The long-anticipated OSHA requirements for COVID-19 vaccinations impacting businesses with employees of 100 and more has been released November 4, 2021. Compliance to what is termed an “Emergency Temporary Standard” (ETS) is set for January 4, 2022.
Below is the OSHA issued ETS summary.
Founded in 2006, Lang’s Chocolates LLC is a family owned and operated manufacturer of handcrafted fine chocolate confections sold at their retail location in downtown Williamsport, PA, as well as, sold and shipped to a worldwide customer base via their online storefront. Father and son, Robert and William Lang (Master Chocolatier) create and oversee the gourmet products, ensuring the highest quality ingredients are used in production.
Over the past two years, the company has been expanding into providing their own products, such as chocolate chips, as ingredients to other manufacturers of food products. This led to a substantial opportunity to increase company revenues by opening new markets in the US and worldwide as an ingredient manufacturer/supplier.
Due to regulations and standards that are required and requested as conditions of doing business with this market and to fully develop and execute on this substantial new market opportunity, Lang’s Chocolates was required to develop a Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point Plan (HACCP) and become SQF (Safe Quality Food) trained and certified, as recognized by the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI), and ultimately required by the Food & Drug Administration’s (FDA) Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) by 2021.
The company reached out to IMC, who was able to partner with Lang’s and an exceptional third-party consultant to successfully prepare them for the audit, ultimately resulting in the highest SQF 9.0 certification rating of “Excellent”. The company is currently 1 of only 37 confectionary companies to achieve this level of certification in Pennsylvania. This also allowed the company to execute a planned 6300 square foot expansion into a new manufacturing facility and resulted in more than $500,000 in new ingredient market sales (and growing), as well as the creation of several new jobs.
Robert Lang enthusiastically credits the skill and experience of the SQF consultant, Martin Ziegler, with their successful certification efforts. “His background and knowledge were so relevant, and his delivery set a solid foundation upon which we could build for our re-certification as well.”
Help IMC welcome Dennis Gilbert to the team!
IMC’s Board of Directors conducted a national search for a President of the non-profit organization that is focused on growing manufacturing in the 12-county Central Pennsylvania region. IMC is one of seven Industrial Resource Centers in Pennsylvania and a network member of the PA Manufacturing Extension Partnership.
“The Board is pleased that Dennis accepted this position. He’s built strong relationships with manufacturers across the US, including many in Central Pennsylvania and he understands the IMC mission. We look forward to him providing leadership to the organization. Thank you to my colleagues that serve on the IMC Board of Directors and IMC staff for their role in the selection process.” stated Shannon Munro, IMC Board Chairperson.
Dennis was born and raised in Central Pennsylvania and is a strong advocate for the manufacturers that provide a solid economic foundation for the region. His professional experience includes being General Manager of a local manufacturing and retail operation, Managing Director of Workforce Development & Continuing Education at Penn College, and most recently as President/Owner of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. He has experience in manufacturing, leadership, non-profit management, and developing strategic marketing initiatives using social media platforms. Dennis obtained his Master’s degree from Pennsylvania State University in Workforce Education & Development, his Bachelor’s degree from Pennsylvania College of Technology in Technology Management, and an Associate degree in Computer Science from Williamsport Area Community College.
“I am excited to assume this leadership position in an organization that serves Central Pennsylvania’s manufacturing community. My past experiences have provided me with both the passion and knowledge to assist the IMC in its mission to maximize positive impact in our region.” stated Gilbert.
The U.S. SBA announces major enhancements to the COVID Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program.
Key changes include:
· Increasing the COVID EIDL cap to $2 million
· A deferred payment period
· Establishment of a 30-day exclusivity window for the smallest businesses
· Expansion of eligible use of funds
Click here for the full announcement for more details.
A small company in Puerto Rico is seeking domestic manufacturers to produce 64-inch transfer paper rolls.
Please take a few minutes to review the attached opportunity and if interested or know of any company that may be, contact Dana Gordon, danag@imcpa.com, 814-933-7828. She will work with interested companies to determine if the opportunity is a fit and complete the online form for MEP review. Deadline to respond to this request is October 18, 2021.
IMC had the opportunity to join Congressman Fred Keller and staff for a tour High Steel Structures LLC’s Williamsport operations with Plant Manager Jake Fisher.A small company in Puerto Rico is seeking domestic manufacturers to produce 6 or 7 oz Plastic Containers for Butter with lid and logo integrated.
If interested in learning more about this opportunity, contact IMC Business Advisor, Dana Gordon at danag@imcpa.com, 814-933-7828. She will work with interested companies to determine if the opportunity is a fit and complete required documentation for review. Deadline to respond to this request is October 8, 2021.
A small company in Florida is seeking domestic manufacturers to produce Gasket/Molded O-Rings to be used in maintenance and repair of fighter jets and for brake systems and hatch covers.
If interested in learning more about this opportunity, contact IMC Business Advisor, Dana Gordon at danag@imcpa.com, 814-933-7828. She will work with interested companies to determine if the opportunity is a fit and complete required documentation for review. Deadline to respond to this request is September 16, 2021.
Laurie Fontaine Jenkins, Owner with husband Bingo Jenkins
Located in Muncy, PA, Kwik-Care LLC was founded in 2019 as a start-up manufacturer of a patent pending line of “feel better convenience kits”, which are designed to provide consumers with a cost-effective, comprehensive approach to the treatment of minor illnesses.
The owner has been working with IMC on several initiatives since starting the business, including business planning, financial forecasting, product development, supply chain sourcing, and market and sales development planning. As the official product test launch was unfolding in spring of 2021, the company was beginning to secure initial orders across the country; however, the Kwik-Care team was struggling to efficiently set up an assembly process, as the kits contain over a dozen components that must be placed in a specific way to properly fit within the packaging.
With the goal to maximize assembly time and layout to determine labor needs and scalability of production while meeting the specific assembly placement of products within the retail package for visual and space needs, the IMC team incorporated a creative in-field approach to tackling the client’s challenges. An onsite, class field project was arranged with IMC’s in-progress Lean Manufacturing Level One Certification class. The class spent an afternoon at the Kwik-Care production facility and tackled different challenges for each workflow and job breakdown.
The real-time results produced by the class efforts were outstanding, which included: decreasing assembly time by 45% resulting in significant labor cost savings and the proven scalability of production to the target goal and beyond; addition of a simple label machine and digital scale to allow for package design simplification and greater quality control, resulting in additional cost and time savings.
It was an extremely successful experience for Kwik-Care, the Lean Manufacturing Certification class and the IMC team and will be used as a model for future projects.
Laurie Fontaine Jenkins, Owner of Kwik-Care LLC says, “Working with IMC has afforded us great insight into areas that we were lacking knowledge for our business to move forward and do it with efficiency. The value and resources that IMC has brought to our new company has played an integral part in our business launch and getting to market this past spring. We are now in retail locations, vacation/campground stores and university bookstores across the country and we would not be here without IMC.”
IMC is excited to announce the latest graduates of our Lean Manufacturing Level One Certification program.
Congratulations to the following companies:
Click here for information on IMC’s upcoming Fall 2021 class information classes in Williamsport and State College.