Closing the conversation, the panelists discussed their thoughts on the industry’s future and what the industry itself needs to continue being proactive on. McElroy advised industry insiders to continue educating the public about the sector’s importance. At the same time, Husby and Morris celebrated the partnership growth and general successes in our state to get us through the next chapter.
“I’m deeply concerned about how the auto industry is going in the country, and I don’t think it’s visible to public [and] political leaders,” McElroy said. “We could lose a lot of this industry before the decade is over. There’s no one cause [to blame]; we’ll die by a thousand cuts … You add the Chinese competition … the slow sales … technology change … We got to raise the consciousness that this industry is extremely important to the economy and national defense.”
“I’m seeing more partnership going out of our industry,” Husby said. “This is exciting because we all don’t have to go invest in this [individually]. We can do this together. I like the flexible manufacturing discussions that are ongoing and how we can think differently. I think that eco-partnership is going to be huge for where we go.”
“If economics teaches us anything, we will find an answer over time. I think that [because] people are talking about this, it gives me hope,” Morris said. “Celebrate the successes. There are a lot of good stuff. You have to learn and build on those to get to the next step.”
