PMA chair pushes morality for manufacturing industry

Gretchen Zierick, president of Zierick Manufacturing Corporation of Mount Kisco, N.Y., was named the Precision Metalforming Association's 2010 chair of the board of directors at the association's annual meeting last month. She urges all who work in the metalforming industry to unite in support of her theme for the year: The Morality of Manufacturing.

"There is a moral code among manufacturers in this country based on the honesty and integrity that permeates our industry," Zierick says. "In manufacturing, we can't get away with the lying, stealing and cheating we've seen in the banking, financial services and other industries. Manufacturers take raw materials and convert them into finished products that customers can test, see and feel, to prove their worth. To develop these products, you need an idea and an understanding of how to make it work. This to me is a moral endeavor, yet our industry often gets treated like the bad guy by the media and by our politicians."

During her term as PMA chair and beyond, Zierick expects PMA's advocacy efforts to help ensure that government actions do not put manufacturers at a further competitive disadvantage. Of immediate concern: burdensome tax hikes, labor-law reform and cap-and-trade legislation. She supports the association's long-term commitment to lobbying politicians, to make them understand the impact that their legislation has on the industry and its ability to compete in the global market. She urges all that work in manufacturing to follow PMA's lead and support those politicians that support policies that encourage the growth of America's small to medium-sized manufacturing companies, by eliminating barriers to profitability.

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