Women manufacturers succeeding in industry leadership roles

When Sandra Westlund-Deenihan's father handed her the reins to the family metal-float company in 1995, he also imparted one last reminder of his -- and his father's -- longstanding business philosophy.

"You make one thing, and you make it well," Westlund-Deenihan recounted.

But in 2003, with the Schaumburg-based company, Quality Float Works Inc., facing falling profits, Westlund-Deenihan decided to step out of her father's shadow, expanding her product line and pushing the company overseas.

"Business was soft," Westlund-Deenihan said. "We had tried everything -- became leaner in our production, cut down our workforce. I eventually came to the conclusion we had to innovate."

It's a decision of which her father, in hindsight, would have been very proud. The company's breadth of products, from traditional metal floats used to indicate water and solution levels to potable-water storage tanks for developing countries with a lack of clean water, has allowed it to breach the Asian, European and Canadian markets.

In 2007, Inc. Magazine recognized Quality Float Works as one of the 5,000 fastest-growing companies in the U.S. The company's bottom line grew 83.9 percent between 2003 and 2006 to $2.2 million.

Westlund-Deenihan is not alone. Across the U.S., women are increasingly succeeding in manufacturing industry leadership roles.

An October 2007 study from the National Association of Manufacturers reported that the number of women-owned manufacturing firms has nearly doubled since 1997. And while all manufacturing sales grew by just 8 percent between 1997 and 2004, sales of companies owned by women grew by 38 percent.

Statewide, some 2,500 women own small or mid-sized manufacturing firms, and many in the industry say that number is only growing.

It's a development that comes as welcome news to an industry plagued recently by a pronounced shortage of skilled laborers -- the result, manufacturers say, of the sector's increased focus on computer- and machine-based technologies that require more advanced, specialized training. A 2005 NAM survey reported that 81 percent of respondents said they were experiencing a shortage of qualified workers.

"There is absolutely a skills shortage facing companies right now," said Jim Nelson, a spokesman for the Illinois Manufacturers' Association. "Baby boomers are retiring, companies are modernizing more and more -- The competition for laborers is only going to increase."

The shortage, some say, has already impacted manufacturing output nationwide and statewide. The Chicago Fed Midwest Manufacturing Index showed a 0.5 percent decline in February, the latest available figure, with auto sector production down 1.1 percent.

According to some industry experts, an influx of women manufacturers might be the answer to the recent woes.

"Really, this is another chance for women to play the role of 'Rosie the Riveter,' said Pam McDonough, president and CEO of the Alliance for Illinois Manufacturing. "There's an employment shortage that's damaging the economy, and women are stepping up to fill the void."

With that goal in mind, industry leaders and individual company executives across the state and country have begun implementing training and recruitment programs designed specifically to attract female applicants.

Emily DeRocco, president of the Washington, D.C.-based Manufacturing Institute, says one of the larger obstacles companies face in these efforts is dispelling the lingering notion of manufacturing as a manual-labor-intensive, menial industry.

"When people think of manufacturing, they think of smokestacks," DeRocco said. "But many of the high-growth and innovative industries in our economy are in manufacturing. We're trying to get women to see the excitement these careers offer."

The NAM's "Dream It. Do It." campaign, with 12 regional programs across the U.S., is intended to do just that: appeal to young adults, particularly women, by publicizing the market's abundance of high-tech, high-paying manufacturing jobs. Will County is in the process of launching a regional campaign, according to NAM spokeswoman Laura Narvaiz.

Greater efforts to accommodate employees' work-family balance can also serve to attract women, DeRocco said. At Westlund-Deenihan's Quality Float Works, for instance, employees' children can partake in a summer-camp program. The firm is implementing an educational savings account, has a personal trainer give in-office health and wellness sessions once a week and even offers its employees free haircuts each month.

Christine Roche, president of Wheaton-based Acme Screw Company Inc., says these efforts have been integral in making women feel more welcome and respected in a manufacturing workplace traditionally dominated by men.

"In my 35 years here, I've seen a huge change," Roche said. "There's much more acceptance of women now. We're more respected, and the office is more diverse."

Women like Westlund-Deenihan say that while these changes have indeed drawn more women to manufacturing, industry and company leaders can go further. They must, Westlund-Deenihan says, if they hope to survive.

"I just returned from a business summit in Dubai," she said. "I toured factories there with a 24/7 work cycle. We have to compete with that, and women can take charge in that opportunity. So I'm constantly encouraging young women to step up and take the plunge. Trust me, the water's fine."