Coming Into Focus

As we repeat our tradition of surveying Minnesota’s manufacturers, award-winning pollster Rob Autry will soon be “in the field” taking the pulse of manufacturing executives for our annual State of Manufacturing® project.

Rob and his team have done a superb job all sixteen years of the survey, giving Minnesotans an inside look at expectations and challenges surrounding Minnesota manufacturing. We’ll again augment the data by conducting 10 focus groups around the state to provide insight on why manufacturers feel the way they do.

All our focus groups are anonymous and confidential, enabling executives to share their unvarnished opinions and insights. These discussions provide real-world context to how manufacturing leaders see economic and industry trends impacting their businesses and communities around the state.

Over the years, participants have enjoyed how the focus groups give them an important connection to other manufacturers and maybe even a new supplier or customer.

One of our sponsors notes, “You hear some really novel ideas about how people in this resilient industry are rising to meet challenges.”

One long-time participant describes the unique opportunity ”We never really sit back and essentially put our feet up and share notes,” he says.

The conversations are always interesting and frankly, very enjoyable. Every year, the SOM focus groups rank among our favorite events. We really hope you can join us for one of them.

This year, we’re kicking off focus group season on Monday, September 16 at 1 p.m. at Hennepin Technical College and continue into early October, in every region of Minnesota.

Find all upcoming State of Manufacturing events here. 

Brooklyn Park – Sept. 16, 1-2 p.m.
St. Cloud – Sept. 17, 8:30-9:30 a.m.
Alexandria – Sept. 18, 8:30-9:30 a.m.
Duluth – Sept. 24, 8:30-9:30 a.m.
Detroit Lakes – Sept. 26, 8:30-9:30 a.m.
North Mankato – Sept. 30, 10:30-11:30 a.m.
Roseville – Sept. 30, 3:30-4:30 p.m.
Litchfield – Oct. 1, 8:00-9:30 a.m.
Golden Valley – Oct. 2, 8:30-9:30 a.m.
Rochester – Oct. 3, 8:30-9:30 a.m.

Upcoming Events

Find manufacturing workshops and events on our Events page

Industry news

Roseau gears up for a weekend celebration to mark 70th anniversary of Polaris
August 10, Grand Forks Herald

Cargill plans restructuring amid earnings slowdown
August 9, Star Tribune

Stratasys Announces Corporate HQ Moving to Minnetonka, Consolidating Most MN Offices Into One Campus
August 8, BusinessWire

Polaris Rolls Out New Intern Program for High School Graduates, Free Tuition at BSU
August 7, Twin Cities Business

MN Public Facilities Authority awards more than $253 million in wastewater infrastructure grants and loans
August 5, MN.gov