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WELCOME!
Welcome to the "Manufacturing Matters" e-newsletter!
Please send company news to info@mainemfg.com. Enjoy!
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REGISTRATION IS OPEN!!
2011 ANNUAL MEETING
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Ramada Inn Lewiston
4:30-8:00PM
Please join us to celebrate our 47th year
as the voice of manufacturing in Maine!
Sponsorship opportunities now avaialble!
Click here for the sponsorship and registration form.
If you have any questions please contact
MAMe at 207.854.2153 or admin@mainemfg.com
Keynote Speaker F. Lee Bailey & Entertainment by Comedian, Bob Marley
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LOOK WHO'S SPONSORING THE 2011 MAMe ANNUAL MEETING!
VIP SPONSOR
Peoples United Bank
CHAMPION SPONSORS
Manufacturers of Maine Group Trust
Newfab, Inc
WahlcoMetroflex
MEMIC
NETWORKING SPONSORS
Albin, Randall & Bennet
Coastal Enterprises Inc.
Thank you for supporting the
MAMe Annual Meeting!
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What’s Happening at MAMe?
New Members: Please welcome our newest members to MAMe!
Partners Creating Wealth, South Portland, Maine
Tove Rasmussen, CEO
Providing growth strategies, leadership skills, career coaching and facilitation.
Partners Creating Wealth has joined our expanding Business Growth Services network! www.partnerscreatingwealth.com
The MAMe Business Services Division:
Business Growth Services (BGS) This month, the BGS division is providing a multitude of companies with services including strategic planning, marketing, Lean, costing, process improvement and certification and training, grant writing, ISO …if you have a need for business services, please call MAMe at 854-2153 or email angel@mainemfg.com Remember, the private sector creates wealth….
Education and Training: Maine Industry Partnership Initiative/Sector Development:
The Manufacturers Roundtable for Education and Training: The MAMe board members and staff met with Labor Commissioner Bob Winglass this month to discuss the state strategies for workforce development. MAMe is engaged in the development of Maine’s Industry Partnership Initiative (MIPI) that is a data and demand-driven strategy. The Manufacturers Roundtable and MAMe Education Committee are convening to roll out the MIPI and a statewide manufacturing marketing plan. MAMe also attended the SMCC Workforce Forum on September 14 with John Dorrer, Chris Hall, Chuck Laughton and Mike Dubyak.
Compliance Plus Program: MAMe staff met with the new Director of Labor Standard, Rick Snow, to discuss the Compliance Plus Program. The design team finalized the Compliance Plus Program. Using the BGS model, the Compliance services will assist members on how to become and sustain compliance within the company. Training and direct assistance for members will be available soon.
Cluster/Sector Development: MAMe has completed a capabilities/capacity assessment of the manufacturing sector for an alternative energy project that includes Maine Wind Industry initiative (MWII) and the Hydrogen Energy Center (HEC). The cluster surveys are complete. Both surveys compile data that will formulate plans to assist the industries with business development activities, training, certifications and overall business needs. We are developing training for industry members and working with the education system to address education gaps.
Business Insurance Services: MAMe Paradigm Health Plan will host informational sessions on September 28 at KVCC in Fairfield and October 6 in Portland at Wesco on Marginal Way. The sessions will cover all information regarding the new health plan. We currently have several members signing up! We can also arrange for company meetings with Walker Winslow, Paradigm Health Consultants. If you want more information, please call us at 207-854-2153 or email info@mmainemfg.com
MAMe attended the “Women To Watch” event, sponsored by Maine Biz. Louise Jonaitis, Saunders Bros. at Locke Mills and Beth Shissler, Seabags, were honorees of 2011!
Beth Shissler accepting her award at the MaineBiz "Women to Watch" event.
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Louise Jonaitis (right) accepting her award at the MaineBiz "Women to Watch" event.
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9/28/201
MAMe Paradigm Health Plan Informational Session
9:00-11:00AM
Kennebec Valley Community College, Portland
For registration information click here.
10/5/2011
MEAA Marcum Cronus Forum
8:30-10:30AM
Greater Portland Council of Government, Portland
For more information click here.
To register please call MAMe at 207-854-2153 or email info@mainemfg.com.
10/6/2011
MAMe Paradigm Health Plan
9:00-11:00AM
Wesco, Portland
For registration information click here.
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What's Happening in BGS?
Specialty Products Company Completes Expansion
Congratulations to Mike and Paula Cuthbertson, owners of Specialty Products Company (SPC) in Whitefield. Their eleven year old company has just completed its second major expansion. Starting in their garage, the couple purchased a building and property on Route 17 in Whitefield. They moved the manufacturing and offices into the 4000 square foot building and added good clean fill to the large lot as they could afford it. They hoped eventually to build a 10,000 square foot facility on the expanded lot.
Like most Maine companies, SPC struggled through the recession, but, by emphasizing precision high quality work and delivering to customer needs, the business began to grow again to the point that they were running out of capacity.
Mike and Paula had a decision to make. Should they move some of the production back to the garage at home which had the power needed or should they build that 10,000 square foot addition. The lucky couple decided to build the 10,000 square foot building despite what the U. S. economy was doing. They needed that capacity and wanted it under one roof. They started talking to a builder, but had never been through the experience. How do we do it and still grow the business?
As members of MAMe they told Lisa Martin, the Executive Director, of their plans and concerns. She suggested that a professional from MAMe Business Growth Services could help them with their project and keep it on the right track. Ed Kearney, a BGS Senior Project Manager and a Licensed Industrial Engineer was hired by the couple in August 2010 to assist with the project.
Mike and Paula felt that employee involvement in the development of plans was critical. A series of round table meetings with employees were held and ideas were solicited. Ideas came in bunches. The consultant's warning was “don’t be building poor.” The space was to grow the company. If your monthly payment was too high, you might not have enough cash to support new equipment purchases. The monthly payment for the 10,000 square foot building was calculated and thrown into the mix.
Mike, a natural list maker, took all of the information home, did pluses and minuses on the project, lost some sleep, as did Paula, and came back to work on Monday perplexed. We need the space, but how much can we afford and where should the building be placed?
On Tuesday, he called a round table meeting with the employees and expressed his concerns. A lively discussion followed and a decision was adopted. Attach the new building as an addition to the existing building! Brilliant! Since the existing building had offices and services like power and bathrooms, there would be no need to add them to the addition reducing its cost and its size to 5,000 square feet. What would the consultant think? “Brilliant,” he said, and ticked off reasons like expandability and lower initial cost. The decision was celebrated as the first step toward a phased growth plan which could accommodate 20,000 square feet or more.
Additional contractors were solicited and prices obtained. Negotiations continued into December, when a contractor was chosen. The consultant guided SPC through the negotiations and specifications. In the end SPC had the temperature controlled building they wanted at a price far less than they expected.
Construction began in March and proceeded through the summer. In September, SPC took occupancy.
SPC and the BGS consultant are now working on the best use of the new facility while capitalizing on the existing space. “We don’t need to move everything into the new building just because we have the space” says Mike “we’ll use our new space to relieve some congestion and design a first rate QA setup.” “The balance of the new space will be used for expansion.”
BGS will continue to work with SPC using Lean techniques to provide a world class facility.
“I’m glad I talked to Lisa; BGS has made a world of difference to us over the past year.” “We have a better building and we avoided the newbies learning curve which could have been costly.””Paula and I highly recommend BGS.”
BEFORE EXPANSION / AFTER EXPANSION
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What's Happening in the MEAA?
Kestrel Aircraft Forum in Brunswick
Our sincere thanks to Kestrel Aircraft for hosting a very successful combined forum with MEAA and Maine Composites Alliance members. We had over 40 people in attendance including federal, state and local town representatives. Rich Grich, MEAA and Steve Von Vogt, Maine composites alliance gave the welcoming and introduction presentation.
Steve Serfling , Executive Vice President, Research and Development, gave an excellent presentation on Kestrel Aircraft covering The History of Kestrel, Various Aircraft developments leading to the current 37 foot long, Honeywell turboprop powered, composite aircraft that will be manufactured in Brunswick, Maine. Kestrel facilities and testing needs, manufacturing supplier needs and potential markets for the new aircraft were included in his presentation.
CEO & Chairman, Alan Klapmeier and CFO & Board of Directors, Ed Underwood, were on board to answer questions and conduct a tour of the new aircraft increased size interior model after the presentation. Also included in the tour were the current development composite aircraft, a model of the new Honeywell turboprop that will power production aircraft and two additional aircraft that led up to the current development. MEAA members in attendance included - Innovative Technology, Matheson Tri-Gas, Arundel Machine, The Cote Corporation, Aquest Corporation, Thermoformed Plastics, Janseneering, Custom Composite Technologies, Don’s Sheet Metal and AMI (MAMe member).
Please see photos below...
MEAA FORUM: MARCUM CORNUS
OCTOBER 5, 2011
8:30-10:30AM
LOCATION:
Greater Portland Council of Government
68 Marginal Way
4th Floor
Portland, ME 04101
*Breakfast and Coffee will be provided by Marcum Cronus
FORUM TOPICS:
• A&D Subcontracting to the Large OEMs: the Opportunities in Large Aircraft and Engine Programs and the Requirements for Success; and a Profile of the Northeast Supply Chain. Presented by Joseph H. Lubenstein, Senior Advisor, Marcum Cronus Partners. Read Joseph's bio here.
• Capital Restructuring for Small to Mid-Size Manufacturers; and Consolidation Trends in the Sector. Presented by Jeffrey S. Rubin, Managing Director, Marcum Cronus Partners. Read Jeffrey's bio here.
For more information on Marcum Cronus please visit: www.marcumcronus.com
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Attendees at the Kestrel Forum standing in front of the increased size interior model.
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Kestrel's new composite aircraft.
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Members in the News
Bath Iron Works was awarded a $10 million modification contract to continue design and engineering work on the USS Independence.
Brunswick Landing's eligibility was recently approved by the FAA for the agency's Military Airport Program. This program allows Brunswick to access additional competitive grant funding through the airport improvement program to reduce aviation congestion and improve airport efficiency.
Biovation recently announced in a press release that its fresh produce pad has earned the BioPreffered label from the U.S. Department of Agriculture in it packing materials category.
ANANIA & Associated Investment Company LLC ("AAI"), just completed the purchase of Trktec LLC ("Traktec"), a specialty printing manufacturer based in Portland, Maine. Traktec plans to be the leading provider of premium pressure sensitive labels for wholesale, retail and consumer based applications. The company was founded by Michael Caron, an expert in paper coatings, production and printing technology, who started his career with S.D. Warren paper.
AAI also recently welcomed Jeff Sutton as the new CEO at Traktec. Jeff comes to them with a wealth of manufacturing experience and expertise.
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BIOSCIENCE ASSOCIATION OF MAINE FALL CONFERENCE
Navigating through the Federal and State Waters in Uncertain Times:
How to build the Bioscience Industry in Maine
Sept 23rd
UNE-Portland, Maine
1:00pm Registration
1:30pm Welcome
1:45pm A Year in Review
2:00pm Panel
3:15pm Maine Companies and Non-Profits R&D and Commercialization
5:00pm Reception and Networking
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Take control of your workers’ compensation insurance costs!
Since 1993, the Manufacturers of Maine Group Trust has returned 28% of insurance premiums to its members.
To learn more about how our aggressive safety and claims management programs can put you in control of your workers’ compensation costs, please contact Steven McKay at steve.mckay@willis.com or 1-800-698-3267 ext.1013
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MEAA TRAINING FUNDS AVAILABLE
There are MEAA training funds available! Contact our offices at (207) 854-2153 or clickhere to email us for more information.
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SEND US YOUR
JOB POSTINGS!!
Does your company have a job opening, let MAMe help.
Send the job description and contact information to info@mainemfg.com and we will post it on our job postings page.
Please contact MAMe at 207-854-2153 or by email at info@mainemfg.com for more information on this free service.
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UPCOMING EVENTS:
PLEASE CHECK OUR
FOR EXCITING
UPCOMING EVENTS!
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