April 25, 2008 -- Manufacturers in the United States are looking to outsource the maintenance of their factory assets to bolster their plant operations against recession, according to the results of a new report by Advanced Technology Services Inc. (ATS) conducted with Nielsen Research. In the survey of 100 U.S. senior manufacturing executives, about two-thirds of those surveyed say they would outsource maintenance as a hedge against a downturn in the economy.
Bellwether manufacturers such as Caterpillar, Eaton, Honeywell and others have already adopted this recession-hedging strategy in many plants. While staying focused on their core competencies, these companies have outsourced the care and maintenance of their factory assets to ATS. Downtime is costly; according to the ATS survey, it costs manufacturers on average $22,000 per minute when production stops. ATS, started as a spin-off from Caterpillar Inc. in 1985, created a niche as a firm that large manufacturers can turn to for outsourcing the care and maintenance of factory assets. ATS is also expanding its territory, having established operations in Mexico and the United Kingdom, and is making plans to enter China.
Abstracted from eSource Canada Business News Network
