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What do Americans think about manufacturing? Are people aware of the vast number of manufacturing jobs available? Will U.S. manufacturers be able to hire enough qualified workers?

A single phone call changed my life forever. In 2003, I was sitting in my office at a fuel cell manufacturing company where I was vice president of operations. A voice on the other end of the line said, “Hello, my name is Mark Tomlinson. I’m calling as a representative of the SME Manufacturing Enterprise Council.”

Global aerospace powerhouse Boeing selected North Charleston, SC, for its 787 Dreamliner final assembly and delivery line nearly a decade ago. Boeing’s footprint in the Charleston metro area has grown rapidly to include the exclusive 787-10 production, an IT Center for Excellence, an Engineering Design Center, a propulsion center, a paint facility, the Dreamlifter operation, and plenty of land for expansion.

Firearm component manufacturer Check-Mate Industries (West Babylon, N.Y.) is expanding to southwest Georgia. The company’s expansion will create 230 jobs and take place over a five-year period. It includes a $16 million investment.

While attending my 40th Class Reunion at Allegheny College this past May, I got a chance to talk with current undergraduates about their research and study projects. I came away impressed not only with the depth of their understanding, but also with their boundless enthusiasm for learning and achieving. It reminded me, a bit wistfully, of my class when we walked that same campus so many years ago.

I’ve been involved with SME for over 19 years—first as a scholarship winner and then as a student member at the Oregon Institute of Technology. Little did I know that I would go on to become even more involved in SME both locally and nationally.

One of the hardest segments of the workforce for employers to find skilled talent has been the skilled trades—the welders, electricians, machine tool operators, pipefitters, and other tradespeople who are essential in manufacturing and construction.

Who are the makers? Since the founding of Make: magazine in 2005 and the first Maker Faire in San Francisco in 2006, the loosely knit group of inventors, entrepreneurs, tinkerers, and crafters has grown massively.

Virtual reality (VR) technology transforms a headset and software into immersive, interactive experiences, letting the user join in the view. For machine tool manufacturers, VR offers two important opportunities.

We tend to think of the manufacturing industry as an abstract concept, describing it in terms of trends, growth rates and output. Two of our features in this issue, including the cover story, do exactly that. And that’s a good thing!