As the pandemic continues to evolve, we wanted to remind you of some of the many additions we’ve made over the last few weeks to the CIRAS COVID-19 website.
CIRAS is committed to bringing you the best information possible to help you make necessary decisions about your business. Toward that end, we’ve been regularly adding content and refocusing our efforts to answer the questions that Iowa businesses tell us they’re concerned about.
In case you missed it, we want to remind you that leadership is changing hands at the Iowa Lean Consortium.
Tracy Schuster took over as program director of the Iowa Lean Consortium in May.
July marks the fifth month without any in-person CIRAS gatherings on the CIRAS schedule. We cancelled our entire schedule of educational trainings in March as part of a nationwide effort to reduce the spread of COVID-19. As of now, that cancellation runs through the end of July. But we just wanted to remind you that … Continue reading Help CIRAS Plan the Future of Live Events
July 3, 2020 — As COVID-19 proliferates across our nation, the crisis continues to negatively impact our economy and spark concerns for the future of small and medium-sized businesses. CIRAS has been conducting a phone survey so we can better understand the needs of Iowa companies and better connect them to appropriate resources.
Here is what we’ve learned so far:
June 26, 2020 — As COVID-19 proliferates across our nation, the crisis continues to negatively impact our economy and spark concerns for the future of small and medium-sized businesses. CIRAS has been conducting a phone survey so we can better understand the needs of Iowa companies and better connect them to appropriate resources. Here is what we’ve learned … Continue reading CIRAS Survey UPDATE: Business Impacts of COVID-19
For Candace Drahn, part of staying ahead means discovering what you don’t know.
“As a small business, it’s hard to get out and educate yourself about industry trends,” said Drahn, vice president of M’s Machine and Manufacturing in Monona. “CIRAS kind of condenses everything into the small business mindset that I need. . . . It gives me a good overview of what I need to be doing on a particular topic.”
A Templeton, Iowa-based maker of farm machinery intends to launch a new product this summer after Iowa State University research—provided through the CIRAS Technology Assistance Program (TAP)—helped the company prove that its invention works.
Alison Holten has seen the spark of recognition ignite. This, she explains, is why it is so important for CIRAS to work with local partners to carry the capabilities of Iowa State University to the rest of the state.
Pengo Corporation had a problem. Pengo, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of drilling attachments and related wear parts, went in late 2016 to test a new auger in front of a major client. And it failed. The company turned to CIRAS materials specialists Paul Berge and Adam Bosenberg, who quickly found decarburization in the … Continue reading CIRAS TAP—Connecting Iowans with Tech, Each Other
A Le Mars manufacturer of side-dumping truck trailers believes his business is on the road to steady growth after CIRAS helped improve the company’s management structure and confirm that its marketing is on the correct path.
SmithCo Manufacturing Inc. was founded in 1994 to make side-dump trailers for the construction industry. Change loomed, however, as the company entered its third decade. SmithCo, long popular in construction, agriculture, and municipal waste hauling, had discovered a lucrative new market in the mining industry. But could the business handle it? Operations manager Scott Lovell saw the potential for enormous growth over the horizon, and he wanted to make sure his company was ready.