden Age” of GM.
By Noah Graff Last week I went to Detroit to shoot a video spot for an advertiser of Today’s Machining World. A melancholy vibe permeated the city that I can only compare with the one I felt when I was last in New Orleans. When I arrived there were only three taxies and two limos sitting outside. Five vehicles to serve the entire Detroit Metro airport? I decided to query the empty rental car buses driving by to see if they had any cars available. I asked Hertz, Avis, and Budget, and every driver claimed that there weren’t any cars.…
The auction market for good used CNC machinery is being overwhelmed by a rush of supply. Even CNC Swiss lathes, always in short supply, are appearing in auction brochures almost weekly.Recently a dental instrument maker, Hu-Friedy Corporation of Chicago, sold 13 late model Stars in an online sales event.The machines were in beautiful condition, well maintained, and being sold because the company wanted the space for other manufacturing operations. Hilco had given the company a guarantee on the proceeds of the sale several months earlier and had been attempting to liquidate the machines prior to the auction date. They sold…
by Emily Halgrimson There’s nothing like an ailing economy to force people to enjoy the simple things in life. While cutting back on satellite radio subscriptions, trimming cell phone bills and upping Netflix use, we can reassess needs versus wants, not a clear distinction for most Americans. We often leave reflective periods liberated and relieved; knowing things are more balanced than before. What’s going on in people’s lives is also in happening in the flailing economy. It’s a time to clean up. By trying to stop this down time are we losing a chance to regroup the country for the…