The Innovative Manufacturers’ Center (IMC), Central Susquehanna Intermediate Unit, BLaST Intermediate Unit, Advance Central PA and The Foundation of the Columbia Montour Chamber of Commerce are proud to announce the award recipients for the “What’s So Cool About Manufacturing?” (WSCM) Central Susquehanna student video contest awards.  The ceremony was held April 19^th at the Pine Barn Inn in Danville, PA.

The WSCM contest partners students from schools in several Central PA 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.  Two videos in the region will be moving on to represent Central Susquehanna at the annual statewide competition being held in Harrisburg next month.

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

“We had a really great contest this year with students and their manufacturing partners working together to highlight what’s so cool about manufacturing in Central PA. In our third year of this contest, we had a record number of schools and manufacturers participate, a record number of 50,000 votes with this year’s Viewers’ Choice award had over 17,000 votes,” said Lauri Moon, Manager of Outreach & Special Projects with IMC and Co-manager of the Central Susquehanna contest. “The students, teachers and manufacturers put in so much hard work, and it definitely showed in their final videos.”

This year’s awards and their winners are:

1. Outstanding Overall Program: Selinsgrove Area Middle School – Gilson Snow, Inc.
2. Outstanding Team Spirit: Mount Carmel Area Middle School – Great Dane
3. Outstanding Brand Placement: Warrior Run Middle School – Fabtex, Inc.
4. Viewers’ Choice Award: Central Columbia Middle School – SEKISUI KYDEX

Congratulations to the Selinsgrove Area Middle School/Gilson Snow and Central Columbia Middle School/SEKISUI KYDEX teams who are moving on to the statewide competition in Harrisburg next month.

Partnering with the Innovative Manufacturers’ Center on this regional contest are Central Susquehanna Intermediate Unit, BLaST Intermediate Unit, Advance Central PA and The Foundation of the Columbia Montour Chamber of Commerce. Funding for this program is made possible by these organizations and, in part, by EITC, PASmart, Manufacturing PA Initiative funding, and with federal dollars. For more information, visit: https://advancecentralpa.org/about-us/public-notices/.

To check out this year’s Central Susquehanna What’s So Cool About Manufacturing? videos, visit https://www.whatssocool.org/contests/central-susquehanna/.

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

2023 Central Susquehanna Awards

Viewers Choice Award Winner – Central Columbia Middle School and SEKISUI KYDEX

Central Susquehanna WSCM Planning Team (L to R): Jeff Emanuel, The Foundation at Columbia Montour Chamber of Commerce; Alexa Hann, Advance Central PA; Colleen Epler-Ruths, CSIU; Lauri Moon, Innovative Manufacturers Center (IMC)

Outstanding Team Spirit Award Winner – Mount Carmel Area Middle School and Great Dane

Master of Ceremony – Nikki Krize, WNEP-TV

Overall Outstanding Program Award Winner – Selinsgrove Area Middle School and Gilson Snow, Inc.

Outstanding Brand Placement Award Winner – Warrior Run Middle School and Fabtex, Inc.

Congratulations to Selinsgrove Area Middle school and Central Columbia Middle School on being selected to move on to the statewide competition in Harrisburg next month. Good luck!

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News:

• Nominate Your Company for America’s Safest Companies Award
• Data-Drive 3D Printers
• Blockchain may be Better than ERP Inventory Systems
• Building for US Manufacturing Trending Up

Click here to check out the latest IMC e-news including various IMC and partner workshops and events as well as the latest industry news.

As of March 16, these are the open supplier scouting opportunities from manufacturers across the United States seeking domestic suppliers for various items and federal agencies seeking to maximize the purchase of goods, products, and materials produced and services offered in the United States, in accordance with Executive Order 14005.

• Opportunity: 2023-004 Level 2 EV Charger closes Jan. 5, 2024
• Opportunity: 2023-005 DC Fast Charger closes Jan. 5, 2024
• Opportunity: 2023-016 Extruded Copper for Box Connector closes May 25
• Opportunity: 2023-023 FIB/SEM Systems closes March 24
• Opportunity: 2023-024 Industrial Spraying and Heat Drying Provider closes March 24
• Opportunity: 2023-025 Inertial Navigation Systems closes April 3
• Opportunity: 2023-026 Reflective Mylar Film Sheets closes April 3
• Opportunity: 2023-027 Perovskite closes April 3
• Opportunity: 2023-028 Ultra-Microbalance close April 3
• Opportunity: 2023-029 Rotary Manifold Seals closes April 7

If interested in learning more about any of these opportunities, contact IMC Business Advisor Dana Gordon at danag@imcpa.com or 814-933-7828.

As of March 2, these are the open supplier scouting opportunities from companies seeking domestic suppliers for various items and federal agencies seeking to maximize the purchase of goods, products, and materials produced and services offered in the United States, in accordance with Executive Order 14005.

If interested in learning more about any of these opportunities, contact IMC Business Advisor Dana Gordon at danag@imcpa.com or 814-933-7828.

• Opportunity: 2023-004 Level 2 EV Charger closes Jan. 5, 2024
• Opportunity: 2023-005 DC Fast Charger closes Jan. 5, 2024
• Opportunity: 2023-014 Manual Hydraulic-Lift Pallet Jack closes March 17
• Opportunity: 2023-016 Extruded Copper for Box Connector closes May 25
• Opportunity: 2023-022 Dual-Probe Micro CMM closes March 17
• Opportunity: 2023-023 FIB/SEM Systems closes March 24
• Opportunity: 2023-024 Industrial Spraying and Heat Drying Provider closes March 24
• Opportunity: 2023-025 Inertial Navigation Systems closes April 3
• Opportunity: 2023-026 Reflective Mylar Film Sheets closes April 3
• Opportunity: 2023-027 Perovskite closes April 3
• Opportunity: 2023-028 Ultra-Microbalance closes April 3

IMC is excited to be partnering with the Bedford County Technical Center (BCTC), 21st Century Community Learning Center Consortium and Bedford County Development Center (BCDA) to expand the What’s So Cool About Manufacturing? video contest to Bedford County.  This initiative is supported through a $200,000 Manufacturing Training to Career grant that will bring funding towards this program as well as a parallel community awareness campaign.

The What’s So Cool About Manufacturing? video contest will be implemented in ten schools representing more than 10,000 students – six in Bedford County in year one of the program and four additional sites in Blair, Fulton or Huntingdon counties in year two.

The evolution of manufacturing has created exceptional high-tech career opportunities, many of which are available in the region’s companies. The Bedford WSCM plans to highlight these companies and careers, along with the training path available to young workers.

“IMC has been involved with the What’s So Cool About Manufacturing? program in several other Central Pennsylvania companies since 2019 and we are very excited to be partnering with BCDA and others on the expansion into Bedford County this year,” said Lauri Moon, Manager, Outreach & Special Projects, Innovative Manufacturers’ Center (IMC), Inc.

“We are excited about the opportunities the Manufacturing Training to Career grant will provide the students, educators, and employers in Bedford County,” said Michael O’Dellick, Administrative Director, Bedford County Technical Center. “The grant will serve a dual purpose in the county – focused student engagement in local manufacturing and community awareness.”

Managed by BCDA, the awareness campaign is designed to promote high-tech career opportunities within regional manufacturing companies and will run in parallel with the What’s So Cool About Manufacturing? video contest.

“Manufacturing presents an opportunity to honor our heritage as makers and innovators who helped build America”, noted Bette Slayton, BCDA President & CEO. “These are stable paying jobs with benefits and opportunities for advancement”, Slayton said.

Lyn Skillington, 21st Century Community Learning Center Consortium co-project director, will play an instrumental role as project manager for the WSCM video contest. “We hope that WSCM and the awareness campaign will inspire, educate and empower the next generation of manufacturing employees in Bedford County and shed light on the highly technology driven industry that needs a skilled labor workforce,” Skillington said.

The grant was announced by Neil Weaver, Acting Secretary of the PA Dept of Community and Economic Development at an event last fall during Manufacturing Day, an annual event that is popular with Bedford County’s students and business community.

Click here to check out IMC’s latest e-News!

Learn about our upcoming CMMC Webinar Series and our NO COST Electrical Safety Training.

Bedford Manufacturers, consider participating in the Bedford County Manufacturing Awareness Survey!

If you’d like to receive IMC news in your inbox, click here, scroll to the bottom of the page and fill out our Newsletter form.

For information on these and any IMC topics, email info@imcpa.com.

Can you help? We are interested in learning about your career path in manufacturing, and your thoughts on how to communicate opportunities in manufacturing to young people and prospective employees. Below is a link to a short survey. It will take just a few minutes and will help students in the region as they think about life after graduation.

Click here to complete the Bedford County PA Manufacturing Awareness Survey

IMC, in partnership with The Manufacturers’ Association, is bringing No-Cost Electrical Safety Training for General Industry to Central PA.

This opportunity is available through a grant provided by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).  Open enrollment classes will be offered, and companies are also able to host training sessions onsite with a minimum of 10 participants.

Training Topics Include:

• General Electrical Safety Information
• General Electrical Safe Work Practices
• Common Hazards
• Permitted and Non-permitted uses
• Arc Flash
• Energy Control Procedures (ECPs) & Lockout/Tag-out (LOTO)

This NO COST training is available to workers and employers covered under the OSH Act of 1970, SEC. 4, codified at 29 U.S.C. 653 (Appendix B). This also includes multiple small businesses and temporarily unemployed workers who are planning to reenter the workforce in a position covered by the OSHA Act within the next three months.

The trainer is a CHCM, DSM, CHST, OSHA Consultation Program Consultant.  He has been the trainer for over 100 OSHA 10- & 30-Hour training programs.

To schedule Electrical Safety Training at YOUR location or to be added to the list to receive information on open enrollment classes, please contact Lauri Moon at (570) 329-3200×8085 or by email at laurim@imcpa.com.  You can also visit IMC’s Events page for these and all our open enrollment classes.

This four-hour program honors the late Susan Harwood, former director of OSHA’s Office of Risk Assessment, who died in 1996. During her 17-year OSHA career, she helped develop federal standards to protect workers exposed to bloodborne pathogens, cotton dust, benzene, formaldehyde, asbestos and lead in construction.

The training material was produced under grant number SH-39128-SH2 from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor. It does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the U.S. Department of Labor, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

Check out the most recent release of open supplier scouting opportunities from United States manufacturers seeking domestic suppliers for various items and federal agencies seeking to maximize the purchase of goods, products, and materials produced and services offered in the United States, in accordance with Executive Order 14005.

• Opportunity: 2023-001 Water Purification Silos and Tanks closes Feb. 3
• Opportunity: 2023-002 Food Storage Container Sealing Ring and Air Valve closes Feb. 3
• Opportunity: 2023-003 Static Dilutor and Can Cleaner Upgrade closes Feb. 3
• Opportunity: 2023-004 Level 2 EV Charger closes Jan. 5, 2024
• Opportunity: 2023-005 DC Fast Charger closes Jan. 5, 2024
• Opportunity: 2023-007 Pluggable Optic Modules closes Feb. 9
• Opportunity: 2023-008 Aggregation Routers closes Feb. 9
• Opportunity: 2023-009 15.5-kv through 362-kv Circuit Breakers closes Feb. 10
• Opportunity: 2023-010 Panalytical Power Supply, Cabling, and Seal Kit for Spectroscopy Devices closes Feb. 10
• Opportunity: 2023-011 Rubber Component Manufacturer for Rubber Mats closes Feb. 10
• Opportunity: 2023-012 Extruded Aluminum Heat Exchanger with Narrow Gap closes Feb. 8
• Opportunity: 2023-013 Whole Egg Solids Free Flowing closes Feb. 17
• Opportunity: 2023-014 Manual Hydraulic-Lift Pallet Jack closes Mar. 17
• Opportunity: 2023-015 80⁰ Horn Bell closes Feb. 17

If interested in learning more about any of these opportunities, contact IMC Business Advisor Dana Gordon at danag@imcpa.com or 814-808-6278.