Composed of agricultural and mining industries, the Primary Sector is mainly focused on extracting physical wealth from the ground, which includes minerals and nutrients. All other industries depend upon the Primary Sector to be operating correctly for operation.
Composed of factories, mills, and foundries, the Secondary Sector takes the minerals and nutrients and processes them into usable products, from lawn mowers to computers to milk products.
Whereas the previous two sectors were concerned with extracting and producing wealth, the next two sectors have to do with streamlining the process (in the best case scenario). The Tertiary Sector is where the majority of the American Economy lives today: services. From credit card processing to the barber shop to the very government itself (some suggest that government belongs in the next sector), services should be aimed at making Agriculture, Mining, and Manufacturing far more enjoyable and manageable.
The final sector is "Sharpening the Wheel." The Quaternary sector involves research and development ("R&D") as well as quality oversight applied to the wealth building process in order to ensure smooth operation.
Only the first two create wealth. The latter two use it, move it, collect it, and store it.
The former two are burdened and under-stimulated. The latter two are bloated and over-stimulated.
Metal fabricating is in the Secondary Sector under manufacturing.
Unlike many sectors and businesses recently, our company has experienced a record Fall 2008. We can't speak for other companies, but we have been largely untouched by the recession. We can't say that this trend will continue, but we believe the economy will have difficulty recovering without an emphasis in national and private policy emphasizing the first two sectors of the 4-Sector model.