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.

Remmey – The Pallet Co.

Since 1988, the Innovative Manufacturers’ Center (IMC) has helped nearly 700 hundred Central Pennsylvania manufacturers become more profitable and competitive by tapping into valuable local, regional, and national resources.

As one of Pennsylvania’s seven Industrial Resource Centers and one of 51 national Manufacturing Extension Partnership centers, IMC also leverages private investment to drive manufacturing growth in Central Pennsylvania. As a result, in 2022, Central PA manufacturers realized the following economic impact:

• Increased/Retained Sales – $17,433,000
• Increased/Retained Jobs – 404
• Cost Savings – $1,324,500
• Increased Investments – $13,502,909
• Saved Investments – $256,000

IMC, the first and only economic development program dedicated solely to the manufacturing community, brings best practices in the areas of advanced manufacturing, continuous improvement, innovation, business growth, and safety to small and medium-sized manufacturers, enabling them to compete more effectively in the global economy.  While IMC serves manufacturers in these various service areas, the most robust set of service offerings include Lean and Continuous Improvement as well as ISO 9001 with IMC offering both client-tailored onsite training and services and public training opportunities in these areas.

 IMC Lean Manufacturing Level One Certification

Many manufacturers are experiencing workforce challenges including onboarding, using effective training systems, change implementation, and even retention strategies. The IMC team uses research-based methodologies that help manufacturers navigate many of these time-sensitive workforce challenges. Efficiency and productivity are not only metrics for production output, but also are critical for human capital requirements that the most successful organizations find necessary to survive during turbulent economic conditions.

Another navigational challenge within the manufacturing sector is Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) compliance. As employers face record breaking employee turnover ratios, keeping employees safe must be a top priority.  Often the manufacturing community lacks internal resources that know and understand compliance requirements, which makes them more vulnerable to meeting regulatory standards. The IMC can help.

IMC is dedicated to the manufacturers in Bedford, Blair, Centre, Clinton, Huntingdon, Juniata, Lycoming, Mifflin, Montour, Northumberland, Snyder and Union Counties so let’s share some information about these manufacturers.  According to December 2022 data provided by the PA Department of Labor & Industry, in these 12 counties there are nearly 990 manufacturers employing over 40,000 individuals making up 16.3% of the state’s total employment, with an annual average salary of $55,968.

Where does Clinton County fall in the 12-county average? Clinton County has 58 manufacturers employing 2,872 individuals with an average salary of $65,422.  Manufacturing is the largest employment sector at 23.5% of the total employment in Clinton County.

IMC looks forward to working with the manufacturers in Clinton County. To discuss how IMC can serve your manufacturing company, contact Rick Terry, IMC’s Business Advisor dedicated to Clinton County, by emailing rickt@imcpa.com or calling 570-329-3200 x8083.

Lock Haven, PA – Published January 18, 2023

The National Strategy for Advanced Manufacturing released by the White House in October 2022 presents a vision for U.S. leadership in advanced manufacturing that will grow the economy, create jobs, enhance environmental sustainability, address climate change, strengthen supply chains, ensure national security and improve health care. Three interrelated goals are set to achieve the vision:

1. Develop and implement advanced manufacturing technologies
2. Grow the advanced manufacturing workforce
3. Build resilience into manufacturing supply chains and ecosystems

To achieve these goals, 11 strategic objectives and 37 technical and program recommendations are identified for the next four years. This Congressionally mandated strategy seeks to improve U.S. government coordination and provide long-term guidance for federal programs and activities in support of U.S. manufacturing competitiveness, including advanced manufacturing R&D.

Read the report [opens PDF]

Read the one pager and brochure

Marcal Paper aka Nittany Paper Mills, LLC, is owned by Atlas Holdings, LLC.  Atlas was founded in 2002 and is headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut. Atlas and its affiliates own 16 companies employing nearly 20,000 associates. With more than 100 facilities across the globe, Atlas generates an estimated $4 billion in annual revenue. Nittany Paper Mills in Lewistown, PA manufactures and provides recycled tissue and towels for use in homes, schools, restaurants, hotels and hospitals.

Nittany Paper Mills is investing in new equipment and technologies to become even more competitive. These include new production lines, new packing lines, robotics and more. Such new technologies are disruptive as they change how work is done. In an effort to ensure the successful implementation of these investments, Marcal sought training for its managers to prepare them to manage change. Specifically, training to help managers understand the psychology of change and how to accelerate change. In other words, they wanted to help their managers to further develop their skills to be more effective at leading change. Without these skills, investments on this level may not have the desired impacts.

After the training, with these skills now developed in their managers, Nittany Paper Mills was confident that the implementation of the new equipment and technologies would be successful, driving confidence to make the investment of more than $500 million.

“We make investments where and when our workforce is skilled and ready.  The training was a solid foundation for supervisor development”

Steve Prentiss, Vice President of Human Resources, Marcal Paper