A LETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR
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RAISING THE BAR
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 scores continue to indicate a highly performing center, which is a testament to the great work being accomplished by our team members. Over the past four quarters, we worked with more than 131 manufacturers, mostly “new” clients. Moreover, the surveyed manufacturers reported the following
• More than 79 Million in Retained Sales
• More than 32 Million in New Sales
• More than 2,200 Created and Retained Jobs
• More than 26 Million in New Investments
• More than 15 Million in Cost Savings
• A Net Promoter Score ® of 87%
Additionally, over the past four quarters, we worked with more than 55 very small establishments with less than 20 employees, 15 clients in rural areas, and more than 9 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 that included solutions for the entire affected market with access to common problems and possible outcomes. Please visit
http://mepol.org/hurricane-harvey
to learn more. The grant expired last month, and we started working on the close-out process.
I attended the NIST MEP National Network Summit in Atlanta, Georgia in September 2019. This year’s Summit brought together all 51 Centers and offered more than 50 breakout sessions, insightful keynote speakers, plenary sessions and panel discussions. Each Center learned more about expanding and growing their Center’s capabilities and connections with other MEP Centers in order to become a more integrated Network to better serve manufacturers. More on this topic can be found below in our What’s Happening at NIST MEP section.
The MEP of Louisiana staff attended the LCTCS 2019 Annual Conference in New Orleans at the end of last month. The Annual Conference provides a professional development opportunity for the faculty and staff of Louisiana’s Community and Technical Colleges and system office employees. Each year over 1,300 community and technical college employees gather for the largest professional development of its kind in the state. The conference featured concurrent session presenters who are hand-selected, dynamic subject matter experts. This year, the conference focused on building bright futures.
On October 25
th
, some MEP of Louisiana team members will be attending the National Center for Advanced Manufacturing (NCAM) Fall 2019 Manufacturing Technology Summit. The Summit will highlight the best practices and innovations from the Gulf region and other states that are driving change in advanced manufacturing. Guest speakers and panelists will discuss how such practices, industry trends, and processes can be modeled and developed to create new opportunities for manufacturing in Louisiana.
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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Louisiana Economic Development and the U.S. Small Business Administration announced the 2019 Small Business Award winners at an event held in May 2019 recognizing small business leaders who exemplified the entrepreneurial spirit of Louisiana. The award winners were honored in a private reception at the Governor's Mansion. This year the MEP of Louisiana Small Manufacturing Award was awarded to Pat Crawford of
DMI Contractors located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. DMI Contractors was selected and honored for their ability to show continued growth and leadership during an extraordinary situation. Pat Crawford is the General Manager of DMI Contractors, Inc., a pipe fabrication manufacturer specializing in steel piping systems for the power, refinery, chemical, paper and cement industries.
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The Federation for Advanced Manufacturing Education (FAME), under the stewardship of the Manufacturing Institute of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), is a well-respected model of employer-led training that incorporates a work-learn model. There are three distinct programs under the FAME umbrella, the focus program and starting point for the other two programs, is the Advanced Manufacturing Technician (AMT). The FAME model incorporates a collaborative of employers partnering with educational providers to implement the program; in Louisiana, that collaborative is GeauxFAME and is centered around Natchitoches. The educational partners are Northwestern State University (NSU) and Central Louisiana Technical Community College (CLTCC), with classes taken at the Natchitoches CLTCC campus.
Students who successfully complete the program will earn an Associate of Science Degree in Engineering Technology with a concentration in Advanced Manufacturing from NSU; additionally, they will earn a technical certificate from CLTCC, and—if all requirements are met—an AMT certificate from GeauxFAME. Those requirements for the AMT Certificate from FAME are earning at least 1,776 working hours, not less than a “C” in all classwork, and a demonstrated mastery of the three pillars of the program: Manufacturing Core Exercises, Technical Skills, and Professional Behaviors.
“It is an honor to be a part of a program working to expand and strengthen workforce in our local economies. The FAME program, specifically the Advanced Manufacturing Technician (AMT), is a key initiative in the fight to solve workforce issues,” said Tony Davis, Executive Director of the Natchitoches Community Alliance Foundation (NCA). “This program is currently the only one of its kind in the state of Louisiana and is addressing the changing workforce needs of area manufacturers while providing an incredible opportunity to students willing to work hard,” said CLTCC Natchitoches Campus Dean Laurie Morrow.
Recently, Special Advisor to the President Ivanka Trump joined NAM, the Manufacturing Institute, and Toyota Motors North America (the creators of the FAME model) to announce the move from Toyota to NAM. This move will greatly enhance support and expansion of the program.
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FACE OF MANUFACTURING
OCTOBER 2019
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Meet the October 2019 Face of Manufacturing
Dwayne Dufrechou of HJM Machine Shop
After 22 years in the business, Dwayne has learned every job the machine shop has to offer. Although he originally began in banking after graduating from the University of New Orleans in 1992, he was presented with an opportunity in manufacturing shortly after.
According to Dwayne, "Instead of financing other people's dreams, I went into manufacturing to follow my own dream of eventually running a manufacturing company".
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HJM Machine Shop
is a full service machine shop located in Harahan, Louisiana. The manufacturer specializes in precision machining of all types of metal from custom orders to full production high quality precision parts. HJM offers a complete sheet metal fabrication department to go from design to completion including water jet cutting with a 6' x 12' table with dynamic tilt.
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WHAT'S HAPPENING AT NIST MEP?
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The 2019 MEP National Network Summit was held on September 15-19 in Atlanta, GA. The Summit theme, 'United State of Manufacturing', was designed to unify the MEP National Network and provide attendees, including several members of the MEP of Louisiana staff, with an exceptional opportunity to learn, network and share with peers from around the country.
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California MEP (CMTC) Releases Social Media Guide for Manufacturers
It may seem hard to believe, but in terms of technology, social media is still just a baby. Connecting with others via online social sites gained momentum less than 20 years ago with the arrival of sites like MySpace. Today, social media is a phenomenon, and Americans spend more than
215 weekly minutes
connecting with others online through their smartphone, and an additional 100 minutes connecting via laptop, desktop, or tablet.
In this free guide, we’ll explore the five best social sites for SMMs, and help you navigate their intricacies.
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MEP of Louisiana
265 S. Foster Drive, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 70806
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