The Competitive Edges
  The Wisconsin Manufacturing Extension Partnership                                       May 2013
TLX Technologies:
Moving fast to capture market share
TLX Technologies
TLX Technologies, LLC got its start in 1996 out of the garage and bedroom of the house of Neil Karolek, the company's president, chief executive officer and founder. 

Nearly 17 years later, the Pewaukee manufacturer of customized electro-mechanical solenoid products has grown to have anticipated annual revenue of about $10 million. 

Upcoming Events
Sponsored by the WMEP
THINC Innovation 
Tuesday, May 14 3-6 pm, Appleton
Thursday, May 16 9-5, Milwaukee
MSEC/NAMRC 2013
June 10-14, Madison
Articles
of Interest


(ThomasNet.com)
Back to the Basics & Better than Ever!
Training within Industry
What's old is new when it comes to fortifying the basic concepts of lean manufacturing.

Training Within Industry (TWI), which was developed to support industrial firms for the United States war effort during World War II, is widely considered to be genesis of modern manufacturing philosophies, such as lean manufacturing and kaizen. 

 

Read full blog post by Jerry Thiltgen, WMEP senior manufacturing specialist
Greetings!

The WMEP's mission is to "Make Wisconsin Manufacturing the best in the world." We have assembled an incredible slate of events to help manufacturers achieve growth in today's hyper-competitive environment:
Marie Mansheim Rapid Innovation changes focus of business planning

By Marie Mansheim, WMEP Growth Specialist

 Traditional business growth planning often stresses the importance of listening to the wants and needs of manufacturers' customers.


But should it? Are there more important aspects that need to be considered? Rapid Innovation, a new offering from the Wisconsin Manufacturing Extension Partnership, is a growth strategy predicated on examining trends and directing companies to "look outside the window" of run-of-the-mill planning.

ExporTech™ graduate wins Governor's Export Acheivement Award
export award

Three Wisconsin companies have been recognized with the Governor's Export Achievement Award to highlight their growth in global business development. 

 

Prolitec of Milwaukee, Johnsonville Sausage of Sheboygan Falls and Sussex-based Power Test Inc. received Export Achievement Awards at the 49th annual Wisconsin International Trade Conference in Milwaukee on May 7. 

Manufacturing Month will return in October
Manufacturing Month- GenMet
Students learn about manufacturing at GenMet in Mequon
After a highly successful initial celebration last year, Manufacturing Month will return again in October. 
Manufacturers, educational institutions and others are encouraged to host events aimed a highlighting the importance of manufacturing to the nation's economy and draw attention to the rewarding high-skill jobs in manufacturing fields.

The state's effort is co-produced by the WMEP and the Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, with participation by many other organizations expected, including the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, the Department of Workforce Development and a range of educational institutions 
The WMEP hires Mark McDermid
Mark McDermid
McDermid

Mark McDermid has joined the Wisconsin Manufacturing Extension Partnership as a manufacturing specialist.


McDermid recently retired from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, where he served as director of the Bureau of Cooperative Environmental Assistance. 

 

"Mark provides a level of sustainability expertise not normally found in the talent pool," said Buckley Brinkman, executive director of the WMEP. "His public service and intense desire to make Wisconsin the most sustainable state in the country make him a great addition to the WMEP team."
MSEC logo
Madison to host North America's largest manufacturing research conference
by blog post Rich Rovito, WMEP Industry Reporter

 

The University of Wisconsin-Madison is set to host the largest advanced manufacturing research conference in North America, combining the ASME International Science and Engineering Conference and the North American Manufacturing Research Institution/Society of Manufacturing Engineers North American Manufacturing Research Conference.

 

The co-located conferences will be held June 10-14 at the Monona Terrace Convention Center in Madison.

 

"This will be of interest to anyone who is doing research and development," said Frank Pfefferkorn, associate professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.