Shop Talk With the Publisher |
Are you a lion, a gazelle or melting into butter?
by Carol Carman
Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. It doesn’t matter if you are a lion or a gazelle… when the sun comes up you better be running.
- Anonymous |
We’re all running faster than ever these days. Some days I feel like I’m the lion in that childhood story where the little child from India gets chased (or chases, I can’t remember) by the lion around the tree faster and faster until the lion turns into melted butter. Speed reigns! Whether it’s making quick management decisions, boosting power on the production floor to push product out the door faster or fighting frustration that we can’t break the 6-second delay in logging onto the Internet, we are all speeding into the new millennium at warp speed.
We want and need fast answers to improvements in production, management, marketing, profits, etc. We want employees — or equipment — to wear multiple hats and we want them to be able to change from one minute to the next and back again. We want, we want, and we can’t afford to stop. Smelled any roses lately?
Modern Woodworking is moving faster and further to help you “smell the roses.” This month, we’ve packed this issue with how-to information from the factory floor, to what’s happening overseas, to finding ways to add and improve profit centers.
We start by introducing a new feature called Factory Floor, a quick read that presents a recurring factory floor problem and offers a solution. In this issue you will find a proven solution to eliminating cross grain scratches (see how Hooker Furniture is doing that). We also describe how Councill Craftsmen is finding a better way to catch imperfections before finishing… Some store fixture manufacturers are having a tough time in spite of a growing economy, but we tell you how J.C. Moag is fighting the tide and surviving well… Leather upholstery is selling like crazy and American Leather is one of the leaders. Check out its how-to strategy to profits. In addition, don’t miss our product section on saws — all kinds — and the companies who are introducing the latest developments to faster production. And that’s only some of the fast answers we provide this month. Read and learn.
Also new this month is a special pull-out section to leading European technology. Focus on Europe leads up to the Xylexpo/Sasmil woodworking show in Milan, Italy, next month. MW visited a number of factories in Europe where “worker-less” operations are the norm and speed is king. If you are into panel processing, you’ll want to check these features and products. Let us help you be a lion.
Carol Carman, Publisher & Editorial Director
3308 Dunwoody-Gables Dr.
Atlanta, GA 30338
e-mail: ccarman@randallpub.com
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