MISSION, RGV - Along with thousands of other manufacturing companies across the country, Royal Technologies will open its plant to the public on Friday - National Manufacturing Day.
The aim is to inspire young people to pursue careers in manufacturing and engineering. At Royal Technologies’ advanced manufacturing plant in Mission, students involved with the FIRST RGV robotics nonprofit will get a tour of the company’s facilities. Mission Mayor Armando O’Caña is expected to attend.
National Manufacturing Day is observed on the first Friday in October.
Trung Cao Nguyen, plant manager for Royal Technologies in Mission, said that while the number of manufacturing jobs in the U.s. is much lower than in decades past, manufacturing output continues to rise. He said that when many manufacturers started to move operations to China to save on labor costs, those remaining in the U.S. became more efficient, thanks to advanced technology.
“It speaks to the productivity of the U.S. That is why, when you look at numbers in terms of jobs, there has been a decrease but the output of the products coming out of the U.S. has increased, quite considerably,” Nguyen told the Rio Grande Guardian.
According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. manufacturers produced about $6 trillion in gross output in 2017. However, manufacturing payrolls comprise only 8.5 percent of the U.S. total.
Nguyen predicted science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) graduates will power the next chapter of American production and innovation. He said harnessing their potential is an economic imperative.
“It (manufacturing) is very high-tech, a lot of critical thinking, a lot of problem solving. Manufacturing has changed. It is more technical thinking,” Nguyen said.
Asked what his message will be to the Rio Grande Valley on National Manufacturing Day, Nguyen said:
“The key message I want to get across is you can have a high paying job without having to go to college. That is really what it comes down to. Not everyone has to go to college. I think as a country, as a region there has to be a shift in terms of skill trades. That is what we are missing in the U.S..”
Noting that supervisors in manufacturing plants can earn $60,000 a year, Nguyen added: “Just because you do not go to college, that does not mean you cannot make a good earning. You can achieve that in manufacturing.”
