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Industry Outlook Signs of GROWTH A survey of North American tool shops indicates that the industry is growing, but so is the competition for new business and talented workers. Demand and Competition Growing One indicator of growing demand is the number of quotes issued by tool shops. Close to half of the survey respondents (49 percent) saw an increase in the number of quotes they issued in the past year, while only 13 percent issued fewer quotes than the previous year. Tool shops are not only issuing more quotes; many are also getting paid better for their work. Forty-six percent of the respondents believe the price of tooling has increased in the past five years, while 26 percent think prices went down. Not surprisingly, the growing demand has spurred tougher competition. Forty-five percent of the respondents say competition today is stronger than it was five years ago, and 35 percent say they win only one to two quotes out of every 10 they provide. Forty-eight percent believe the primary reason for losing to the competition is price (Figure 1). No. 1 Challenge With the growing demand comes the industry's most burning question: Who will do the work? More than half of the tool shops surveyed have increased their number of employees in the past two years, and as many as 31 percent of the shops have increased their workforce by more than 25 percent throughout that period. Hiring additional qualified employees is the first step survey respondents say they would take in order to make their businesses more successful. Seventy-three percent of the tool shops that participated in the survey expect to hire additional employees in the coming year. Close to a third (29 percent) expect to hire three to six people, and 15 percent plan to hire seven or more new employees in the coming year. FIGURE 1 35% I 22% 17% 18% 7% 1-2 3-4 5-6 7-8 9-10 Number of quotes won out of every 10 quotes provided. moldmakingtechnology.com 33 Figures courtesy of Cimatron. f online surveys could capture facial expressions, a recent survey of tool shop executives would probably show a good number of smiling faces, albeit cautiously optimistic ones. According to the 370 tooling professionals who participated in a North America tool shop survey1, business is exhibiting clear signs of growth. And while the survey shows that this growth is far from being challenge-free, any tool shop executive will welcome these challenges over the experience of a downturn.