MSCI California Chapters to Hold Manufacturing Summit

CITY OF INDUSTRY, Calif., Sept. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- A "Manufacturing Summit" with local and national speakers will address the crisis in U.S. manufacturing with a town hall-style meeting here on Wednesday, October 6. The event, sponsored by the two California chapters of the Metals Service Center Institute (MSCI), will be held at the Pacific Palms Hotel and Conference Center, One Industry Hills Parkway, City of Industry, California, beginning at 5:30 p.m.

The California Manufacturing Summit, one of a series of similar events organized by MSCI chapters around the country, is designed to alert the metals and manufacturing communities to "game changing" public policy issues that threaten the nation's ability to continue to be a world center for manufacturing. The MSCI Southern California and Northern California chapters have joined to present the program to members, manufacturers, politicians and friends of manufacturing from around the state.

"MSCI first raised concern about the declining state of capital goods and consumer durable manufacturing six years ago, and since that time, the situation has not improved significantly," said M. Robert Weidner, III, president and CEO of the institute, which is based in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. "In many respects, the specter of laws and regulations that will raise costs, lower competitiveness and leave us open to illegal trade practices has grown. It's time to arm our members, their customers and others with an interest in a strong manufacturing base with the information they need to be effective in the public policy confrontations yet to come."

"We believe that North American manufacturing is under attack," said Nicholas A. Gonzales, president of the Southern California Chapter and vice president, Westmet International, of Fullerton, California. "Entire categories of goods are no longer made in this country, and manufacturers are extremely hesitant to expand or locate facilities here. We all know how damaging the recession has been. Add to that the negative impact of proposed taxes, new health care requirements, climate change regulations, labor laws, China's continuing mercantilist policies and the like, and we all face a long, difficult period in the months and years ahead."

Weidner will be moderator for the event. Additional speakers include:

• Bill Jones, vice chairman of O'Neal Industries of Birmingham, Alabama, and chairman of the MSCI national organization
• David Goodreau, sales manager, Superior Thread and Rolling; and executive director, San Fernando Valley Chapter, National Tooling & Machining Association, Ft. Washington, Maryland
• David H. Hannah, chairman and CEO, Reliance Steel & Aluminum, Los Angeles
• Michael Hoffman, president and CEO, Macsteel Service Centers USA, Long Beach, California, and also vice chairman of MSCI

Candidates for public office have been invited to the event. In addition, time will be provided for a question-and-answer period and discussion about options that everyone has to work on behalf of the nation's manufacturing base.

Founded in 1909, the Metals Service Center Institute has more than 360 members operating from about 1,200 locations in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and elsewhere in the world. Together, MSCI members constitute the largest single group of metals purchasers in North America, amounting each year to more than 55 million tons of steel, aluminum, and other metals, with about 300,000 manufacturers and fabricators as customers. MSCI's membership also includes almost all ferrous and non-ferrous industrial metals producers in North America. Metals service centers inventory and distribute metals and provide first-stage fabrication services.

SOURCE Metals Service Center Institute