The recent reports about production short cuts, blind-eye approvals, optional safety devices, and corporate management failures have been painful to read. I can’t comment on the truthfulness of the statements made about Boeing and their senior managers as I certainly don’t know all the facts. I spent…
I received my first recreational drone for Christmas three years ago. It was a pretty simple system. The frame was light weight plastic with four independently powered props. It had an on-board camera that could take still pictures and videos. It also had colored tip lights to…
When American businesses outsource their engineering, especially to lower cost offshore service providers, are those companies increasing current profits at a significant future cost? Businesses continually look for ways to reduce their costs to enhance profits. Large corporations reward their executives and managers when they find ways…
Guess again and fly higher I’m asked often by recent engineering graduates if they should pursue a professional engineering (PE) registration. Most of the questions come from graduates entering the aerospace field. When I was beginning my engineering career, I wrestled with the same question. The process…
“If I call you at 7:30 p.m. on a Friday evening, will you answer the phone and get my parts delivered to me on time?” In a manufacturing ecosystem subject to tariffs, bad weather and port congestion, South Carolina firms along the supply chains of a BMW,…
The Future of Aerospace I admit it, I am a Trekkie. Yeah, Star Wars was OK, but I always preferred the original Star Trek. Watching this show in my younger years, combined with seeing nearly every single NASA rocket launch and the first moon landing triggered my…
An aerospace retrospective with KTM Solution’s Paul Kumler I recently attended an SC Aerospace Advisory Board meeting where a preliminary supply chain study report was presented. The report was generated to understand the impact of the aerospace supply chain in South Carolina. I found one statistic particularly…
Recently, South Carolina Manufacturing (SCMFG) sat down with Chris Urban, the general manager of Meyer Tool in Greenville, to discuss the company’s growth and success in South Carolina. As companies grow or look to expand their footprint in state or out, it is critical these manufacturers create…
The US Air Force T-X advanced jet trainer competition is in the final stages of source selection with an award expected in the first quarter 2018. It is seen by many as a contest between two aircraft, the existing Lockheed Martin/Korean Air T-50 and The Boeing/Saab T-X…
Like the textile industry in the 1930s, aerospace manufacturing in the Southeast is a booming industry, having grown primarily because of private equity. And prospects for the future are rosy, given the availability of private capital to invest in what some feel is a sure thing. Since…