In an article he wrote last year in Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Andy Grove called himself "a onetime factory guy." It was a reminder that the 74-year-old retired chairman of Intel knows from experience how costly and risky manufacturing can be. Given these challenges, Grove argues, the U.S. government should do far more to nurture manufacturing, or else the country will face dire consequences.
For one thing, losing the ability to manufacture things domestically will make it harder for innovators to scale their ideas into products, he says. Indeed, although photovoltaic technology was invented in the United States, many key innovations in solar power are happening in Asia now, largely because the necessary manufacturing prowess is there. Second, he argues, only manufacturing can meaningfully reduce unemployment. That's why Grove thinks the United States shouldn't necessarily focus solely on "high-value" production of advanced technologies; it might also be wise to boost manufacturing of some lower-value goods.
To read the full, original article click on this link: Andy Grove - Technology Review
Author: ROBERT D. HOF
