ILMA Compoundings – February 2019 - 3

BOARD OF DIRECTORS
President
Barbara Kudis
Allegheny Petroleum
Products Co.
Vice President
Chuck Decker
American Oil &
Supply International, LLC
Treasurer
Scott A. Schwindaman
Lubrication Engineers, Inc.
Secretary
Michael Damiani
Radco Industries, Inc.
Immediate Past President
Dave Croghan
Maxum Petroleum

Ann Ball
CIMCOOL Industrial
Products LLC

Lon Fanning
DuBois Chemicals
Jarrett Flegel
Boss Lubricants
Catharine T. Golden
Etna Products, Inc.
Frank H. Hamilton III
South Atlantic Services, Inc.
Beth Ann Jones
Hangsterfer's Laboratories, Inc.
Greg Julian
Advanced Lubrication
Specialties
Kent Morris
Pinnacle Oil, Inc.
Ronald M. Powell
Moroil Technologies
David Richards
RichardsApex, Inc.

STAFF
Chief Executive Officer
Holly Alfano
Associate Director
Martha F. Jolkovski
Director of
Communications
Brenda Gillinson, CAE
Member Services/
Marketing Manager
Tim Mack

Communications
Manager
Amber Lopez
Membership Manager
Meg Thaxton
Accounting Manager
Margaret Smith
General Counsel
Jeffrey L. Leiter

EDITORIAL, DESIGN
Contributing Editor
Brenda Gillinson, CAE

Designer
Mark St. Amand

THE YGS GROUP
Senior Editor
Drew Bankert

Copy Editor
Amanda Holahan

Managing Editor
Sam Hoffmeister

Account Manager
Charity Fox

MEDIA SALES
Executive Vice President
Jack Davidson

LETTER FROM THE CEO

Barbara A. Bellanti
Battenfeld Grease &
Oil Corporation of N.Y.

Advertising Account
Executive
Tima Good
tima.good@theygsgroup.com

INDEPENDENT LUBRICANT
MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION
675 North Washington Street, Suite 275, Alexandria, VA 22314
Phone: 703-684-5574 * Fax: 703-836-8503 * www.ilma.org
Editorial, Design, Media Sales, & Printed by The YGS Group
800-501-9571 * www.theygsgroup.com
Compoundings (USPS 003-447) is published monthly by the
Independent Lubricant Manufacturers Association,
675 North Washington Street, Suite 275
Alexandria, VA 22314.
Annual subscriptions: Members, $75 of annual dues;
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ISSN 1042-508X
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Manufacturers Remain
Optimistic Despite Challenges

s I write this, the federal government has reopened after a 35-day shutdown,
the longest in history. Economists are still grappling with the long-term
ramifications, including an estimated $1.2 billion loss for each week the
government remained closed.
Meanwhile, on other fronts, the economy appears to be percolating at a resilient
pace. The National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB) reported that
the Small Business Optimism Index remains strong, with one-quarter of small
business owners planning expansion in the next three months.
According to the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) 2018 Outlook
Survey, manufacturer's optimism has reached an all-time high of 92.4 percent.
Survey respondents told NAM they expect production to grow over the next 12
months by 4.3 percent and anticipate that employee wages will also increase by
slightly more than 2 percent.
The hitch will be challenges in attracting new employees with unemployment
at an all-time low. According to the 2018 NAM Outlook Survey, 68.2 percent of
manufacturers consider the inability to attract skilled workers their top challenge.
As the year ended, there were almost 500,000 job openings in the manufacturing
sector. In the U.S., there were more job openings - 6.8 million - than the
number of people looking for work - 6.2 million.
ILMA is confronting this challenge head-on with an interactive session at the
ILMA Engage spring conference, April 11-13 at the Hotel Del Coronado, Coronado, California. The session, "Attracting and Retaining Top Talent, Becoming an
Employer of Choice," is scheduled for Saturday, April 13, at 9:45 a.m. This session
will explore today's workforce and how your business can thrive in this competitive world, as well as how to manage generational differences among your staff.
(For detailed information about this session and other offerings at ILMA Engage,
please visit our website at www.ilmaengage.org.)
Economists concede that a recession is unlikely considering the historically low
unemployment rate of 3.9 percent and strong labor participation rate of 63.1
percent. Additionally, consumers appear to be optimistic, with consumer credit
increasing as 2018 came to an end.
One factor that remains a "wild card" is the timing of Federal Reserve interest
rate hikes. The latest indications from the Fed Chair Jerome Powell are that he
would take a cautious approach to rate hikes.
Despite a volatile stock market, indicators point to an extremely strong economy and a positive environment for business. All in all, solid economic growth
and vibrant optimism among manufacturers add up to good news and opportunities for ILMA members.

Holly Alfano
Chief Executive Officer

© 2019 Independent Lubricant Manufacturers Association.
All Rights Reserved.
ILMA is pleased to present a variety of viewpoints in Compoundings magazine. Readers should keep in mind that bylined articles
represent the views of the named author or authors and not
necessarily the opinions, viewpoints or positions of ILMA.

http://www.ilmaengage.org http://www.ilma.org http://www.theygsgroup.com

ILMA Compoundings – February 2019

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