Industry issues discussed at annual Butler Manufacturing Day
BUTLER TWP — While artificial intelligence and impending tariffs are meant to grow manufacturing in the United States, local manufacturing leaders say some manufacturers are feeling the short-term pinch with these initiatives, as energy and raw material costs are growing.
To help grow the local talent pool in the manufacturing space, the Manufacturer & Business Association, Butler County Manufacturing Consortium and Butler County Chamber of Commerce partnered to host the third annual Butler Manufacturing Day at Butler Intermediate High School on Tuesday, May 6.
“This was a way better turnout than last year,” said Jezree Friend, association assistant vice president. “We have three school districts involved. This is now the biggest one we have done yet. We have changed the format a little bit. Now each company really has the opportunity to tell the students what they do, what’s exciting and have them learn something new.”
The association and consortium aim to identify and address the needs of local manufacturers, and those needs include the expansion of artificial intelligence, addressing impending tariffs and rising energy costs, according to Friend and Paul Weifenbaugh, assistant director of the Tri-County Workforce Investment Board.
“A lot of companies are adapting AI for quality control and all kinds of things,” Friend said. “AI is not going anywhere, and those that don’t adapt quickly will be left behind.”
Friend said he has received mixed reactions from the association’s member base in regard to President Donald Trump’s tariff plans, with most of them focusing on the negative consequences.
“The problem is we agree from a policy standpoint to further domesticate some of our processes,” Friend said of tariffs. “The reality is you cannot flip a switch and have that happen automatically. There needs to be a process to incentivize that over a longer period of time. The problem is some manufacturers source some of their materials from Canada. They are told to buy American, and that sounds great in practice, but the reality is some of those materials are not made in America yet. There is that incentive for an entrepreneur to go ahead and start that, but that takes a while to get going. Right now, there are going to be growing pains for sure.”
Weifenbaugh said he has come across one of his members who is excited for the tariffs, because they already buy all of their raw materials from American suppliers and never plan to look elsewhere.
“I would say that is not that common,” Weifenbaugh said.
In regard to energy costs, Friend said some of his organization’s members recently have seen their energy costs rise upward of 300%.
“One of our members whose increase in rates will start July 1, will be at $10,000 a month more than what they are paying just for their energy costs now,” Friend said. “When you talk about the real cost of doing business and these employers are absorbing these costs, where are they getting that extra $10,000 a month from?”
Friend attributes the rising cost of energy to states in the region limiting what types of energy they can use and where that energy comes from. He said the demand for energy is only going to rise.
“We have manufacturers in our region that actually need more energy to expand, but the grid cannot supply enough energy,” Weifenbaugh said. “They are looking at alternatives to create their own energy on-site, but the problem is the fees, policies and hoops they have to go through to do that.”
Friend said energy demand also will rise with more companies adding AI to their manufacturing process, as those systems require more energy to work.
The first hour of the event included what Weifenbaugh called the “student advisory panel,” which visited a handful of Butler County manufacturers during the past school year.
Students got the chance to talk about their experiences on the tours, as Weifenbaugh asked questions to spur the conversation.
That portion wrapped up with the consortium handing out its annual scholarship, designed to be given to a Butler County high school student who plans to attend a college in the field of manufacturing.
This year’s winner was Amy Waggoner, a senior in the Butler Area School District who plans to attend the University of Pittsburgh to pursue a degree in mechanical engineering.
“I am going for mechanical engineering, because that is the broadest engineering path you can take,” Amy said. “I really like cars and learning how they work and how they are made. A lot of colleges don’t have an automotive degree, so mechanical is the track to get into that.”
Students were then broken up into 20 groups to visit the 20 tables hosted by local manufacturers, such as Cygnus Manufacturing Company, HF Sinclair and Cleveland-Cliffs.
“A lot of the teachers said they like this setup a little bit better,” Weifenbaugh said. “I think the panel went well, and the showcase is going well now.”
Dan DeBacco, of HF Sinclair, was the organization’s representative for the event. He was able to explain the many applications of oil to students, that goes beyond the oil we put into our vehicles.
“They don’t think of what goes in your body,” DeBacco said. “We have a naturals line that cosmetic companies use. We have materials in Vaseline and stuff like that.”
Steven Deal and Jodie Ricketts, representing Cygnus Manufacturing, showed students the vast amount of products they make for many different industries.
“We have military radio cards, satellite parts, aerospace parts and medical parts,” Deal said. “We have some kids that seem more interested than others. One kid asked about the tooling we use — how do you cut it out, and what type of systems we use to program the machines.”
Ricketts said Cygnus is exploring how the company can implement new technology, such as AI.
“I think we really want to start with it helping us estimate parts,” Ricketts said. “How long they take to make and the costs it takes to make them.”
One of the many students at the event was Kyler Kroll, an eighth-grader in the Butler Area School District who is interested in pursuing a career in welding.
“It’s been on my mind for a while now,” Kyler said. “I am planning to take classes on it when I get to high school. I have learned there are many places that are suitable for my interest of work.”
