Many government contracting professionals operate at arm’s length so they can remain unbiased and avoid the appearance of impropriety. But building relationships is critical to securing government business, especially on smaller-dollar purchases that don’t require public bidding. Face-to-face meetings are the perfect way to establish a relationship with an agency.
Ron Petersen thought he had it right, but he wasn’t sure.
Petersen, owner of Summertime Potato Company in Des Moines, sought CIRAS’ help last year to make certain that his company was in compliance with the U.S. Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), a sweeping 2011 law that gave the FDA new powers to prevent foodborne illness.
Sometimes, if the business is too big to handle, you just need to find a partner.
CIRAS’ top two administrators have been honored by the Iowa Association of Business and Industry (ABI) for their work trumpeting Iowa manufacturing.
CIRAS Director Ron Cox and program director Mike O’Donnell, head of CIRAS’ Manufacturing Extension Partnership, jointly received ABI’s Manufacturing Champion Award at a dinner for Iowa business leaders on Tuesday.
Two Iowa companies over the past year have separately discovered a new way to safeguard vibrating truck fenders and a new, more attractive way to lock patio doors—both as a result of work done by graduating students at Iowa State University.
Capstone students in Iowa State’s College of Engineering worked on the truck fender project for Link Manufacturing, a Sioux Center company that manufactures heavy-duty truck suspensions. The company asked students to extend the life of after-market fender brackets that sometimes were breaking because of vibration.
Angela Shaw stood smiling in a room full of food industry safety experts last month and compared the process they were practicing to visiting a family clinic.
“Just like when you go to the doctor,” said Shaw, an assistant professor of food safety in Iowa State University’s Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition. “They ask you a series of questions, and at the end they go, ‘I think I know what’s wrong with you.’ ”
In this case, the questions pertained not (directly) to human health but to the safety of food manufacturing machines.
Iowa State University’s digital job board helps companies connect with a pool of potential employees that includes both graduates and current students.
“CyHire is my one-stop shop for finding internships,” said Bradley Hagen, a senior in mechanical engineering. “There are always hundreds of jobs on CyHire. The built-in search filter is helpful when deciding which companies and jobs I’m going to pursue.”
Every so often (starting now), CIRAS intends to take a moment and tell you a little bit about the people who make Iowa businesses better:
Michele Oswood has owned the Cedar Rapids franchise of Express Employment Professionals since February 2016, but she worked in several industries before she bought the company. She believes in creative thinking and in valuing every person who walks through the door.
It’s that time of year again.
School is back in session. Students are flooding classrooms either out of a thirst for knowledge or because their parents threatened them. However they enter, the same question is beginning to wander through each of their minds.
“What am I going to do with my life?”
If you find yourself wondering “what’s next” for Iowa manufacturers, make sure you attend the Iowa Association of Business and Industry (ABI) Advanced Manufacturing Conference on September 20.