Are you anxious for inspiration? Excited to learn more about techniques that will help your company continuously improve and grow? CIRAS suggests you make plans to attend the 2018 Fall Conference of the Iowa Lean Consortium. More than 375 Lean and learning-minded professionals are expected to wend their way to a West Des Moines hotel next month for a chance to tour successful companies, learn from innovative speakers, and network with their counterparts from around the state.
Author: Jeff Eckhoff
Communications Manager at CIRAS, Iowa State University
Water Security in Iowa – Knowing What You Use, Having a Good Plan
For Bill Zimmerle, plant manager of the Valent BioSciences Corporation (VBC) facility in Osage, it all comes down to planning for the future. The future, you see, requires water.
American Power Systems Energizes Its Export Business
A Davenport manufacturer of alternators and other electrical equipment for specialty vehicles expects to more than double the amount it sells overseas within the next three years. Officials at American Power Systems Inc. predict the company will at least double its current six-figure export sales once it fully implements everything leaders learned during a CIRAS-driven class presented via the Quad Cities Manufacturing Innovation Hub.
Did you Know…?: Hurricane Disaster Contracting
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Climate Prediction Center (CPC) is forecasting a 35% chance of above-normal hurricane activity in the Atlantic for the 2018 hurricane season (June 1 – November 30). The disastrous 2017 hurricane season had companies scrambling to position themselves for a piece of the “recovery” pie.
I make widgets. Why should I care about cybersecurity?
It happens every day. The news fills with words like botnets, malware, ransomware, heartbleed, phishing, and sniffing. We are told we must make passwords “long and strong,” avoid “unsafe” websites, and keep computers “up to date.” We wonder what hackers could ever want with us. Mostly, we just wonder what is safe and what we should do to protect ourselves. Here are a few ways businesses can start to address cybersecurity:
Assessment: Iowa Mfg Need Help with Tech, Strategy
Iowa manufacturers have been slow to take proven steps toward improving their businesses—and now face a widening technology gap and workforce challenges that are placing increasing pressure on smaller companies, according to a recent CIRAS review of the state of Iowa manufacturing. CIRAS’ 2017–2018 Iowa Manufacturing Needs Assessment Report, a document based on comments derived from six public forums and a survey of leaders at 228 manufacturers across Iowa, shows Iowa companies continuing to sort themselves onto one side or another of a widening profitability gap.
Staff Update: Osborn Joins CIRAS as Project Manager for Growth
Cary J. “C.J.” Osborn joined CIRAS earlier this summer as a Newton-based project manager leading our growth services on the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) team.
Kay Park Recreation—A New Generation Rebuilds the Family Business
Kay Park Recreation was born in 1954 because its founder, Keith Borglum, was in the right place at the right time. “His older brother happened to know some guys on a county conservation board,” said Keith’s son, Larry Borglum. “In the 1950s, when they started making parks everywhere, his older brother said, ‘I know some guys who could do that...’ ”
HUBZone Firms Seek to Seize Attention of Agencies, Prime Contractors
Steve Belland and Moe Abu-Nameh have gone the extra mile to give federal government agencies and their prime contractors a reason to work with the duo’s Hiawatha trucking company. Now, the Iowans just need to find the right match.
STAFF NEWS: Samantha Ferm is a Government Contracting Specialist
Samantha Ferm has joined CIRAS as a government contracting specialist with the Procurement Technical Assistance Program (PTAP). She will be based out of Iowa City and will serve the southeast portion of the state.