A LETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR
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MAKING HEADWAY
The Louisiana Community and Technical College System (LCTCS) is committed to supporting manufacturers. One of LCTCS’ initiatives is to train a successful workforce. The system office works with each individual community college to create relevant, timely programs and services that address their specific industry needs. The MEP of LA continues to work with LCTCS and the colleges to reach out and work with manufacturers state-wide. The search is ongoing for project managers to be located at the following colleges:
• Central Louisiana Technical Community College
• SOWELA Technical Community College
The recently published IMPACT score is at its highest level in five years, which is a testament to the great work being accomplished by our team members. Over the past four quarters, we worked with more than 80 manufacturers, mostly “new” clients. Moreover, the surveyed manufacturers reported the following:
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More than 45 Million in Retained Sales
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More than 16 Million in New Sales
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More than 1,300 Created and Retained Jobs
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More than 18 Million in New Investments
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More than 10 Million in Cost Savings
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More than 93% in Improved Competitiveness
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A Net Promoter Score® greater than 90%
Additionally, over the past four quarters, we worked with more than 30 very small establishments with less than 20 employees, more than 10 clients in rural areas, and more than 10 startup companies.
In 2017, the MEP of LA was awarded a grant to conduct free assessments to manufacturers in the 12-impacted parishes under Hurricane Harvey. We have added a page to our website with solutions for the entire affected market with access to common problems and possible outcomes. Please visit
http://mepol.org/hurricane-harvey
to learn more.
Earlier this year, we partnered with other MEP Centers and Site Selection magazine to put together an article on the state of the manufacturing climate in Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas. Please visit
https://siteselection.com/digitaledition/2019/mar/#page=135
to read a recently published article that summarizes the answers by different state manufacturing experts. The experts answered questions related to “manufacturing mood”, common challenges faced by manufacturers, strategies promoted by MEP centers, and the most effective ways to help manufacturers locate and acquire the talent that they need.
I, and the rest of the MEP of LA team, look forward to continuing our work with manufacturers across Louisiana, who are working each day to make a difference in the lives of our communities, state, country and world through innovative products, value-added processes, and economic impact.
Dr. Ali Ahmad
, Director
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Training Logic, Inc., located in Ruston, Louisiana, strives to help increase your bottom line through your employees skill and knowledge development. All of the training provided by Training Logic, Inc, who is also an Incumbent Working Training Program (IWTP) provider, is customized to the customer's needs. The company employs a wide variety of skilled and experienced trainers who have extensive expertise in the corporate environment. These trainers have the flexibility of working with executives, middle management, sales professionals, as well as hourly production and maintenance teams. Their training solutions include executive coaching, leadership development, team building, lean six sigma, customer service, sales and OSHA safety training.
The MEP of Louisiana reached out to Denise Evans, CFO of Training Logic. Here is what she had to say about the partnership: "The unique partnership between Training Logic, Inc., MEPOL and Louisiana Delta Community College allows for employers to access quality customized workforce training in order to take their organization to the next level. Our combined offerings cover all soft skills training including Leadership, Supervisory and Team Building, OSHA Safety, LEAN Manufacturing, Instrumentation, C4M Certification and Project Management to name a few. Employers are able to utilize our combined knowledge pool to solve workforce challenges, enhance their current team member’s skill sets or expand their organization. We are also training providers for the Incumbent Worker Training Program (IWTP) which enables employers to access funds used to upskill their workforce."
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FACE OF MANUFACTURING
APRIL 2019
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Meet the April 2019 Face of Manufacturing - Jeanne Bourg-Soleau of Ed. Smith's Stencil Works
By working at a manufacturing company steeped in history and longevity, manufacturing has taught Jeanne Bourg-Soleau to appreciate the importance of respecting process and paying attention to each step.
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Ed. Smith's Stencil Works
is located in New Orleans, Louisiana has been manufacturing signage for more than 150 years.
The shop still bears Ed Smith's name and makes stencils, but is now outfitted with the latest high-tech sign-making equipment. It also still relies on tried and true methods, sometimes using techniques, machinery and dies dating back to the turn of the century. The business is the exclusive manufacturer of the star and crescent badges worn by New Orleans police officers, and makes most of the official seals of New Orleans’ notary publics, attorneys, engineers and architects. The company that bears his name also arranges the forging of the bronze historic markers that appear in nearly every line of sight in the French Quarter.
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WHAT'S HAPPENING AT NIST MEP?
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NIST MEP has started a state relations team effort led by the Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness (CREC). The CREC has created a
manufacturing data dashboard
for each state providing a snapshot of how the state's economy is performing in general, and in particular in the manufacturing sector. The MEP of Louisiana has incorporated this information (e.g., top manufacturing industries, innovation, manufacturing performance) on our MEPOL.org website. Visit
http://mepol.org/louisiana-manufacturing-data to learn more.
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MEP of Louisiana
265 S. Foster Drive, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 70806
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