Innovative Manufacturers Center (IMC), Inc. is pleased to announce three Williamsport/Lycoming Keystone Innovation Zone (KIZ) companies were awarded nearly $130,000 in KIZ Tax Credits.  This round of tax credit awards takes the total of local companies receiving KIZ Tax Credits since 2007 to over $2.5 million dollars.

On December 28^th, Governor Tom Wolf announced Keystone Innovation Zone (KIZ) tax credits for 273 early-stage companies.  “Fostering an environment that allows technology and innovation to flourish in our private sector is one of this administration’s top business priorities,” Governor Wolf said. “By providing these tax credits, we’re helping to reduce the burden placed on companies as they go through the early stages of growth, thereby helping new ideas take root while pushing both our economy and the thriving tech sector forward.” The Program is designed to support and encourage entrepreneurship in and around Pennsylvania’s colleges and universities by providing young Pennsylvania companies with vital working capital to meet critical needs, including covering capital expenditures, workforce expansion, operational expenses and making companies more attractive to venture investment.

The program provides tax credits for companies within the Williamsport/Lycoming Keystone Innovation Zone that have been in operation for less than eight years, whose gross revenues have increased over the previous year and are operating within a targeted industry sector such as advanced manufacturing, plastics, wood and information technology.

“Since 2007, the KIZ Tax Credit program has provided valuable access to local resources and state tax credits for qualified local companies. These unique credits can be applied to business liability or sold for cash, which offers financial support during the critical first years of business, allowing the companies to grow,” stated Lauri Moon, Coordinator of the Williamsport/Lycoming KIZ.  “KIZ companies have utilized these credits to fund new product development, staffing, marketing and other business needs,” Moon said.

PA Department of Community & Economic Development Press Release

For individuals and businesses interested in learning more about the benefits and services of the KIZ Program, click here or contact IMC at 570-329-3200×8085.  The Williamsport/Lycoming Keystone Innovation Zone is managed by the Innovative Manufacturers Center (IMC).

The Manufacturing USA Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2016 describes the program’s work in helping to move discoveries in the nation’s universities and research laboratories to the shop floor here in America. It highlights the nine Manufacturing USA institutes that were active in Fiscal Year 2016, and documents the network’s progress toward increasing the competitiveness of U.S. manufacturing.

Highlights of the Manufacturing USA network in 2016 include:

• 830 industry members, two-thirds of which were manufacturing firms, including 361 small businesses.
• Non-federal funding exceeded the original goals of a 1 to 1 match, with federal funds being matched at a 2 to 1 ratio, indicating the value of the network to industry, academia and the states. In addition to manufacturing companies, the partnerships included a variety of academic institutions and federal, state, local agencies, laboratories, and not-for-profit organizations.
• A portfolio of diverse programs for students in high schools, community colleges and universities; educators from kindergarten to twelfth grade; manufacturing employees; and transitioning veterans, so that the nation’s workforce will be prepared for a renewal of advanced manufacturing. Institute-led programs have reached about 28,000 people.
• AIM Photonics, based in Rochester, New York, developed a shared toolkit that has helped members speed up the design and development of photonic devices, which use light instead of electricity to enable faster performance and new capabilities.
• PowerAmerica, in Raleigh, North Carolina, helped keep 400 highly-skilled manufacturing jobs at a facility, X-FAB Texas in Lubbock. The company was able to update its capabilities to become an “open foundry” that semiconductor companies can use to produce next-generation electronic products.

The annual report also highlights an assessment by Deloitte, which found that the first eight institutes, established between 2012 and 2016, have “reached a critical mass of valuable connections among participating companies, universities, and other entities. Those connections are accelerating the innovations needed to develop new products and markets, helping alleviate a shortage of technically trained manufacturing workers and building a sustainable national manufacturing research infrastructure.”

There are now a total of 14 Manufacturing USA institutes, sponsored by the departments of Energy, Defense and Commerce.

Read the full Manufacturing USA Annual Report, Fiscal Year 2016

Citation information:

Manufacturing USA Annual Report, Fiscal Year 2016, Advanced Manufacturing National Program Office, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Department of Commerce (2017),
https://www.ManufacturingUSA.com/resources/Manufacturing-USA-Annual-Report-Fiscal-Year-2016

Contact: Advanced Manufacturing National Program Office – (301) 975-2830

In Deloitte’s recent study on the perception of manufacturing, the vast majority of Americans surveyed continue to view manufacturing vital to economic prosperity. However, less than 5 in 10 believe manufacturing jobs are interesting, rewarding, clean, safe, stable, secure. Less than 3 in 10 are likely to encourage their children to pursue a manufacturing career. Yet, when asked what future jobs in manufacturing will look like, those surveyed have overwhelmingly optimistic views – future manufacturing jobs will require high-tech skills (88 percent) and will be clean and safe (81 percent), as well as more innovative (77 percent). Given these findings, manufacturers could benefit from uplifting current perceptions in order to attract talent. Click to read how manufacturers can help change the perception of manufacturing.

Click here for the full study and supporting information.

I attended a collaborative robots (cobots) event yesterday that IMC cosponsored with the PA CareerLink for Columbia/Montour Counties and thought it worth a few observations within the context of lean/ continuous improvement.

The Perfect Process

Let’s ask ourselves…  What is the perfect production process?  Well, a process that’s being performed the “current one best way” (standard work) in a way that is 100% repeatable and predictable with no variation AND that can adapt if there are changes required AND can be continually improved.

We’d all love to have that, right?  As we say, Lean/CI is about aiming for perfect yet knowing it isn’t achievable (a golf score of 18).  It’s in the CI efforts that we keep getting closer and succeed as a result.

How Cobots Might Help

Cobots are a developing technology that can be an important part of our CI efforts.  They’re designed to work alongside people and to be able to do specialized tasks that may be mundane (lower value work) or unsafe (repetitive motion) or need to be very precise.  They’re small enough that they can be picked up and moved around easily and safe enough that they don’t usually need guarding.

So if you think about Problem – Causes – Solutions (PDCA or DMAIC).  Cobots can be a solution in the right situation.  But the key to successful application is to start by doing a great job of identifying the right problem, getting to root cause and then considering and prioritizing solutions.  Not jumping to an assumed solution that a robot will save the day (oh yeah, we never do that).

Lean/CI More Than Ever

Like anything new, these technologies have the potential to separate winners from losers.  And the winners will be the ones who have that CI operational culture and practices first and then apply cobots and other technologies as solutions to effective Lean/CI efforts.

Consider Getting to Know Cobots

My advice would be to identify an internal resource to stay attuned to this continually emerging and developing technology.  Below is a link to an organization and a book called “Lean Robotics” that was mentioned yesterday by the presenter from Universal Robotics.  I haven’t read it but plan to check it out.  https://leanrobotics.org/.

Pennsylvania Manufacturing Week and Manufacturing Day are part of a movement to build positive perceptions about manufacturing, draw attention to the amazing career opportunities available, and highlight the industry’s important contributions to our economy. We ask everyone to share the many exciting opportunities in manufacturing, an industry which offers great benefits, strong job security, and fulfilling work with ongoing professional development throughout the day using hashtags #MFGDay 17 and #MadeinPA.

The Innovative Manufacturers’ Center (IMC), a public-private partnership dedicated to increasing Central Pennsylvania manufacturers’ innovation, productivity and profitable growth, has named Shannon Munro, Vice President for Workforce Development at Pennsylvania College of Technology to its board of directors.  Munro joined the Innovative Manufacturers Center’s Board of Directors in July and will serve a three-year term.  Munro has been with the college since 2012 where she oversees workforce training and consulting offerings and operations.

At its annual meeting in September, IMC’s Board of Directors elected officers for its 2017-18 fiscal year.  Keith Atherholt will service as Chairman; Dr. Vince Matteo as Vice Chairman; and Terri Fry as Secretary/Treasurer.  Mr. Atherholt is President of Lewis Lumber Products located in Picture Rocks, Dr. Matteo is President/CEO of the Williamsport/Lycoming Chamber of Commerce and Ms. Fry is Vice President of Strategic Planning & Fabrication with Jersey Shore Steel Company headquartered in Jersey Shore.

Founded in 1988, the Innovative Manufacturers’ Center works with Central PA manufacturers to help them innovate, grow and prosper.  Supported through the U.S. Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) program and the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development’s Manufacturing PA program, IMC serves manufacturers in Lycoming, Montour, Northumberland, Union, Snyder, Clinton, Centre, Mifflin, Juniata, Huntington, Blair, and Bedford Counties.  Visit IMC at www.IMCpa.com.

A company located in Charlotte, NC that makes nylon-spandex nursing bras and nursing privacy covers currently manufacture overseas, but would like to explore bringing production back to the United States. They are producing about 18k-20k units of the nursing bras annually. The privacy cover is a new item that they would like to focus on producing in the United States immediately because of retail interest.

If interested in learning more, email info@imcpa.com.

The third annual Pennsylvania Manufacturing Week will take place September 30-October 6, 2017, complementing National Manufacturing Day on October 6. Both initiatives promote the industry and address misperceptions of manufacturing today, draw attention to the amazing career opportunities available in a variety of sectors, and educate the public on the significant impact manufacturing has on Pennsylvania’s economy.

This year, the Pennsylvania Department of Community & Economic Development (DCED) is launching a new social media campaign called #IMakeinPA to draw attention to the exciting career opportunities in manufacturing. #IMakeinPA will feature profiles and testimonials from Pennsylvania’s manufacturers and employees with an emphasis on younger workers, their background (how they got into manufacturing), and what a typical work day looks like (a “day in the life”).

As part of the #IMakeinPA campaign individuals working in manufacturing professions will be profiled on dced.pa.gov/mfgweek.  If you would like to participate in the #IMakeinPA campaign, please fill out the form below and provide a hi-resolution headshot.

“Nick Gilson was 14 years old when he decided to try to build a snowboard inspired by boats. He’d often sailed in his native Rhode Island and once helped his father build a catamaran. The vessel’s parallel twin hulls make it faster than traditional yachts. Gilson wondered if a similar design could be applied to snowboards, which typically are flat on the bottom. So he started to work on a prototype.” By Karen Angel

Click here for full article by Bloomberg Businessweek

Nine companies with headquarters located in the Central Pennsylvania region were named on Inc. Magazine’s 2017 list of the 5000 fastest growing private companies in America. The 36th annual list is organized according to the percentage of revenue growth over the past three years.

The companies listed include: Fresh Roasted Coffee (727), Century Support Services (859), Homeland Manufacturing Services (920), Sunny Days In-Home Care (1925), COE Distributing (3623), Advanced Powder Products (4255), Applied Training Solutions (4279), Diamondback Truck Covers (4280) and Venetia Partners (4972).

Selinsgrove-based Fresh Roasted Coffee continues to top the list in the region. The coffee distribution / manufacturing company has experienced a three-year growth of 631 percent and made $4.8 million in revenues last year. In Pennsylvania, they ranked as the 24th fastest growing company.

In third is State College-based Homeland Manufacturing, which brought in $2 million in revenues last year and has a three-year growth of 479 percent.

In total, Pennsylvania had 185 companies on the list, 78 of which were in the top 50 percent.

* IMC Clients