Cimatron Limited today announced the results of its 2013 North America Tool Shop Benchmark Survey.
"One of the first studies of its kind, Cimatron's 2013 North America Tool Shop Benchmark Survey highlights the performance levels and challenges faced by tool shops as they seek to ensure their success in an increasingly competitive marketplace," said Mr Bill Gibbs, Cimatron's President North America.
The survey reveals that while almost three-quarters of tool shops (73%) plan to hire additional employees in the coming year, over half of the respondents identified finding qualified workers as the top challenge they face.
"Cimatron continues to invest in simplifying our CAD/CAM software and in driving automation to promote tool shop standardization," said Mr Gibbs. "This assists shops in making the assimilation and training of new staff easier."
Additional key survey findings include:
- Healthy industry growth: Half the shops surveyed saw an increase in the number of quotes they issued in the past year, and close to half of survey respondents (46%) believe the price of tooling has increased in the past 5 years.
- Stronger competition: At the same time, 45% of the respondents say they face stronger competition compared to 5 years ago and 35% of the respondents win only 1-2 out of every 10 quotes they provide.
- Technological investment: Over half (59%) of the shops surveyed invested in new software in the past year. 40% of these shops intend to invest even more in the next 12 months.
- Improved delivery times: Many shops have been able to make strides in productivity and efficiency, with 44% of tool shops able to reduce their delivery times over the past two years.
"Given the significance of the results and the wide interest shown in the survey, we are in the process of duplicating the study in other regions worldwide," said Mr Gibbs."
The complete results of the 2013 North America Tool Shop Benchmark Survey can be downloaded at http://toolingtimes.com/toolshop-survey.
