CIRAS government contracting specialist Andy Alexander was eating breakfast in downtown Onawa one morning in 2014 when he suddenly came face-to-face with the aspirations of a Monona County sheriff’s deputy.
“He walked in and wanted to know if that was my government car out there,” Alexander recalls. “I thought he was going to give me a ticket.”
A major manufacturer of egg flats and fast-food drink carriers has turned to CIRAS for help with the next phase of improving its business.
Clarion Packaging—a 100-employee plant in Clarion, Iowa, with a sister facility in Brook, Indiana—first approached CIRAS roughly two years ago for help achieving food safety certification. The company now is working with CIRAS to test its product quality and plan for the future.
For Eric Cook, national Manufacturing Day was a chance to show 40 high school vocational students what the future may hold.
“They get exposure,” Cook said. “Just seeing what’s out there, seeing what the job takes, what it’s really like out on the shop floor.”
CIRAS specialists know a lot about Iowa businesses. Here are a few questions and answers to help you learn a little more about them:
CIRAS specialists know a lot about Iowa businesses. Here are a few questions and answers to help you learn a little more about them:
Usually, when you’re trying to take a cold, hard look at your future, it’s best to do it with fresh eyes.
That, according to Greg Ervin, is partly why Marion-based Timberline Manufacturing Co. has been working with CIRAS to plan the company’s best path to growth. Timberline, a maker of wire harnesses, control panels, and custom electronics that is now in its fifth year as an employee-owned business, approached CIRAS roughly a year ago seeking help with mapping the next portion of its future.
For Eric Cook, national Manufacturing Day is a chance to show 40 high school vocational students what the future may hold.
“Number one, they get exposure – just seeing what’s out there, seeing what the job takes, what it’s really like out on the shop floor,” Cook said. “They’re high schoolers. They haven’t been exposed to a lot of that.”
CIRAS is excited for our final two events in our 2017 Future of Manufacturing series – dealing with two critical components of how manufacturing is changing – leadership and automation.
Connections created through CIRAS networking events and hands-on assistance have helped a Cedar Rapids-based recruitment company grow during the past year.
Express Employment Professionals is a full-service staffing agency specializing in the industrial, administrative, IT, and engineering fields. Michele Oswood, owner of the Cedar Rapids franchise, said her company’s client base has doubled since she purchased the business in February 2016.
From time to time, CIRAS likes to tell you a little bit about some of the people who make Iowa business better.
Jim Long worked his way up from a regional salesman to become the president and CEO of Cline Tool in Newton. He believes in hiring good people, and he’d like to see more good businesses coming to Iowa.