ITT Inc. Acquires Aerospace Contacts; Just How Many Robots Can People Tolerate? So That Happened

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 appears regularly in the Members Only section of the site.

A $31 million deal doesn’t make for a huge headline in today’s rather frenzied M&A space—more on that here from Endeavor’s ExecutiveEDGE brand—but we bring it to your attention here because it fits neatly into one of the narrative themes of this decade in business. 

The leaders of conglomerate ITT Inc. announced June 16 that they have struck a deal to buy privately held Aerospace Contacts LLC, an Arizona-based maker of contact systems and interconnect parts. The third sentence of ITT’s release gets to the heart of the matter when it says that “the pending acquisition will strengthen both companies’ supply chain resilience.” 

Between disruptions from the pandemic, wars and inflation and energy shocks, strengthening supply chains has been an enduring corporate priority, one that some C-suites have sought to address by more tightly cooperating (and at times browbeating) while others have decided that outright acquiring suppliers—see Boeing bringing its former Spirit Aerosystems division back under the umbrella as a prime example—is the more advisable way to go. 

The products made by Aerospace Contacts, which was founded in 1999 and employs roughly 140 people, are used in connectors for use in aerospace and defense applications. The company has long supplied two divisions of ITT and bringing its operations in house gives ITT President and CEO Luca Savi and his team assurance that that won’t change. 

— Geert De Lombaerde

Three quarters of manufacturing employer respondents to Chegg’s Frontline Workers Skills Index say the skills gap in their industry is either moderate, serious or crisis-level. The new research surveyed U.S.-based employers and employees from 10 frontline-heavy industries. More than half (51%) of these manufacturing employers say new and entry-level employees are not properly prepared for work, and 46% report spending more than eight hours per week compensating for the skills gap, the highest percentage among the 10 industries surveyed. 

The skills gap is taking its toll on existing workers in the manufacturing space, with 46% of employers and 37% of employees having considered quitting due to the stress from understaffing. 

When it comes to emerging technologies, 48% of manufacturing employers say AI and automation are the most lacking skills in their workplace. 93% of employers are confident using AI tools in their role, compared to just 47% of employees who report the same. 

There is a slight gap in perception when assessing the success of skills training programs for workers: 69% of manufacturing employers think these programs are effective, and 59% of employees would say the same. Additionally, 71% of manufacturing employees say that skills training has not led to a change in role or pay.

— Anna Smith

The skills gap may be forcing plants to develop creative workarounds to maintain productivity, but another study suggests that this is just one of many issues weighing on plant teams. 

This past Monday at the EASA Annual Convention & Solutions Expo in Orlando FL, I presented new research done by the organization to identify the attitudes and expectations of plant maintenance and operations teams when it comes to industrial motor asset management. EASA has done this study six times over the past 23 years, including in 2023 so has been able to identify key trends and issues over time. 

One of the biggest changes in this year's survey results was the urgency that respondents felt about hot-button issues of the day. Respondents cited the following as the top three most urgent issues in both 2023 and 2026: 

• Supply chain (83% in 2023 vs. 48% in 2026)
• Employee hiring / retention (64% vs. 41%)
• Energy efficiency / reduction (42% vs. 39%)

The reduction in urgency for those top issues was more than made up for by the rest of the stressors on the issue list. Here's a sampling: 

• AI / machine learning (7% in 2023 vs. 32% in 2026)
• Sustainability / circular economy (19% vs. 32%)
• Right to repair policies (10% vs. 26%)
• Big data analytics (9% vs. 24%)

Plant teams clearly have been able to take a deep breath since 2023, and better balance their focus between strategic and tactical issues. The downside may be that instead of stressing over just two or three big issues, plants in 2026 may now be low-key stressing about everything.

— Thomas Wilk

You’ll tolerate robots in warehouses and factories but not in hospitals or schools, according to a new report from Hexagon, that divides its results between adults and children. 

When adults were asked what uses they think robots should be put to: 

• 68% said heavy lifting 
• 54% said carrying and delivering 
• 52% said monitoring hazards 

Children generally agreed with the adults. 

When asked about tasks that require empathy or accountability, 71% of adults and 67% of children want humans, not robots, taking care of the sick, elderly or children.  

The gap between adults and children shows up when respondents were asked whether robots should be considered colleagues. Twenty-one percent of adults said yes, while half the children said yes. Newer generations will be more likely to respond positively to the inevitable AI rebellion. 

— Dennis Scimeca