Smoky Joe’s Clothing is known for their innovation, including the Zoot Suit, Mr. B. collars, Italian knit shirts faced in butter leather and even reverse pleated slacks. They take pride in the many entertainers whose names are now famous shopped at Smoky Joe’s.

Since their founding, Smoky Joe’s clothing has become increasingly popular throughout the fashion industry in North America and around the world. They provide their unique American made jackets and accessories for businesses, corporations, events, and clubs.

This is an original article, written by Ed Sowoski of Light Guide Systems.

As a lean practitioner of many years, I have had the privilege of applying lean concepts in many different businesses including project engineering, repetitive manufacturing, process manufacturing and even in a sales capacity. I’ve had to apply lean principles in areas where the cycle times ranged from seconds to days, which allowed me to apply lean manufacturing tools in very different ways.

Written by: Virginia Rounds, Director of the ICATT Apprenticeship Program

The price of vacancy in the high-tech manufacturing industry is staggering, and while companies recognize this is a problem, the true cost has become such a part of the status quo that it is often overlooked.

Mike has a diverse manufacturing background which allows him to connect with different areas of an organization and offer valuable insight at a strategic level. As a Regional Manager at IMEC, he uses his deep understanding of process efficiencies to help businesses in Central Illinois create their competitive futures.

Written by Andrea Belk Olsen, MSC and CEO of Pragmadik
https://www.linkedin.com/in/olsonandrea1/

Most "predictive rundown" articles that kick off at the beginning of the year focus on big technologies, major disruptions, or massive breakthroughs that will upend your market. While these possibilities may manifest at some point, there's something to be said for going back to the basics. They say, "what got you here, might not get you there", that doesn't mean as an organization you toss out the good with the bad. More importantly, you don't lose sight of the practical essentials that make a business successful - customers.

Written by Marie Hale of At Revenue.

Globally the manufacturing industry has undergone a massive transformation in the past decade. Recessions choked demand, employment continues to fall and the floors and lines don’t have the same consistent flow of work to be done. With all of the nuances between each manufactured product and the manufacturers themselves, what is to be done to start to right the ship and save one of the most critical industries to America’s economy?

Sure, you hear us talk about Baldrige and the Excellence Framework, but what is Baldrige?

The Baldrige Excellence Framework is a set of tools that organizations of all sizes in manufacturing, healthcare, government, non-profit, education and small business can use to gain an advantage over their competition. Focused on driving growth and sustainability by improving your organization’s performance, the Baldrige Excellence Framework includes the Criteria for Performance Excellence, core values and concepts, and guidelines for evaluating your processes and results. Organizations succeed with Baldrige because the Excellence Framework looks at the big picture from different perspectives:

 Guest post, written by Ron Jacobs, Human Resources Professor and Consultant.

This one-day workshop provides a practical introduction to job analysis and the skills to conduct the well-known technique called DACUM (Developing a Curriculum). DACUM has a long history of proven success in gathering information about what people do on their jobs, including the following:

• Identifying employee selection criteria
• Identifying current and future job requirements
• Designing training programs
• Supporting quality and safety programs
• Developing work instruction documents

US Weight was founded in 1996 by Larry Mitchell and Matt Buchannan who were both entrepreneurs working in Olney, Illinois. The two partners purchased some of the fitness related assets from RoadMaster Corporation which was one of the largest sporting goods companies at the time. US Weight focused initially on the fitness market since it acquired the fitness weight manufacturing technology from RoadMaster originally developed by Diversified Products (DP) in the 1960s.

DP pioneered the concept of nonferrous weight sets encased in blow-molded polyethylene which significantly broadened the reach and appeal of fitness equipment and usage in the USA. These newly designed weights did not rust, did not scuff floors, were easy to handle, and were much lower cost than traditional cast iron fitness weights.

Escalade, Inc. purchased US Weight in 2001 from Larry and Matt to further expand its sporting goods business. Escalade, founded in 1927, is publicly -traded company on the Nasdaq (ESCA) and has been a leading manufacturer of sporting goods and outdoor recreation equipment for nearly 90 years. Escalade is headquartered in Evansville, Indiana and has operations throughout North America.

US Weight has called Olney, Illinois its home since the company started in 1998. The management team and manufacturing facility are both located in Olney. With an entrepreneurial team and unique manufacturing capabilities, US Weight has grown and expanded its product range over the years. Today, the US Weights product range includes tractor wheel weights, suitcase weights, tiller weights, and canopy weights. 

 This is blog is written by the American College of Healthcare Executives.

You may know these numbers. Or, they may simply make sense of what you experience daily. As a healthcare leader in the 21st century, you could be managing six generations of healthcare associates. Consider these generations by approximate birth years and how many of them your employees likely represent: