Since joining IMEC 8 years ago as a technical specialist, Rick has used his expertise in lean enterprise, engineering and continuous improvement to drive productivity and competitiveness across Illinois. He brings over 35 years of relevant industry experience to the team.
My Chocolate Soul focuses primarily on gifts, events/catering, custom chocolates, and event favors. They offer a broad range of gourmet chocolates made with all-natural and organic ingredients, beginning with the finest imported chocolate. All of their products are made from scratch and do not use box or commercial mixes, high fructose/corn syrups, artificial coloring, hydrogenated oils, preservatives, imitation flavorings, or items containing any of these ingredients.
Since their opening in 2011, My Chocolate Soul's mission has revolved around creating luxurious sweet experiences that customers can enjoy from the very first bite. By making their chocolates fresh and follow a less-is-more approach to chocolate making, they have created a broad range of extraordinary flavor profiles.
International trade currently dominates news headlines, and the stakes are high for small and medium-sized manufacturers in Illinois to sell overseas.
To learn how to mitigate risk and prepare for global opportunities, IMEC and the Chicago Regional Growth Corporation (CRGC) partner to offer an intensive training program called ExporTech. ExporTech is a nationwide program that provides personalized coaching to a small group of manufacturers with their development of a strategic plan for international sales. Over the course of three months, each company receives custom market research to narrow down their target markets. The course covers
ExporTech includes one-on-one sessions with relevant service providers. ExporTech is held 3-4 times per year. 27 area companies have successfully graduated from the ExporTech program since 2016.
CRGC and IMEC talked to Larry Siegal, Sales Manager at Vogel Tool & Die in Addison, to hear firsthand about his company’s participation in ExporTech.
IMS Engineered Products (IMSEP) is an ISO 9001:2008 global supplier of precision sheet metal fabrications and electro-mechanical assemblies. They have over 70 years of experience and expertise in the design and manufacturing of electronic enclosures, data and AV racks. IMS Engineered Products has a 300,000 sq. ft. manufacturing facility on 5 acres which is located 10 minutes away from Chicago O’Hare Airport.
This article was originally published in "Inside Vermilion County" by Vermilion Advantage.
Local employers are benefiting from the new IMIN Network (Inspire, Motivate, Improve, Network). While the underlying focus is sharing information and strategies related to continuous improvement and lean processes, the group is finding broad areas that apply to almost any kind of business practice.
The group is led by Amanda English and Mike Gragert, Watchfire Signs; Stephanie Yates, Danville Area Community College (DACC); Rob Newbold, IMEC; and Vicki Haugen, Vermilion Advantage.
This is an original article by Kathleen Martin, MEP's IT Security Officer and a Certified Information System Security Professional.
Almost weekly we hear about another company or organization that has fallen victim to a cyber-attack. We know cybercriminals are more persistent and we need to be more diligent about protecting information.
eWorks Electronics Services Inc. provides full refurbishing, testing and recycling services including auditing, data erasure, data destruction, and dismantling services. They also provide a full lifecycle for processing all assets that come through the facility and a variety of services including: transportation, storage, donation, shredding, secure destruction, resale, and reporting.
They believe that the most important component of an electronics recycling solution is the audit and tracking of the material. Their e-Viridis system was designed from the ground up to manage client assets from the point they are received to the point of final processing. This provides clients with online scheduling of pickups, remote access to reporting, and integration to corporate asset management systems.
JGEREN was founded in 2013 by friends Lori Wallis and Jen Gerenraich. Jen and Lori share a love for design, the city of Chicago, and all things leather. JGEREN is their collaborative vision to create a truly Chicago based luxury lifestyle brand, offering women’s handbags and accessories, men’s bags and accessories, outerwear, jewelry, and home goods made from the finest leathers available.
For 57 years, Abbey Metal Service’s been providing commercial and industrial customers with tanks, linings, welding, and fabrication. They takes pride in their competitive pricing, and are available to quote even the most unique of projects. Abbey Metal Services is available for all custom fabrication and tank repair needs! As a member of the American Welding Society, they offers quality products and services according to precise specifications.
Written by Andrea Belk Olsen, MSC and CEO of Pragmadik
https://www.linkedin.com/in/olsonandrea1/
It's not about you. Truly, no matter what business you are in, it's not about you.
Too many organizations unintentionally support internal cultures that focus on the company, not the customer.
For example, have you ever heard your team being negative about customers, saying that they "don't get it"? Or about a competitor, stating they are "less than" your organization? What both of these things have in common is that they aren't focused on understanding and serving the customer. If your customer "doesn't get it", that's on you. If your competition is "less than", is that your perspective or your customers?
