As the U.S. government seeks to secure borders and limit the influx of foreign nationals, one area taking an immediate hit is the information technology worker pool, stocked as it is with so much talent from India and other countries. But in today's new era of advanced manufacturing, the IT worker is a vital cog in how an assembly line or distribution system functions. So the pressure is on to train workers who are already here, so we don't have to go find them somewhere else. Meanwhile, there's one place that's still pre-eminent in automotive training and culture: Michigan.
      The slowdown hasn't kept Ansoft Corp.'s Automotive Product and Technology (APT) Solutions Centers from opening in Nagoya, Japan, and Troy, Mich., as the company seeks to provide software design, support and training services for OEMs and their suppliers.
      "Opening the offices demonstrates our continuing commitment to our customers," says Mike Smocer, sales manager for APT Solutions, a division targeted toward key electronic and electromechanical systems. "With these new centers, Ansoft will be better able to provide technical-support services to our customers in those regions."
      "According to some estimates, by 2005, electronics will account for 40 percent of an automobile's cost," noted Dr. Zoltan Cendes, Ansoft's founder, at a recent conference the company hosted in Pittsburgh. The company is focused on being the first to develop new, lower-energy electronic and electromagnetic components and systems.
      Leasing activity in the Detroit area has slowed down about 25 percent from the previous year's pace, and rampant "right-sizing" is opening up vast amounts of industrial space.