TRAFFORD, Pennsylvania (Reuters) - Only half the machines are running at precision parts maker Hamill Manufacturing, nestled in the Allegheny Mountains just east of Pittsburgh, once the booming center of the U.S. steel industry.
But the factory's overcapacity is the result not of a shortage of business -- it has more orders than it can fill, despite a slowing U.S. economy -- but because of a shortage of skilled workers.
"I'd hire 10 machinists right now if I could," said John Dalrymple, president of the company, which makes high-end parts for military helicopters and nuclear submarines. "That's eight to 10 percent of our workforce."
While millions of jobs making everything from textiles to steel have moved to new powerhouses like China in recent years, precision manufacturing remains a crucial niche in the United States, one that is overworked and chronically understaffed.
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