NIST MEP E-Blast: Friday, December 21, 2012

January 2013 Update Meeting

Edison Nation Live Product Search

What's Happening Around MEP

MEP in the NEWS

Upcoming Events of Interest

Make it in America Manufacturer of the Week!

View e-blast from December 14, 2012

MEP Update Meeting - Agenda Now Posted

The agenda for the January Update meeting is now posted. Highlights include:

• MEP system year in review; preview of next 12 months
• Lessons learned from high performing centers in CORE
• Peer discussions about innovation practice success
• (New!) Learning Lab: presentation and discussion of new system capacity building effort

Please visit the MEP Update Meeting website and click on the Agenda tab to view the schedule of events. For more information and to register for this upcoming meeting, please click on the "registration" button in the bottom right hand corner. Registration cost is $250 per person. Also, don't forget to book your hotel for this event as rooms are based on availability.

The January Update Meeting will be held in in St. Louis, Missouri, at the Union Station DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel starting at 1:00 pm on January 29 and ending by 2:30 on the 30th. Many centers have started registering and are sending multiple staff to the meeting. We look forward to good discussion and networking opportunities for center leadership and all levels of staff.

Room rate ends January 8th: $104/night
Click here to place reservations online. This link is already generated with the group discount code. Once on the website select your arrival and departure date and the Group/Convention Code will automatically populate to say “January Update Meeting.” To place reservations by phone please call 855-271-3620 and reference “January Update Meeting.” You must reference the room block in order to receive the discounted rate.

Any questions related to the January MEP Update Meeting, please contact Kari Reidy at kari.reidy@nist.gov or 301-975-4919.

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Edison Nation Live Product Search

Edison Nation®, an idea-to-shelf product developer and innovation platform has partnered once again with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to support and engage its Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP), on their Made in America Program. This program gives U.S.-based manufacturers the first chance to bid on producing new products for large, established retailers. Read Announcement.

In the first step of this program Edison Nation gathers new and innovative product ideas from its inventor network through “Live Product Searches.” The first retailer to participate is Belk, the nation’s largest privately owned department store company. Belk has teamed up with Edison nation to find innovative ways to re-imagine men’s gift assortments. Belk’s Live Product Search went live on December18, 2012. To view the Belk Landing Page, please, click here. Please send this live search out to your company networks. With the reach of the MEP network we can help U.S. companies create new opportunities to manufacture products for large retailers.

In early 2013 Belk will select their favorite new product ideas. We will then be posting the requests for quotes to make these new products so that you can send them to your manufacturer networks.

For questions, please contact Dave Cranmer (David.Cranmer@nist.gov | 301-975-5753) or Caroline Ranghel Ashley (Ranghel@rti.org | 919- 541-6822)

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What's Happening Around MEP 

Department of Defense Program – Connecting American Manufacturing (CAM)

The DoD has launched the “Connecting American Manufacturing” initiative to allow the government to more easily and efficiently connect with both small and mid-size U.S. manufacturers that have the capabilities they need; and to make it easier for manufacturers to identify and secure government opportunities that match their capabilities.

As part of the initiative efforts, mfrsearch.com, an online communication portal and database for buyers and sellers of manufactured parts and machining services has been chosen as part of the Connecting American Manufacturing initiative. This secure interactive website connects manufacturing businesses to each other. The site specifically meets the needs of small-to-mid-sized manufacturers eager to take advantage of Department of Defense and other commercial RFQ postings. mfrsearch.com automatically matches RFQs that fit manufacturer’s profiles and e-mails opportunities directly to them. Suppliers can set RFQ filters and create company profiles that alert prospective buyers of the supplier’s expertise and capabilities.

Mfrsearch.com is powered by TechSolve, Southwest Ohio’s MEP. Contact Doreen Stanley at 513-948-2041 to discuss how mfrsearch.com could be utilized in MEP Centers. To learn more about the tool please visit the mfrsearch website or watch the introductory YouTube video. .

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MEP in the NEWS

NWMOC's tale about lean: Wisconsin: from milkers to makers When most people think of lean, companies like Toyota, Ford or Boeing spring to mind. And when they think of Wisconsin, they envisage cattle and cheese. However, manufacturing accounts for over 20% of the state GDP. Kelly Sullivan, a former Senior Project Engineer at the University of Wisconsin-Stout, explains what lean has done for local manufacturing SMEs. Read Article

Executive Director and CEO of Wisconsin Manufacturing Extension Partnership highlights the importance of proccess improvement “What you’re talking about all the time is taking time and cost out of a process and putting quality in,” said Buckley Brinkman, executive director and CEO of the Madison-based Wisconsin Manufacturing Extension Partnership. “It’s also a way to get your workforce engaged. It’s critical the people on the line are engaged in helping you improve the process.”y... Read Article

Read the Latest from the

Ann’s House Goes Nuts for E3
In a nutshell, the story goes like this. A leading food processor is selected to receive guidance in sustainable practices through the E3: Economy, Energy and Environment initiative. For months, E3 experts assess where improvements can be made and the company began embarking on ambitious projects to streamline processes... Read Blog

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Upcoming Events of Interest

Saint Clair Systems, a client of Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center (MMTC), is located in Washington, MI and is dedicated to the science of temperature control, and is is the only company to successfully demonstrate the ability to both measure and control temperature at the point of dispense.

Visit the NIST MEP Visit the NIST MEP public site to learn more about this company and how the center is helping them grow.

For more information about NIST MEP's "Make it in America" Manufacturer of the Week, please contact Karen Lellock (karen.lellock@nist.gov | 301-975-4269).

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