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:
Iowa machinery manufacturers have seen their share of U.S. machinery exports more than double since 2000, according to a CIRAS analysis of U.S. industry statistics. Now, manufacturers need to figure out how to build on that gain.
A CIRAS analysis, completed by Iowa State University economist Liesl Eathington for an April 2 summit on the state of machinery production in Iowa, shows that Iowans have a competitive advantage over the rest of the nation—especially when it comes to making agricultural and construction equipment.
For Iowa State University meat specialist Joseph Cordray, it all comes down to Americans’ changing demands for dinner.
Evolving societal preferences have created new opportunities for Iowa food companies, Cordray believes. Firms just need to innovate—or, if necessary, to find someone who’s willing and able to help them do it.
“Your spouse’s definition of a homecooked meal I guarantee is not the same as your grandmother’s definition of a home-cooked meal,” Cordray, a professor of animal science in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) at Iowa State University, said of the changing consumer demand. “Your grandmother used to spend all day in the kitchen making it.”