Last week, the Chicagoland Workforce Funder Alliance announced it will award its first industry-workforce partnership grant to the newly-aligned Illinois Manufacturing Excellence Center (IMEC) and ManufacturingWorks.

The Funder Alliance has chosen to award its first industry-workforce partnership grant to the IMEC-ManufacturingWorks partnership due to the partnership’s focus on building a platform that will drive additional value to both manufacturers and underprepared workers across the city and the region. The grant provides $300,000 - $400,000 annually for two to three years, beginning this fall. The Funder Alliance is a collaborative of 11 workforce development funders working with employers and other workforce stakeholders to increase employment and earnings for underprepared workers in the Chicago region.

The Perfect Mound manufactures portable pitching mounds for youth and adult baseball.

The Perfect Mound portable pitching mound is the solution to your pitching mound needs. With the 18' adult pitching mound and the 10' youth pitching mound options, there is a portable pitching mound available for all levels of play. Our portable baseball mounds are designed to adapt to dirt, grass, or turf surfaces. One of the most important features of our baseball pitching mounds is that the mound can be permanent or portable. The portability of The Perfect Mound allows a baseball field to be transformed into any playing field desired.

September 12, 2013 is the 2013 Baldrige Regional Conference. This conference provides an opportunity to learn about the best practices and results of both the 2012 Baldrige Award recipients and former Award recipients.

Written by Mary Hallock, IMEC Technical Specialist 

Continuously improving your company and eliminating waste includes the environmental and energy wastes that are being generated in your facility. Perhaps you should do as one company does and think of it not as waste, but EXCESS. Excess isn't garbage that needs to be thrown away, but extra materials that should be used.

J&M Plating is an industry leader in providing engineered solutions to the fastener and small stamping markets. Utilizing state of the are Heat Treating, Coating , Plating and Sorting equipment while employing the most stringent of systems and procedures for process control, we continually strive to exceed our customer's quality and service performance expectations.

Frantz Manufacturing, located in Sterling, Illinois, is a manufacturer and marketer of conveyor system components and steel ball products used in a variety of applications.

Advantage Illinois

Advantage Illinois is the Illinois Department of Commerce and Opportunity's (DCEO) enhanced portfolio of lending and venture capital programs. These programs are designed to provide Illinois small businesses and entrepreneurs with access to to the capital needed to start new companies or expand existing businesses. The $78 million federally-funded program encourages businesses to bring innovative ideas and new products to the market as well as accelerate job creation and economic growth in Illinois. For more information on this program as well as where to apply please click here.

CCK Automations, Inc. incorporates several industries within itself. We manufacture IPC-A-610 cerfified printed circuit boards (PCB) and UL 508A/698A control panels.