With the U.S. industrial sector projected to face 1.9 million unfilled jobs by 2032, according to Deloitte, and equipment failures causing up to 20% production losses, SMBs are under pressure from workforce shortages, costly downtime, rising operating costs, supply chain disruptions and the complexities of adopting Industry 4.0 technologies. “Small- and medium-sized manufacturers are the backbone of our economy and they are dealing with a different set of challenges compared to enterprise-scale manufacturers,” said Chris Stevens, president, Siemens Digital Industries, U.S. “Among these are transparency to performance, workforce readiness, technology integration, cybersecurity and productivity.” For SMB manufacturers navigating today's complex production landscape, the Siemens Xcelerator portfolio offers a transformative solution.