As the country celebrates MFG Day 2019, and Illinois celebrates Manufacturing Month, it would be remiss of us to ignore this opportunity to acknowledge the impact of IMEC and the MEP National Network on our state and the country as a whole.  Being a part of the Network, IMEC has access to a plethora of local and national resources designed to strengthen an organization’s competitiveness and position them on a path to excellence. As a result of leveraging partnerships and our team’s expertise, IMEC has been able to make a significant impact on clients and the economy as a whole. In 2018 alone, we assisted 763 Illinois companies, created 6,793 jobs, and contributed aggregate impact to the state’s economy was $620,444,392.

A couple of weeks ago, over 500 MEP center staff, partners, stakeholders, industry thought leaders, and NIST MEP staff gathered in Atlanta for the 2019 MEP National Summit. With the theme The United State of Manufacturing, this year’s summit intended to “lay the foundation for service and solutions that will grow the Network, improve the ways we serve small and medium-sized manufacturers, and strengthen and empower U.S. Manufacturers as we advance U.S. Manufacturing.” 

Facing the reality that the current workforce is dwindling down due to the silver tsunami sweeping the industry, manufacturers have a hard time finding quality replacement. The silver tsunami refers to the large number of baby boomers who are retiring from the workforce. For manufacturers, this is the majority of workers – they are not only losing employees, but also years of acquired knowledge and skills. It is time have to get creative about finding and developing talent while riding the tsunami wave. The problem is the disconnect between the industry and the general public. Unfortunately, the next generation of workers has misconceptions about manufacturing and trade jobs.

It is no secret that manufacturers play a critical role in the state’s economy. Manufacturing alone contributes the largest amount per industry to the state’s output with 12% Gross State product. It is the state’s powerhouse industry that is responsible for 93% of its exports, pays $52 billion in wages and benefits to 592,000 people – that’s about 9.2% of the state’s workforce.

Who is Fuss & O’Neill?

Fuss and O’Neill Manufacturing Solutions provides mentoring, training, and engineering services for industrial and municipal clients to help them achieve safer, more cost effective productivity. In a recent interview with Larry Bouvier, Vice President and Partner at Fuss & O’Neill, IMEC got a deeper look into how they work with manufacturers and set themselves apart from the competition – one of many reasons they are one of IMEC’s top Third Party Resource partners. 

Spicy Grrrls is women-owned and operated small batch, craft hot sauce company based here in Chicago. In addition to creating flavorful sauces, they also focus sustainability and strive to be waste-free. Part of which ties into their efforts to be involved with and give back to the community!

After serving as a regional manager at IMEC for almost 20 years, Mark is retiring from the workforce! Over the years, and currently, he has been successfully assisting manufacturers in the Peoria area to improve their processes, efficiencies, and cut costs. Mark believes in assessing, suggesting, delivering, and servicing projects quickly and accurately. As a result, he is able to foster meaningful relationships with his clients and set them up for sustainable competitiveness.  

Midwest Turned Products is a world class manufacturer of precision machined components. Their goal is to engineer, manufacture, and deliver each part to the exact requirements of our client. With a mission to serve customers, employees, shareholders and society through world-class precision machining service, they pride themselves on remaining flexible to meet the ever-changing needs of the marketplace.

Incorporated in 1963, Wichita Packing Company has evolved into a corporation with global distribution and is the leading independent provider of pork ribs in the country. The company is rooted in its earned reputation as a worldwide provider of consistent, quality products. Regardless of a single unit or an international franchise, their goal is to work with clients to create an application for their establishment, based on specific needs.

This is an original article from NIST's Blogrige, the official Baldrige Blog, written by Christine Schaffer.

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