Manufacturing Connection July Newsletter

A Letter from the Director

Way to go, Louisiana MEP

The Louisiana Community and Technical College System (LCTCS) is committed to supporting manufacturers. One of LCTCS’ initiatives is to train a successful workforce. The system office works with each individual community college to create relevant, timely programs and services that address their specific industry needs. The MEP of LA continues to work with LCTCS and the colleges to reach out and work with manufacturers state-wide. In support of these goals, Ms. Nelli Sichwart was appointed in May 2019.  She is domiciled at Bossier Parish Community College. Please visit https://mepol.org/news/manufacturing-extension-partnership-of-louisiana-appoints-project-manager-at-bossier-parish-community-college to read the press release and learn more about Nelli. Additionally, the search is ongoing for project managers to be located at the following colleges:

• Central Louisiana Technical Community College
• SOWELA Technical Community College

Please visit https://www.lctcs.edu/human-resources/jobs for job descriptions and directions to apply.

The recently published IMPACT score is at its highest level in six years, which is a testament to the great work being accomplished by our team members. Over the past four quarters, we worked with more than 110 manufacturers, mostly “new” clients. Moreover, the surveyed manufacturers reported the following (a Perfect 100 score on IMPACT):

• More than 58 Million in Retained Sales
• More than 25 Million in New Sales
• More than 1,500 Created and Retained Jobs
• More than 23 Million in New Investments
• More than 12 Million in Cost Savings
• More than 85% in Improved Competitiveness
• A Net Promoter Score ® greater than 90%

Additionally, over the past four quarters, we worked with more than 45 very small establishments with less than 20 employees, more than 10 clients in rural areas, and more than 10 startup companies. Furthermore, we had our 3rd year panel review in April 2019. The results of the panel review showed “satisfactory” performance, which resulted in a continue funding decision for the program under LCTCS. Lastly, Director Carroll Thomas from NIST MEP had a huge shout out for the Louisiana Performance on June 27, 2019 call.

In 2017, the MEP of LA was awarded a grant to conduct free assessments to manufacturers in the 12-impacted parishes under Hurricane Harvey. We have added a page to our website that included solutions for the entire affected market with access to common problems and possible outcomes.  Please visit https://mepol.org/hurricane-harvey to learn more.

The MEP of Louisiana team attended the NIST MEP Southeast Regional Meeting in North Carolina in May 2019.  Southeast MEP Centers were able to share best practices specific to their region.  Several MEP of Louisiana staff presented at the meeting to include topics such as the Pricing Strategies and Social Media Marketing Tools.  More on this topic can be found below in our What’s Happening at NIST MEP section.

In June 2019, I participated in the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) 126^th Annual Conference & Exposition in Tampa, Florida.  The only conference dedicated to all disciplines of engineering education, it featured more than 400 technical sessions, with peer-reviewed papers spanning all disciplines of engineering education.  I presented at the conference on the topics of Using Competitiveness Reviews to Determine New Academic Program Development Needs, and the use of Minitab Statistical Analysis Software in Engineering Technology Education.  Photos from the conference are below.

I, and the rest of the MEP of LA team, look forward to continuing our work with manufacturers across Louisiana, who are working each day to make a difference in the lives of our communities, state, country and world through innovative products, value-added processes, and economic impact.

Dr. Ali Ahmad, Director