In 2004, longtime local manufacturer Madison-Kipp Corp. was enjoying steady success as a supplier of mostly engine-related parts for large trucks and SUVs.
But its customer base was too one-dimensional, company leaders for the family-owned metal parts maker feared. Madison-Kipp, currently in its 115th year of operation, including the past 110 years in the same location on Madison’s East Side, needed to diversify.
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NADCA Signs Letter Objecting to European Conflict Minerals Proposal
The North American Die Casting Association sent a formal protest to the U.S. Government raising concerns about the European Union’s world-wide conflict minerals system. As part of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law, publicly traded manufacturing companies are required to collect information from all their suppliers on whether Tin, Tungsten, Tantalum, or Gold (3T+G) from the Congo or surrounding companies exist in their products. The European Commission is poised to release an initiative in the coming weeks to require reporting of these minerals from any country, and not just the Congo and neighboring African nations.
“It is already very difficult for downstream suppliers like NADCA members to identify whether any of these minerals originate in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and surrounding countries,” said NADCA president Daneil Twarog. “Expanding this rule to a world-wide system will only add the burdens of manufacturing in America without addressing its primary goal to address the underlying issue of conflict minerals.”
In the letter to Secretaries of State John Kerry, Commerce Penny Pritzker, and U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman, NADCA called on U.S. Government leaders to work with the European Union to develop uniform guidelines and not take unilateral action. The U.S. conflict minerals law has already proven overly burdensome and called ineffective by many. Expanding the requirement to global reporting is even more difficult for the much smaller downstream suppliers who must provide this information or risk losing a customer.
Even the new Chair of the Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) tasked with overseeing compliance with the U.S. conflict minerals rule expressed concern and said the law falls outside of the regulator’s mission. European regulators are expected to reveal their world-wide conflict minerals rule in the coming weeks. NADCA and its allies are urging U.S. officials to oppose this move in the U.S.-E.U. Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership being negotiated now.
Careers in Manufacturing During National Manufacturing Day
Madison-Kipp Corporation hosted nearly 100 students from Madison’s La Follette and East High Schools during an event held for National Manufacturers Day.
“Today’s manufacturing facility is a high-tech, dynamic workplace that provides family-sustaining jobs to highly skilled workers,” says Mark Meunier, Vice President of Human Resources for Madison-Kipp Corporation. “We are proud to show the next generation of Wisconsin’s workforce the exciting career opportunities available in manufacturing.”
During their tour of Madison-Kipp, students saw 21st century manufacturing in action. Madison-Kipp’s experienced workforce utilizes state-of-the-art technology and engineering in a clean, safe environment to produce components used by a wide variety of industry sectors. Students also learned about lifelong career pathways within manufacturing with the assistance of Madison-Kipp employees and Madison College representatives who were on hand to explain about the available options and answer any questions
The students were very interested in the wide range of opportunities available to them as they contemplated their future work and career plans. Click here to view a short video of the students’ experiences during their visit at Madison-Kipp Corporation.