Wednesday, February 6, 2013

The Cornell Center for Material Research (CCMR)

2013 CCMR Facilities 101 Workshop
Learn more about the instrumentation available in the CCMR facilities
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Cornell University, Ithaca NY
www.ccmr.cornell.edu/industry/facilities101/index.html

2013 CCMR Symposium
Network with Cornell faculty and industry scientists
Wednesday, May 29, 2012
Cornell University, Ithaca NY
www.ccmr.cornell.edu/symposium/

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Associates’ Corner - ASI Energy

ASI Energy provides energy-related engineering and installation services for commercial and industrial facilities as well as multifamily buildings. The Ithaca firm was established in 2008 and specializes in providing Combined Heat and Power (CHP) systems.

Also known as co-generation systems, CHP units provide onsite electrical power along with waste-heat recovery that can be used for heating, cooling, dehumidification, or manufacturing process applications.

Approximately 8 percent of global electricity is now produced by CHP systems and that number is growing, with the U.S. being the world leader in total installed capacity. According to Herb Dwyer, company president, the technology is proven and the savings are significant. Unlike other alternative energy technologies that take at least 10- 15 years to pay back the initial investment, CHP systems have a payback period of 7 years or less.

Dwyer said that hundreds of manufacturers across the United States have already converted to CHP. He explained that financing options can eliminate the need for a capital investment and that federal and state incentives are also often available. ASI will provide a no-cost consultation to determine if a CHP system is right for a particular facility.

Efficiency Benefits
CHP requires less fuel to produce a given energy output, and avoids transmission and distribution losses that occur when electricity travels over power lines.

Reliability Benefits
CHP can be designed to provide high-quality electricity and thermal energy to a site regardless of what might occur on the power grid, decreasing the impact of outages and improving power quality for sensitive equipment.

Environmental Benefits
Because less fuel is burned to produce each unit of energy output, CHP reduces air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.

Economic Benefits
CHP can save facilities considerable money on their energy bills due to its high efficiency and can provide a hedge against unstable energy costs.

Learn more about ASI at www.asienergy.com, or contact Dwyer at (607)-330-1203 or herbert@asienergy.com

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Associates’ Corner - Crowley Fabricating & Machining

Crowley Fabricating & Machining continues to grow at a steady pace by focusing on good customer relationships, high quality, quick turnaround, on-time delivery, and competitive pricing. Tom Crowley states, “We have some of the best people in their field working for us which has helped us grow as a company.” Incorporated in Johnson City, NY in 1986, Crowley has moved their headquarters to Endicott, NY, and uses the Johnson City facility for warehousing and new product development. Crowley uses a MRP system for the quoting, planning, tracking, and shipment of all jobs.

Crowley Fabricating & Machining is actively pursuing certification to ISO 9001 and AS 9100 standards, and is in the process of expanding their Sheet Metal operation as part of their growth plan. The company has recently purchased another facility in Endicott to accommodate the Sheet Metal expansion. Crowley Fabricating has, and will continue to purchase state of the art capital equipment for all facilities. Crowley has customers located throughout the country. Their customers range from commercial accounts, to prime contractors, to the US government. Currently they are aggressively pursuing additional customers.

Services include: R&D, tooling and fixturing, waterjet cutting, CNC turning, CNC milling, sheet metal fabrication, welding, and assembly. Crowley Fabricating also provides advanced inspection services, and has the ability to work with a wide variety of materials including: plastic, aluminum, brass, copper, CRS, stainless steel, tool steel, alloy steel, castings, extrusions, and carbon spring steel from .004” thickness on up. Crowley Fabricating uses high end software which allows them to utilize customer CAD files to save the customer programming costs and provide faster turnaround.

For more info, contact Tom Crowley at 607-484-0299, or visit www.crowleyfab.com to learn more about their capabilities.

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Lean Thinking for Manufacturers

Struggling with Growth & Profitability?
Then Join Us for This Great Workshop on Lean Thinking

Workshop Content & Benefits

A one-day workshop with a “live” simulation that guides you through the transition from a traditional manufacturing approach to that of a lean manufacturing environment! Waste is eliminated, productivity increased, and you gain a competitive edge in the marketplace.

Principles of Lean Thinking is part of an integrated suite of AM&T tools and services developed specifically for manufacturers. This course is one in a series of related lean courses that we offer. At this workshop you’ll learn the principles of Lean and how to apply them. During the simulation exercises—as a member of the production team for Buzz Electronics—you’ll apply Lean concepts such as standardized work, visual signals, batch-size reduction, pull systems and more. Experience firsthand how Lean improves quality, reduces cycle time, improves delivery performance, reduces WIP and enables Buzz to show a profit. This one-day class is the ideal beginning for your company’s Lean training program.

Date: April 18, 2013
Time: 8:00 am to 4:30 pm
7:30 am sign-in, continental breakfast, lunch provided
Location: Holiday Inn Express, Horseheads, NY
Cost: $250 ($200 for AM&T Associates)
Click Here To Register

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

Company Leaders & Manufacturing personnel charged with project management, process improvement, Lean initiatives, new employees in need of understanding basic Lean concepts, employees needing a refresher, or those interested in getting started with Lean.

Lean focuses on eliminating non-value-added activities from a company’s processes while streamlining its value-added activities. It is a people-oriented approach that empowers a team to take action to achieve improvements. Lean tools and implementation are the best way to effectively use a company’s most valuable resource…its people.

See first-hand what the power of Lean can do for your company’s growth & profitability.

Meet your Instructor: Carol Miller has over 25 years of experience in the manufacturing and service sectors. She has a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from the State University of New York, College at Buffalo, and an M.S. in Management of Technology from Polytechnic University. She is a member of the Association for Manufacturing Excellence (AME) and the Project Management Institute (PMI), is a NIST-certified trainer and implementer of Lean Manufacturing techniques, and has received certification as a Lean/Six Sigma Black Belt from Villanova University. Carol leads AM&T’s Lean effort.

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Partners’ Corner - NYS TAAC

Assisting Companies Impacted by Foreign Competition

The NYS Trade Adjustment Assistance Center (TAAC) in Binghamton has helped over 1500 New York firms recover from the effects of foreign competition and has provided more than $55 million in assistance. If your company has experienced foreign competition that has resulted in a decline in sales or production, and a decline or impending decline in employment, it is likely that financial help is available to help pay for projects to improve your competitive position.

Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) grants are structured to cover between 50% and 75% of the cost of projects. There is no cost to determine qualification for the program and all inquiries are confidential. Applications for assistance under the TAA program can be made at any time of the year. If your company is not immediately eligible for the program, you can apply at a later time if conditions change.

A number of companies in the Southern Tier have benefitted from TAA grants that helped fund projects such as Lean Manufacturing Training and Implementation, Process Improvements, Sales and Marketing, Quality Improvements, ISO 9001:2008 Registration, Strategic Planning, Management Development, and much more.

"With the downturn of the economic climate in recent years and pressures from offshore manufacturing, being involved and engaging with the TAA Center was instrumental and vital to our well being. The staff are very professional and efficient. They made it very painless to participate in the program and without unbearable red tape as with many government programs." Mark Vergari, Vice President, Mamco Precision Molding, Oneonta.

For more information and guidance on applying for a TAA grant, contact Jim Cunningham at AM&T: (607) 725-1225 or jcunningham@amt-mep.org

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Quality Suppliers Are In Demand

Manufacturers are still not happy with many of their suppliers in providing them with quality goods and services, according to the American Society of Quality. One third of the manufacturers responding to ASQ’s annual survey said they expect a problem with a supplier in 2013, “resulting in a shortage of parts or services. Of the respondents who anticipate a problem with a supplier, 42.1 percent say they are working with partners on process improvements to mitigate volume capacity, while more than 26 percent are working with their suppliers’ competitors,” says ASQ. “Other manufacturers say they are stockpiling parts in advance of the issue and expanding facilities to make necessary parts themselves.”

When they were asked about their past dealings with suppliers, 80 percent said they have been adversely affected by a supplier’s inability to meet their needs. Of those impacted, 25 percent went to their suppliers’ competitors to get the needed parts. “Just more than 30 percent worked with their suppliers on process improvement to mitigate volume capacity constraints,” says ASQ. “Other manufacturers worldwide used up available inventory, manufactured the parts in-house, shut down production or refocused efforts on other production areas.”

Sixty percent of the respondents said their company has a system in place to address supply chain risks, while 28 percent said they have no such process. The survey results also show that the quality of materials trumps availability, price and customer service when manufacturers consider suppliers.

See this and other newsletter articles at http://amt-mep.org/files/6513/6058/5076/2013-02.pdf

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R&D Tax Credits for Manufacturers

Don’t Leave Money on the Table
Join Us for This Seminar on Taking Advantage of Tax Credits

Surprisingly, many companies have failed to claim a significant tax credit that was originally created in 1981. And of those that have acted, many firms have not taken full advantage of the benefits that are available.

Confusion, doubt, and disbelief cause many managers to conclude they cannot qualify for this credit. And the ones who do claim it often fail to identify many of their company’s activities and expenses that are relevant. Since the process of identifying and categorizing all the qualifying expenses requires a combination of engineering, accounting, tax, and legal expertise, a specialist is needed to maximize the financial benefit to the company

The rationale for this tax credit is to incentivize companies to be more innovative -- a necessity in today’s competitive environment. With the passage of the Small Business Jobs Act in September 2010, any company under $50 million in sales can not only take advantage of the credit if they qualify, but can use it to offset taxes paid for the previous five years.

With these things in mind, AM&T is sponsoring a seminar on February 20th to familiarize Southern Tier owners and managers with the more intricate details of this tax credit. Our experience reveals that even companies that have already claimed the credit will discover that they are missing significant expenses that should have been included.

Date: February 20, 2013
Time: 8:00 am to 10:00 am, full breakfast
Location: Owego Treadway, Owego, NY
Cost: No Charge
 
For more information contact Jim Cunningham
607-725-1225 or jcunningham@amt-mep.org
Register on-line at http://amt-mep.org/index.php?cID=134
or contact Kathy Peacock at 607-774-0022 x308

Please register by February 15, 2013

The seminar will be conducted by Paradigm Partners, a group certified by the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy as specialists in this topic. Attendees will leave with an understanding of the process for determining a company’s eligibility, the dollar amount that can be claimed, and how to proceed. Other IRS programs such as the Domestic Production Deduction will also be covered since they are directly related to the R&D tax credit and are often overlooked. Opportunities for private discussions will be available after the seminar.

See this and other newsletter articles at http://amt-mep.org/files/6513/6058/5076/2013-02.pdf

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Performance Benchmarking and Transformation Planner Services

Gain Valuable Insights Into Your Competitive Edge

Find out how you really do stack up against your competition and gain valuable insights on how you can improve your competitive position and increase your sales capacity while cutting costs and improving profitability.

Performance Benchmarking uses current market data to compare your company performance to other companies in your industry (along with other elements of comparison) on 80 key metrics. The resulting 25-page report quantifies your performance against similar companies in your industry and provides extensive commentary on the impact that these metrics have on your business.

The Transformation Planner is the perfect tool for charting your company’s journey to achieve lower costs and higher profits. The Transformation Planner starts with the benchmarking data to show where your company ranks on 12 key metrics in comparison to companies in your industry sector. These 12 key metrics represent prime performance indicators for your organization. The model automatically sets improvement targets for you to consider, but can be easily adjusted to set agreed upon improvement targets to meet your company goals. Once you have established targets for 9 key measurables, the Transformation Planner calculates the potential onetime and recurring annual financial benefits of meeting those targets as well as how much capacity for new sales would be created by making those improvements.

The Process is simple and AM&T will walk you through each step. After the reports have been generated, AM&T will meet with your management team to review both the Performance Benchmarking Report and to review and adjust the Transformation Planner, which will provide instant feedback on potential areas for improvement and the resulting financial impacts those improvements will have on your business. You will also be able to see the impact on your overall capacity for increased sales as well as your percentile ranking against other companies in your industry sector change as we make the adjustments.

Costs: FREE for AM&T Associates, $2,500 for non-AM&T Associates.

For more information, contact Jim Cunningham 607-725-1225 or jcunningham@amt-mep.org

See this and other newsletter articles at http://amt-mep.org/files/6513/6058/5076/2013-02.pdf

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Are you looking for help with workforce development

Southern Tier Manufacturers

Are you looking for help with workforce development to compete in this advanced manufacturing economy?
AM&T is in the process of developing our open enrollment training agenda for 2013
and would like to know what’s important to you and to your business success.
(The list below is a sample of what we have provided in the past.)
  • Lean 101
  • Lean Office
  • Lean-5S
  • Lean-Value Stream Mapping
  • Lean-Set-up Reduction
  • Total Productive Maintenance (TPM)
  • Cellular Flow
  • Pull/Kanban
  • Mistake-proofing
  • Lean Accounting
  • Standard Work for Operators
  • Standard Work for Leaders
  • Lean for Job Shops
  • Creating a Lean Culture
  • Lean Supply Chain
  • Kaizen Facilitation
  • Team Building
  • Lean Performance Measures
  • Supervisory Training (TWI)
  • Project Management
  • Problem-Solving
  • Driving Sales & Maximizing Profits
  • Innovation Engineering
  • R&D Tax Credits
  • Failure Mode Effects Analysis (FMEA)
  • Quality Management Systems
  • Internal Auditor Training
Our integrated, comprehensive approach, applied to the whole value chain, can make a difference.
We are “hands-on”, roll-up-your-sleeves people and we’re passionate about manufacturing.
 
Call Jim Cunningham at 607-725-1225 to ask how we can help.

See this and other newsletter articles at http://amt-mep.org/files/6513/6058/5076/2013-02.pdf

Visit our website at http://www.amt-mep.org