Four Iowa corporations have joined forces with CIRAS to create the Iowa Sustainable Business Forum (ISBF)—a new nonprofit organization that will be dedicated to improving businesses while boosting environmental stewardship and social responsibility.
Manufacturing jobs that fled U.S. soil decades ago for cheaper overseas labor might now be poised to come back – but only in certain sectors and only a little at a time, according to a newly released white paper from two CIRAS experts.
The upshot for Iowa is that producers in a handful of tipping-point industries should be keeping a close eye on labor and energy prices. In some cases, CIRAS experts say, those numbers could prove that manufacturers are paying too much to foreign suppliers or that U.S.-based suppliers are missing an opportunity.
Happy Friday. Ready for the holiday? We suggest you avoid any new projects this morning and instead spend today catching up on a few days’ worth of industry news.
Here’s what you might learn while trying hard to look busy:
An Adel-based manufacturer of springs for garage doors and agricultural equipment cut its costs by more than 30 percent and expects to boost sales by more than $1 million after adopting an innovative new technology that it tested as part of a CIRAS innovation service.
DUBUQUE– Northeast Iowa businesses should now find it easier to get what they need to grow.
Northeast Iowa Community College (NICC) and Iowa State University’s Center for Industrial Research and Service (CIRAS) have announced a partnership to provide a single point of contact for businesses seeking help in that region. As part of this agreement, Seth Gilbert, J.D., has been named the NICC/CIRAS Account Manager for the Dubuque area and will be charged with helping businesses find the programs and support services they need in either or both entities.
[WE’VE BEEN KIND OF LAX LATELY ON TELLING YOU ABOUT WHAT WE DO. HERE’S AN ATTEMPT (from the Winter 2015 edition of CIRAS News) TO FIX THAT.]
CIRAS is not a direct part of this, but we just want to remind you that the Des Moines Career & Trade Expo is set for Friday morning at the Valley Community Center in West Des Moines.
Produced by Cumulus Media, the expo is presented by Tero International & Marketlink. Organizers say it will highlight employers looking for workers to fill positions within the Trades & Skilled Labor sector. But the expo also is being billed as an event “unlike any you may have previously attended.”
Have you ever wonder what it would be like to sell to the government? Wonder who to contact or how that process works?
If so, you may want to attend CIRAS’ 2nd annual Iowa Vendor Conference, which is coming up next week. It’ll be April 7 in Ankeny from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Meet Paul.
Paul’s mission in life (at least partly) is to help you understand the Internet and how it can help your business.
Happy Tuesday. Another wave of numbers today, plus factory workers and farm machinery.
Here’s where to find it: