Making it in America A man and a firm with a plan to revive American manufacturing

The Economist:

“THE remarkable juxtaposition of American heartland, Midwest values and a whole lot of foreign accents” is what makes Midland, Michigan, a beacon of hope for the country’s manufacturing sector, reckons Andrew Liveris. His is one of those accents, though he no longer sounds crocodile-wrestlingly Australian. The boss of Dow Chemical has lived on and off for years in the company town that grew up around the brine wells that Herbert Dow first tapped in 1897 for his pioneering electrolysis process. The chemical firm still employs 5,500 of the town’s 42,000 inhabitants. (The second-biggest employer is Dow Corning, a silicone-making joint venture.) Dow’s success has delivered the nice homes, good schools and ball parks that make up the American Dream.

Like many immigrants, Mr Liveris shares that dream. But he now fears it is under threat. He has become one of the leading voices calling on the American government to embrace industrial policy. Last July Dow launched a plan to revive American manufacturing, which Mr Liveris then expanded into a book, “Make It In America”. On June 24th President Barack Obama appointed him co-chair of a new “Advanced Manufacturing Partnership” that brings together government, academia and business to “build a roadmap” for a more competitive manufacturing sector.

Clash of the Titans, Part 1

Ed Wallace:

The history of the Ford Motor Company has rarely been told accurately. The moments when facts trump myth are rare; and then immediately, with the sweep of an indifferent hand, the wave of historical misinformation wipes out the truth, reinstating and protecting the legend. Bottom line, “what everybody knows” about Ford is hardly ever all true.

That’s how it is with the creation of Ford’s third car company and its early years. For the truth is that once Ford and his staff of engineers created the original Model A in 1902, the company was organized and primarily run by James Couzens, a minority shareholder foisted onto Ford to keep an eye on the investors’ monies. What no one imagined happening was that from their very first meeting, Ford decided that Couzens and he would partner up against the investment group – and his junior partner didn’t mind going along.