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Employment

INDUSTRY NEWS | 2025-12-09

Forest City Gear Director of Operations Selected as RRVTMA President

Forest City Gear, an industry-leading manufacturer of fine- and medium-pitch custom gears, is proud to announce that Director of Operations Jared Lyford has been elected President of the Rock River Valley Tooling & Machining Association (RRVTMA).

INDUSTRY NEWS | 2025-12-09

Forest City Gear Celebrates Three Anniversaries

Forest City Gear, an industry-leading manufacturer of fine- and medium-pitch custom gears, is proud to recognize several employees for their long-term dedication to the company, including Mark Cunningham (25 years), Keith Tillman (15 years), and Doug Klitz (10 years).

FEATURE ARTICLES | 2022-02-23

2022 State of the Gear Industry

Gear Technology’s annual State-of-the-Gear-Industry survey polls gear manufacturers about the latest trends and opinions relating to the overall health of the gear industry. As in years past, the survey was conducted anonymously, with invitations sent by e-mail to gear industry companies — primarily in North America, but also including some respondents from around the world. Nearly 200 individuals responded to the survey.

FEATURE ARTICLES | 2022-02-23

Surviving the Labor Shortage

PUBLISHER'S PAGE | 2021-09-01

Now Hiring

Manufacturers have long been plagued by the difficulty of finding skilled labor.

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2019-09-12

Where Did All the Dealmakers Go?

An old business associate called the other day with a training request. To the best of my knowledge, he’s among the last “manufacturer’s representa...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2019-08-06

Finding New Vendors

Record low unemployment rates have some unforeseen consequences. My home county’s rate has not been this low in many years, yet the residents do no...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2017-02-09

Engineering Economy in 1912

In the same issue of Industrial Engineering that Percy C. Day published his treatise on herringbone gears, Sterling H. Bunnell offered

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2016-08-23

Time for the Clan to Gather

Has your e-mail inbox been full lately? It is a sure sign that the International Machine Tool Show (IMTS) is rapidly approaching. This ye...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2016-05-12

Down on the Farm

My last posting discussed the problem of finding a technical leader for a gear company. Except in a few emergency situations, such as the sudden de...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2016-04-26

No Fantasy Draft

Chicago will once again host the National Football League draft for former college players. Millions of fans will tune in to see where their favori...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2016-03-08

What Good Are the Leading Indicators?

"Wall Street predicted nine of the last FIVE recessions," Paul Samuelson, Nobel Prize winner in economics, 1966. We get a lot more economic news...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2015-04-14

The Importance of Follow-Up

Job creation has been a popular platform for politicians for as long as I can remember. What seems to be lacking is any sort of “after action repor...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2015-02-10

Uncertain Times

[starbox] While the news media is heralding improved job and income growth, people in gear manufacturing are worried about the security of their j...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2015-02-05

Alumni Groups

[starbox] I wrote last time about how the Internet has made it easier to reconnect with people you used to know. It has also been a boon to the fo...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2014-12-09

A Day That Changed the Future

[starbox] I didn’t start working in the gear business until 1971, but the events of 30 years earlier affected me from the moment I walked into t...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2014-10-07

Spamsters be Damned — We're Bloggin' Here

[starbox] The anticipated, two-way dialog for this blog has been hampered by persistent spammers trying to scam their way onto t...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2014-08-28

Specialization is for Insects

[starbox] The sports world was abuzz recently over a girl pitching her Little League team into the World Championship Tournament. For some this ...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2014-04-22

Different Consequences

[starbox] In the most recent issue of Gear Technology, the Publisher’s Page recounts the inaugural issue’s coverage of “transformative ...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2014-04-01

An Appreciation of Gray Hair

[starbox] While driving from Dallas Fort Worth Airport to a new client’s factory, I listened to a very troubling story on PRI’s Marketplace. It ...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2014-02-24

Is It Summer Yet?

[starbox] With the extreme weather much of the country has been having it isn’t too surprising that many people are daydreaming about summer vac...

VOICES | 2013-08-01

Where Did All the Displaced Manufacturing Workers Go

Following is a report from The Manufacturers Alliance for Productivity and Innovation (MAPI). Founded in 1933, the alliance contributes to the competitiveness of U.S. manufacturing by providing economic research, professional development, and an independent, expert source of manufacturing information.

FEATURE ARTICLES | 2011-11-01

Best of Times, Worst of Times

An American renaissance in manufacturing is needed—and long overdue.

TECHNICAL ARTICLES | 2011-08-01

Benefit of Psychoachoustic Analyzing Methods for Gear Noise Investigation

This article provides an overview of the benefits of using psychoacoustic characteristics for describing gear noise. And with that, human hearing and the most important psychoacoustic values are introduced. Finally, results of noise tests with different gear sets aree presented. The tests are the basis for a correlation analysis between psychoacoustic values and gear characteristics.

FEATURE ARTICLES | 2009-11-01

American Manufacturing - Can It Be Saved

If anyone should ever need convincing that the state of American manufacturing is in ongoing decline, consider this: the state of Michigan has the highest concentration of engineers in the country, yet also has the highest unemployment rate. But there are ripples of hope out there as grassroots and otherwise organized groups are fighting the good fight in an attempt to reverse that trend.

FEATURE ARTICLES | 2008-01-01

Well-Paying Manufacturing Jobs Are Blowing in the Wind--And State Governments are Racing to Harness Them

Lamentations continue—legitimately so—over the second-citizen status of manufacturing in the United States. The need undoubtedly continues for renewed support by government and educators for making things here once again...

VOICES | 2008-01-01

Letters to the Editor

Matt McBride of Riverside Spline & Gear responds to last issue's Voices piece by Fred Young, and Tom Schmitt of Schmitt Design responds to last issue's publisher's page.

FEATURE ARTICLES | 2007-01-01

Labor Pains in the American Gear Industry--Any Relief in Sight

Lack of skilled workers mirrors U.S. manufacturing's decline.

TECHNICAL ARTICLES | 2000-03-01

Reducing Production Costs in Cylindrical Gear Hobbing and Shaping

Increased productivity in roughing operations for gear cutting depends mainly on lower production costs in the hobbing process. In addition, certain gears can be manufactured by shaping, which also needs to be taken into account in the search for a more cost-effective form of production.

ADDENDUM | 1999-07-01

A Brief History of Gears

No one is quite sure when gears were invented. It's universally agreed, however, that they've been transmitting motion in one form or another for quite a long time.