Robert Goodwin | Goodwin-Bradley Pattern Co. president
As the current steward of this 106-year-old family business, I am often asked what has been the most significant challenge over the years.
While there have been many, the most difficult one has been finding and retaining our most valuable asset … our people.
We are successful when we are able to hire curious, motivated individuals who are eager to take innovative approaches to solving the varied technical challenges that define our products.
I believe there is a unique propensity to be good at this work. It is not for everyone, and while some can be trained to do a good job it is that special person who has the appetite to excel that really makes a difference. We have been fortunate in finding some of these people but doing so has been difficult.
Over the years there has been a trend to de-emphasize manufacturing jobs as people didn’t want jobs “where their hands might get dirty.” Shop classes in our schools went away, and fewer and fewer people were exposed to the opportunities that the manufacturing environment presents.
Fortunately, there has been a rediscovery of the value of manufacturing in Rhode Island. Our state has made substantial investments in equipment and programs for our educational institutions and has supported our Rhode Island manufacturers with effective programs that improve our ability to compete.
I am hopeful that the phrase “We just can’t find good people” will be less of an issue over our next hundred years.