QorTek has recently earned the ISO9001:2015 and AS9100:2016 certifications, both held as
international standards for quality management systems (QMS).

The ISO9001:2015 and AS9100:2016 both provide a model for the quality of design and
manufacturing. The scope of both of these certifications cover power amplifiers, power converters,
digital control systems and smart material-based systems. The AS9100:2016 specifically certifies that
QorTek meets the requirements of aviation, space, and defense organizations.

This process, which QorTek started without any prior preparation or QMS groundwork, started in
September 2018 and was completed Spring of 2020. While most companies get through this process
in 2-3 years, QorTek was able to earn their certification in a little over a year and half. The process
would’ve been completed even sooner had it not been for QorTek’s recent moving of their
manufacturing and R&D operations from Williamsport, PA to Linden, PA.

These internationally renowned certifications are just one more example of QorTek’s relentless drive to
provide clients quality solutions.

About QorTek Inc.
With almost 60 employees including 36 Engineers (EE, ME, MatSE), and 5 PhDs, QorTek is a world
leader in smart material devices and high-density power electronics, innovating, developing, and
providing quality solutions to a diverse array of industries including underwater systems, land & air
systems, military & commercial space systems, medical, and industrial. The dedicated and experienced
team is committed to creatively advancing technology to promote sustainable business growth, driven
by dynamic engineering enabled by advanced science and technology.

For further information, contact QorTek at info@qortek.com or (570) 322-2700.

PennTAP is currently looking for industry participants for Penn State’s College of Engineering Learning Factory program.

There are a few changes for the Fall 2020 semester program due to the current pandemic environment that interested parties must be aware of:

• No site visits are going to be permitted at this time
• Students can utilize the Learning Factory to work on physical prototypes (if necessary) up until Thanksgiving break
• After Thanksgiving break, students will not be returning to campus and will finish the semester virtually.
• The end of semester project showcase will take place virtually (similar to the link above)

With this restrictions, do you have any projects based on digital technologies in mind for your business?

The cost to sponsor a project team is $3,500 for the semester. PennTAP has vouchers that reduces the fee in half for companies that can show a financial need. Project proposals are due 8/3 for the Fall 2020 semester.

On Tuesday June 9, 2020, the “What’s So Cool About Manufacturing?” (WSCM) student video program will conclude its seventh season with the “Best of PA” Statewide Awards Event. Due to the unprecedented challenges presented by social distancing, this year’s event will stream ‘live from home’ on YouTube, and will include 22 teams competing for first, second and third place awards. A five judge panel, representing eastern, central and western Pennsylvania, viewed 22 entries, representing 13 regional contests across Pennsylvania, to select the statewide award recipients.

“We are so proud of the students and so excited we will still be able to celebrate the Best of PA videos, even with all that is going on,” said Karen Buck, Manager of Workforce Initiatives at Manufacturers Resource Center (MRC). “The continued success of the What’s So Cool program validates its value to both STEM and STEAM education and really highlights the necessity for these initiatives, both statewide and nationwide, to help plan for a robust economic future.”

The “What’s So Cool About Manufacturing?” Student Video Contest, which originated in the Lehigh Valley and is the brainchild of MRC, has garnered over 3,000,000 combined votes by the public during regional online voting dates since its inception in 2013, and more than 50% of Pennsylvania school districts have participated in the program. The WSCM Student Video Contest gives students the opportunity to interact with local manufacturers as they gain new perspectives about careers and technology, record their experiences and present them in an educational and “cool” way through documentary video production. The “What’s So Cool About Manufacturing?” program includes a Pennsylvania Department of Education approved lesson plan that is in use across the Commonwealth. The contest was created to generate excitement that draws students toward considering manufacturing career paths to create a 21st century workforce.

This season’s original 16 participating regional contests in Pennsylvania were Berks Schuylkill, Central Susquehanna, Chester Delaware, Lehigh Valley, North Central, Northeast, Northern Tier, Northwest, Philadelphia Region, Pittsburgh Central, Pittsburgh East, Pittsburgh North, Pittsburgh South, PA Forest & Oil, South Central, and West Central.

Funding for the regional pilot contests is provided by the PA Department of Community & Economic Development. Funding for the statewide Awards show is provided by Platinum Sponsor: Nestlé Waters North America, Gold Sponsors: PA Manufacturing Extension Partnership and RETTEW, and Silver Sponsors: Catalyst Connection, MANTEC and Chester County Economic Development Council Regional Program Partners: Catalyst Connection, Central Susquehanna Intermediate Unit, Chester County Economic Development Council, Delaware Valley Industrial Resource Center, Innovative Manufacturers’ Center, Manufacturers Resource Center, MANTEC, North Central Workforce Development Board, Northern Tier Regional Planning & Development Commission, Northeastern Pennsylvania Industrial Resource Center, NWIRC, and The Foundation of The Columbia Montour Chamber of Commerce.

If interested in learning more about this program in Central PA, contact Lauri Moon at laurim@imcpa.com, 570-329-3200 x8085.

If interested in either of these positions, please submit your resume with cover letter to info@imcpa.com.

Administrative Assistant May 2020

Manager Online Services May 2020

Written by Erica Mulberger, Executive Director, CPWDC

As Memorial Day has come and gone with no parades, no baseball, and no large summer kick-off parties, one thing has remained constant: Central Pennsylvanians stayed committed to ensuring our friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers would come out of this pandemic just as strong as we were going into it. We know this is far from over, but through everyone’s efforts to social distance and work together to provide PPE for the healthcare providers and other businesses, the nine counties representing the Central PA Workforce Development Area are in the “yellow” phase with some counties moving to “green” this week.

This Central PA stick-togetherness and creativity (like the idea of using waterproof house wrap to make intake gowns) caught the attention of the national team that started the Next Generation Industry Partnership model, and they highlighted the work of the MADE in Central PA manufacturing partnership and the Central PA Healthcare Partnership’s response to COVID-19 in this article, Why Networked Communities are the Key to Economic Recovery, written by Francie Genz, Co-Principal, Institute for Networked Communities.

This is all started with the joint healthcare and manufacturing partnership Zoom meeting in late March which resulted in the plan put together in the email below.

I have to give a special shout-out to Tom Kapelewski who continues to be the point person on this project, connecting local partners with raw material and parts suppliers from all of over the US! And another shout-out to Geisinger and Evangelical Community Hospitals who provided designs and input into usable materials.

Lastly, kudos to everyone on this email for continuously doing your part to protect our families, our businesses, and our communities. #CentralPAProud

IMC is a proud member of the MADE in Central PA Manufacturing Partnership!

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce releases new Paycheck Protection Program Guide to Forgiveness.

Student Video Awards Move Online to Celebrate Inaugural Contest During School Closures

IMC is proud to announce the award recipients for the “What’s So Cool About Manufacturing?” (WSCM) Central Susquehanna student video contest awards. The ceremony premiered online Thursday, May 14, 2020 on YouTube.

The video with the most votes, during three days of online voting in April, received the “Viewers Choice Award.” A panel of judges reviewed the videos for awards in three other categories: Outstanding Overall Program, Outstanding Team Spirit and Outstanding Brand Placement.

The WSCM contest partners students, from schools in Columbia, Lycoming, Northumberland, Snyder, and Union counties, with local manufacturers. Each student team scripted, shot, edited and promoted a short video that documents their experience, highlighting what is “cool” about manufacturing. One video in the region will be moving on to represent Central Susquehanna at the third-annual statewide competition in June.

“We had a really great contest our first year, and we’re so excited to share the videos and winners during our awards ceremony online,” said Dan Manetta, Executive Director/CEO IMC. “The students, the teachers and the manufacturers put in so much hard work to build this inaugural contest, and with everything that is happening right now, it’s important to be able to celebrate their accomplishments.”

This year’s awards and their winners are as follows:

1. Outstanding Overall Program: Millville Area Middle School – SEKISUI KYDEX
2. Outstanding Team Spirit: Central Columbia Middle School – Autoneum North America, Inc.
3. Outstanding Brand Placement: Lewisburg Area Middle School – GAF
4. Viewers Choice Award: Mount Carmel Middle School – Brush Industries, Inc./Qcard

Congratulations to the Millville Area Middle School and SEKISUI KYDEX team who are moving on to the statewide competition in June.

To view the WSCM Central Susquehanna Awards video, visit WSCMCenCSQ Awards Show.

Visit WhatsSoCool.org for more information and resources and follow on Facebook.com/WSCMCenSusq.

The Williamsport/Lycoming Chamber of Commerce has established a pool of $200,000 that will be used to make grants and loans to small businesses that have been severely impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. It is the intent of these funds to assist small business in restarting or getting back to full operations upon federal and state guidance.

Small businesses with annual revenue not exceeding $3,000,000 are eligible to apply. The funds will be made available in a combination of grants and loans, with grants not exceeding $2,000 and total assistance to a business not exceeding $4,000. The loans will be for 2 years from signing and will be at 0% interest. Loan payments will begin 6 months from the loan origination date. Businesses must be located in Lycoming County.

Applications will be reviewed as they are received and applicants will be accepted or denied on a rolling basis. Funds can be used for operational expenses including supplies/inventory, rent, utility bills, etc. as well as advertising, marketing, consulting, and training. Applications must include a list of proposed expenses grants will be spent on. Applications without a list of proposed expenses will be considered incomplete. Note, businesses applying do not need to be a Chamber of Commerce member and will not be expected to join should funding assistance be provided.

The application can be found by going to www.williamsport.org under the COVID-19 Useful Links tab. Call 570-326-1971 with any questions on the program.

A new study by Summit Consulting and the W.E. Upjohn Institute finds that the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (NIST MEP) Program generates a substantial economic and financial return of nearly 13.4:1 for the $140 million annually invested by the federal government. The NIST MEP program, of which IMC is your Central PA MEP, is a public-private partnership created in 1988 to improve the global competitiveness and productivity of America’s small- and medium-sized manufacturers.

Using the national REMI® model, along with the results from the FY2019 NIST MEP client impact survey conducted by Fors Marsh, LLC., the team finds that economic returns are robust. The study uses a conservative approach in estimating the broader economic impacts of the program by examining the competitive interactions between firms. NIST MEP contracted with Summit and Upjohn to create a study to estimate the broader national impacts of the NIST MEP program. The study and the subsequent report, The National-Level Economic Impact of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP): Estimates for Fiscal Year 2019, is now available.

“Year after year, the Upjohn Institute reinforces the worth of the MEP National Network to the small and medium-sized manufacturing community,” said Dan Manetta, IMC Executive Director/CEO. “The results of this report show good ROI for individual manufacturers, along with significant contribution to the U.S. Treasury.”

A Positive Return on Investment
The study reports that the $140 million invested in MEP during FY2019 generated nearly a 13.4:1 increase in federal personal income tax ($1.87B/$140M federal investment). The study only looks at personal income tax and not business taxes. In addition, the analysis provides a conservative estimate of broader impacts as they are based only on completed surveys and do not include estimates of additional impacts of center-activities for non-respondents.

The MEP Program Generates Additional Jobs for the U.S.
The study finds that total employment in the U.S. is nearly 217,000 higher because of MEP center projects. This estimate includes both direct, indirect, and induced jobs generated by MEP projects. These jobs support additional manufacturing jobs critical to U.S. supply chains and jobs outside of manufacturing.

Other Positive Impacts of the MEP Program
The study examines additional areas of economic impact generated by the MEP Program. It finds: (1) personal income is $14.0 billion higher, and (2) GDP is $22.9 billion larger. This translates into an increase of $1.87 billion in personal income tax revenue to the federal government.

About Innovative Manufacturer’s Center

Founded in 1988, the Innovative Manufacturers’ Center assists in connecting manufacturers in 12 Pennsylvania counties with the most effective regional, state and national resources to help companies innovate, grow and prosper. An affiliate of the U.S. Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership and supported by the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, IMC is one of seven industrial resource centers in Pennsylvania and serves manufacturers in Lycoming, Montour, Northumberland, Union, Snyder, Clinton, Centre, Mifflin, Juniata, Huntington, Blair and Bedford Counties.

About the MEP Program.
MEP has centers in all 50 states and Puerto Rico that are dedicated to serving small- and medium-sized manufacturers with over 1,400 trusted advisers who work with local manufacturers to provide services that improve their competitiveness and productivity and help create and retain jobs, increase sales and improve local economies.

About Summit Consulting.
Summit Consulting is a quantitative and management consulting firm that works with public and commercial clients to turn data into actionable intelligence. Summit’s partners, directors and subject matter experts lead teams in five core areas: federal credit and risk analytics, health and employment, litigation analytics, mortgage finance, and program management and business modernization. Summit couples core expertise with methodology to derive sound, transparent and reproducible results.

About the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.
The W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research was created in 1945 from the W.E. Upjohn Unemployment Trustee Corporation, established in 1932 to address issues of unemployment during the Great Depression. The Upjohn Institute is a private, nonprofit, nonpartisan, independent research organization devoted to investigating the causes and effects of unemployment, identifying feasible methods of insuring against unemployment and devising ways of alleviating the distress and hardship caused by unemployment. Upjohn’s broad objectives are to: (1) link scholarship and experimentation with issues of public and private employment and unemployment policy; (2) bring new knowledge to the attention of policy makers and decision makers; and (3) make knowledge and scholarship relevant and useful in their applications to the solutions of employment and unemployment problems.

More information, including the full report, is available at the Upjohn Institute website.