I was hoping to have a factory tour to write about this fall, but when I went to the MeetUp page to register, it turned out New England Factory Tours was taking a break.
I like factory tours. I remember a tour of a lima bean packaging factory on Shelter Island, NY, when I was a kid, and a Kodak tour when Suzanne and John were little.
I have often referred to the lima bean factory when trying to explain to colleagues why a good publishing process involves doing things at the right time. You wouldn’t try to put the lima beans in the package after you had pasted the wrapper around it, and you shouldn’t make lots of changes to your original paper after it has been copyedited, laid out, and readied for press.
What I gleaned from Kodak was mainly how much got thrown away. It seemed wasteful, but the guide said it was cheaper to toss things. I’d like to see the lean manufacturing that’s more common today.
The Boston Globe‘s Jon Christian wrote about a trip to manufacturer Built-Rite, which makes automation systems for industrial tasks.It’s in Lancaster, Mass.
“Built-Rite is the fourth plant visited by the group of manufacturing enthusiasts known as New England Factory Tours. Inspired by a similar group in San Francisco, it is indicative of the cachet manufacturing has gained in recent years as a new generation of entrepreneurs known as makers turn their attention from software and services toward tangible products — from hardware to drones to smartwatches.
“The growth of this movement is underscored by the emergence of shared workspaces such as Artisan’s Asylum in Somerville, the home of startups such as 3Doodler, the maker of a 3-D printing pen, and Greentown Labs, also in Somerville, a hardware incubator that houses wind turbine developer Altaeros Energies, weather sensor maker Understory, and other firms. …
“In Massachusetts, manufacturing still employs about 250,000 people, paying average wages of about $80,000 a year compared with about $60,000 for all industries, according to state labor statistics. Most manufacturing in the state is so-called advanced manufacturing that uses sophisticated processes, makes sophisticated products, and requires highly skilled workers.” More.
I’m hoping the MeetUp organizer gets going again. A factory tour is something fun to do with kids and can make a lasting impression.
Photo: Kieran Kesner for The Boston Globe
During a tour of Built-Rite Tool & Die, president Craig A. Bovaird (center) spoke with tour organizer Chris Denney and visitor Erik Sobel, a principal at Technology Research Laboratories. 
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