Massachusetts Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MassMEP), a leading resource for manufacturing companies in Massachusetts, has released the MassMEP 2014 Annual Report. The report provides an overview of the results obtained by Massachusetts manufacturers as they work with MassMEP to identify, analyze, and overcome strategic, operational, and workforce challenges that may be blocking their path to growth and success.
“Drawing on a number of proven manufacturing growth methodologies, such as Lean Manufacturing, workforce skills development, innovative design, and product commercialization, we are able to help manufacturers unleash their growth potential, improve infrastructure and product quality, and obtain critical workforce training,” said John Killam, Center Director, MassMEP. “Our goal is to bring together the resources and services needed to deliver positive, measureable, and sustainable growth in manufacturing.”
In 2014, MassMEP’s manufacturing clients have had a significant impact on the economy:
- 66.67% increase in jobs created,
- 70.97% increase in the number of new hires,
- 63.04% increase in sales,
- 65.12% increase in retained sales, and
- 78.82% increase in cost savings.
According to Matt Hogan, President of Industrial Packaging, “In the three years Industrial Packaging has been working with MassMEP, we have seen 13% sales growth and created 225 jobs. MassMEP provides a value-added piece that our company would not have grown without.”
The MassMEP 2014 Annual Report highlights many of the year’s programs and special events focused on the manufacturing sector. Early in the year, MassMEP launched a new bilingual training program to communicate essential information in the native language of many employees in manufacturing. This program is headed by Miguel Cuenca, Bilingual LEAN Training Specialist at MassMEP.
Al Wosky, President of Belt Technologies, said, “We did kaizen training focused on waste elimination and reducing our lead time to improve our delivery to customers. One event was on developing work cells and the other on visual scheduling. After the training our team went above and beyond to develop a work cell that helped us increase productivity and efficiency and we were able to deliver a specific job on time, which we had not been able to do in the past. We did this where our margins were substantially higher as well.”
In 2014, Housing and Economic Development Secretary Greg Bialecki announced a $747,160 grant to the Massachusetts Advanced Center for Workforce Innovation Collaborative (MACWIC) to better align vocational school and community college instruction with industry needs.
As part of the National Manufacturing Day celebration, Representative John Fernandes presented MassMEP with a Senate and House resolution recognizing its work in developing MACWIC and supporting manufacturing in Massachusetts.
House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo stated, “I believe that manufacturing will play an integral role in revitalizing communities across the Commonwealth and will further accelerate Massachusetts’ economy. Joined by MassMEP, the Legislature’s efforts provide workforce training and education, link leading innovators with manufacturing companies, and support businesses as they grow and employ more residents.”
Other 2014 highlights include partnering with Siemens to provide critical skills for the manufacturing workforce of the future, co-hosting with WPI a delegation of union presidents from the All Japan Council of Optical Industry Workers Union, and partnering with Greentown Labs and MassDevelopment to work with manufacturing startups to create and commercialize innovative technologies.
The MassMEP 2014 Annual Report is available for download at: