I was posed a question recently at the WANE Executive Leadership Conference in Baltimore about how important it is for face-to-face meetings with vendors and competitors in this digital age. The answers to this question ranged from once a year for manufacturers to once a month for vendor representatives.

Welcome Generation Y! That’s right everyone, Generation Y has infiltrated your companies and it’s about time that you start understanding it a little bit more.

Wow! I just finished reading, watching and then trying to digest the state of the industry address that Michael Werner, president and CEO of Globe Union Group, gave at KBIS 2012 in Chicago. I later followed that up with an interview with Michael via Skype.

The Hermitage/Sharon corridor on Interstate 80 in northwestern Pennsylvania is a crossroads for the past and the future. The massive Sharon Steel mill once employed more than 10,000 people.