Mike
05-16-05, 06:27 AM
By Emily Shartin, Globe Staff | May 15, 2005
In a vast building in Franklin, technicians at small workstations pore over circuit boards, searching for flaws.
Their tests show whether the circuitry can withstand vibration and changes in temperature and voltage. Once the boards pass, they will be loaded into large gray cabinets, creating the data storage devices that have made EMC Corp. a major player in the computer industry.
''The goal of all our tests is to find a problem before the customer does," Mike Kerouac, EMC's vice president for global manufacturing operations, said earlier this year on a tour of the building, where about 1,100 people work.
Massachusetts has struggled to hold onto factory jobs, but manufacturing remains a notable source of employment in Boston's western suburbs. As of the third quarter last year, it was the leading industry in six Globe West communities -- Ashland, Franklin, Holliston, Hudson, Marlborough, and Medway -- and a close second in six others, according to data from the state Division of Unemployment Assistance.
The question now is whether, with automation on the rise and competition both domestic and international, the region can hold onto those jobs that remain.
''The rest of the world is getting smarter and more productive, and remains cheaper," said Michael Goodman, director of economics and public policy research at the University of Massachusetts Donahue Institute.
In the 30 Globe West communities for which data were available, there were about 43,700 manufacturing jobs in the third quarter last year, down from about 54,700 during the same period in 2001. That represents a total decline of about 20 percent, slightly less than the statewide drop of about 23 percent during the same period.
About 11 percent of all the jobs in the 30 communities were in manufacturing.
Click for more (Registration may be required) (http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2005/05/15/manufacturing_jobs_dip_in_region_as_outsourcing_wi dens/)
In a vast building in Franklin, technicians at small workstations pore over circuit boards, searching for flaws.
Their tests show whether the circuitry can withstand vibration and changes in temperature and voltage. Once the boards pass, they will be loaded into large gray cabinets, creating the data storage devices that have made EMC Corp. a major player in the computer industry.
''The goal of all our tests is to find a problem before the customer does," Mike Kerouac, EMC's vice president for global manufacturing operations, said earlier this year on a tour of the building, where about 1,100 people work.
Massachusetts has struggled to hold onto factory jobs, but manufacturing remains a notable source of employment in Boston's western suburbs. As of the third quarter last year, it was the leading industry in six Globe West communities -- Ashland, Franklin, Holliston, Hudson, Marlborough, and Medway -- and a close second in six others, according to data from the state Division of Unemployment Assistance.
The question now is whether, with automation on the rise and competition both domestic and international, the region can hold onto those jobs that remain.
''The rest of the world is getting smarter and more productive, and remains cheaper," said Michael Goodman, director of economics and public policy research at the University of Massachusetts Donahue Institute.
In the 30 Globe West communities for which data were available, there were about 43,700 manufacturing jobs in the third quarter last year, down from about 54,700 during the same period in 2001. That represents a total decline of about 20 percent, slightly less than the statewide drop of about 23 percent during the same period.
About 11 percent of all the jobs in the 30 communities were in manufacturing.
Click for more (Registration may be required) (http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2005/05/15/manufacturing_jobs_dip_in_region_as_outsourcing_wi dens/)