After spending an hour with Dan St. Louis and Tony Whitener, the director and special project director, respectively, of the Manufacturing Solutions Center, your head will start to swim. Not because they are confusing, but because it's hard to process the many ways the Manufacturing Solutions Center can help local companies compete in today's marketplace.
The Manufacturing Solutions Center is a non-profit organization that is part of Catawba Valley Community College, and its offices and 18-person staff are located in CVCC's East Campus. The Center's mission is to help U.S. manufacturers increase sales, improve quality and efficiency, but if you ask St. Louis and Whitener what their mission is they have a one word answer. “Jobs,” Whitener says without hesitation. And the Center fulfills this mission through a variety of services for new and existing companies, including marketing support, website design, product testing services, R&D support and assistance, and assistance with export sales, as well as developing partnerships with trade groups, colleges and universities.
“We do what is necessary to help companies succeed,” St. Louis says.
The Center began operations 20 years ago as the Hosiery Technology Center, serving as an advocate for the hosiery industry and developing hosiery testing resources and procedures to meet the growing requirements from various retailers. The Hosiery Technology Center worked closely with the hosiery manufacturers and retailers to develop product standards that were relevant and testable, while doing it at a cost significantly lower than commercial testing labs. Along the way they realized that the core skills they were developing were relevant to many industries beyond hosiery.
After expanding into other industries, the Center adopted the name Manufacturing Solutions Center two years ago to better describe its reach. It is still involved in hosiery, but the Center now works with companies in such industries as furniture, medical devices, logistics, green manufacturing as well as numerous segments of the textile industry.
“Our customer base is our community,” says St. Louis, “and our community continues to expand from North Carolina across the United States.”
The Center often works with companies that have a new business idea or product idea, but need help in bringing it to market. Recently with the support of the Golden Leaf Foundation, the Center purchased a 3-D laser scanner to assist with the rapid prototyping of new products to get them quickly into the marketplace. The Center also assists existing businesses that are struggling to compete with imports and need help in improving efficiencies or expanding into new markets.
Want to learn more about the Manufacturing Solutions Center and see how they can help your business? Visit their website at www.manufacturingsolutionscenter.org.
Do you have a business question or topic that would make a good column? Send your ideas or questions to me at jeff.neuville@b-assistnc.com and share your business experience with others.
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