So That Happened: Hardworking Dads and How Not To Sell a New Car
Editor’s note: Welcome to So That Happened, our editors’ takes on things going on in the manufacturing world that deserve some extra attention. This will appear regularly in the Member’s Only section of the site.
Hardworking Dads for the Win
Our dad always came home exhausted from his work supervising a power plant 50 miles away. But he still had time to do our chemistry homework for us (just kidding—he was there to help), fix the alternator on the car, groom the dog and take us camping. He could even sew (and make crepes)! And when we had a cold, he’d put a little whiskey in our tea so that when we came of age, we could impress our friends by downing a shot of Wild Turkey with a relaxed smile.
Sadly, Hank Putre is no longer with us, but if he were, we’d nominate him for the Dad Time Off award. Sponsored by Made-in-USA truckbed-storage manufacturer Decked, the contest offers a full day’s pay to 100 worthy Pops. The company surveyed 1,000 dads and found that 43% “feel financial pressure when they take time off from work to spend time with their kids.” And 60% said “a few more days of PTO or a flexible work schedule would be the most helpful factors to them spending time with their kids.
You have until June 27 to nominate your Dad, so get cracking. Maybe include one of his most groan-worthy Dad jokes, just to gild the lily. And if you’re a dad who needs a day off, feel free to drop the contest link into your youngster’s chemistry homework.
—Laura Putre
Are You Sure You Want to Buy That Piece of Junk?
We bought a new car for my wife recently, a hybrid Subaru Forester in a very nice shade of blue. But, a dealership employee almost talked us out of it.
During the final paperwork, car dealerships have one more thing to try to sell: Extended warranties. For only a few thousand more dollars (added to your financed amount obviously), you can have the peace of mind, knowing that you’ll be covered if anything major breaks.
Did I say if? Well, the dealer certainly wanted me to know it was much more of a when question.
Using data from J.D. Power, he pointed out that Subaru reliability is truly awful – so bad that you need this warranty to make these cars drivable. As sales pitches to convince us to finish buying a car go, that was certainly a novel take.
He wasn’t completely wrong – close to, but not completely.
Complaints measured by J.D. Power did skyrocket between 2015 and 2024. Buyers reported 112 complaints per 100 vehicles industrywide a decade ago and 194 complaints per 100 last year. Subaru went from 142 to 182.
So, that sure sounds like a big dip in quality. Sign me up for expensive monthly payments!
Except that the dealer pitch was a steaming pile of… statistical misinformation.
J.D. Power, like any responsible research company, revamps its studies periodically to make sure it’s capturing good data. And, it discloses those changes when it does so. Like it did in 2020, the year when complaints jumped sharply.
Dave Sargent, vice president of automotive quality at J.D. Power, said in 2020 “The higher problem levels we see in this year’s study don’t mean vehicle quality has worsened; rather, the redesigned study asks additional questions that allow owners to cite more of the problems that they are experiencing.”
The saga ended with us at home with our new car and no extended protection. I sure hope they replaced the blinker fluid before we left, though.
—Robert Schoenberger
Jabil Plans $500M Southeast Investment
A slightly cynical take might be that Jabil Inc. executives weren’t too thrilled with the initial incentives offers they received…
The Florida-based contract manufacturer, which runs 30 plants in the United States and roughly 70 others in more than 25 countries, on June 17 said it plans to invest $500 million to beef up its work for cloud and data center infrastructure customers. The plan builds on Jabil’s $62 million acquisition of New Hampshire-based Mikros Technologies last October.
Where will those $500 million be put to work? Well, executives wouldn’t get more specific that “in the Southeast” and said they are in “the final stages” of site selection for a plant they expect to be up and running by the middle of next year. It looks to us like state economic development teams have one more shot to land that big deal.
—Geert De Lombaerde
Titan of Yogurt Danone Announces New Florida Production Line, New Bottle Mold Process
Danone U.S., the brand behind Activia and Danimals, announced today it was opening a new $65 million production line in Jacksonville, Florida for its cold-brew coffee and creamer products. The company also said it would build a new regional distribution center in the area. In total, Danone says the combined investments would add up to about 200 “direct and indirect” jobs in the area.
In a statement, Danone North America President Dan Magliocco said the latest investment was a sign of the company’s commitment to Northeast Florida and manufacturing domestically.
The company also said the new production line would feature a new way of making plastic bottles: The new molding method, Danone says, will reduce “bottle loss” by 30% and use less water.
—Ryan Secard
Lockheed Looks to Harness Robot Power
The venture capital arm of Lockheed Martin Corp. has helped lead a $13.5 million investment in an English manufacturer of robots that make parts on demand and automate wiring harness assembly.
The leaders of Q5D Technologies Ltd.—the 5D references the five axes of the robots—say their technology can take out up to $200 in wiring costs per compact vehicle while cutting weight and easing supply-chain pressures because Q5D’s work can be located at a product’s final assembly location. The company already is testing its products with some OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers at its home base in Bristol.
For Lockheed Martin, the investment is in large part about solidifying part of its supply base, said Chris Moran, vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin Ventures. The aerospace and defense sectors were among the hardest hit by the post-COVID supply-chain snarls, some of which executives said this spring have still not cleared up.
“Through investments like this one, Lockheed Martin Ventures aims to accelerate the development of next-generation technologies that will enable our customers to stay ahead of emerging threats and maintain a strategic advantage in an increasingly complex security landscape,” Moran said.
Other investors in Q5D’s funding round are Chrysalix and Maven SWIF, SOSV, UKI2S, UntroD and CPI Enterprises. The Innovate UK agency also provided the company a $2.6 million grant.
—Geert De Lombaerde
$800,000 Investment Focuses on ‘Hardtech’ Entrepreneurs
The Gilbert Family Foundation is stepping in to support Detroit’s manufacturing talent pipeline, by way of a hardtech emphasis.
For the unfamiliar (which included me), the term “hardtech” or “hard tech” has emerged to describe physical products that combine both software and hardware to solve specific problems. Hardtech frequently involves complex, costly engineering and requires upfront investment.
On June 17, the Detroit non-profit announced an $800,000 investment to Michigan-based Lawrence Technological University to support hardtech entrepreneurs.
The new investment, according to the Gilbert Family Foundation and the Centrepolis Accelerator at the university, will be used to launch the Idea to Product program. The program aims to support entrepreneurs in Detroit and nearby Hamtramck and Highland Park.
More specifically, the Idea to Product program will focus on early-stage entrepreneurs from underserved communities, as well as on socially and environmentally impactful products. Those entrepreneurs will get robust technical and business support services. An additional goal is to attract more funding.
For interested parties, the time is now. The Idea to Product program is accepting applications as of June 17 and will continue to accept them through July 17, with selections expected to be announced July 25 and the program starting in early August.
—Jill Jusko
