Tag Archives: Advanced Manufacturing

Zuidberg to Locate First U.S. Facility in the Cedar Valley of Iowa

Officials from Zuidberg, the City of Cedar Falls, Iowa, Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber and Iowa Economic Development Authority have jointly announced the location of Zuidberg North America, Inc. in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

Zuidberg’s facility will be located in the Cedar Falls Industrial Park on Capital Way in an industrial operations building, that local developer, Brent Dahlstrom will construct this year. Zuidberg NA starts with 10,000 square feet, to establish a warehouse and distribution facility to service the North American market (USA, Canada and Mexico). Zuidberg NA, Inc. will distribute two product lines, Frontline Systems, and Transmissions which are manufactured by parent company Zuidberg Frontline Systems B.V. located in the Netherlands. Starting in 2015 a third product line, Tracks, will be added.

“Iowa and the Cedar Valley are very central within the USA, and have an excellent reputation for global manufacturing including a hardworking and reliable workforce,” said Rudolf de Jong, President, Zuidberg North America Inc. “This fits with the Dutch and the Zuidberg mentality in particular,” de Jong stated.

“Also, we wish to be in the heartland of America’s agriculture and agricultural machinery industry.” de Jong added.

“Zuidberg appreciates the great and inspiring help the State of Iowa, the Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber and local business leaders offered which helped to make the decision easier.” de Jong said.

Zuidberg was first introduced to the idea of an Iowa location after meeting representatives from IEDA’s European office at a 2011 trade show in Germany. After continued contact with Iowa officials, Zuidberg executives traveled to Iowa this past summer to visit several suitable locations for their North American project.

“Through our focus on recruiting supply chain companies to Iowa, we’ve been courting Zuidberg for a few years now,” said Debi Durham, director of the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA). “We are so pleased this advanced manufacturing company ultimately chose Cedar Falls, Iowa to call home.”

Several Iowa communities and multiple states were considered during the process. The Cedar Falls site was selected for its location and the ability of Zuidberg to work with the developer to design the building before construction began.

“It is significant that Zuidberg makes their first North American investment in the Cedar Valley. This decision again affirms the Cedar Valley as a location to manufacture and serve global markets, and we deliver a quality of life that persuades young professionals like Rudolf de Jong and his family to relocate here from the Netherlands,” said Steven Dust, CEO, Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber.

“On behalf of our manufacturers and all businesses and institutions, the Alliance & Chamber welcomes Zuidberg to the Cedar Valley of Iowa and North America.” Dust added. The Cedar Valley must also recognize the hard work of Lisa Skubal, Alliance & Chamber Vice President of Economic Development and her project team that sold Zuidberg on a superior Cedar Valley location,” Dust concluded.

Zuidberg North America will take occupancy of the facility in June 2014 and be fully operational by July 1, 2014. Zuidberg will be hiring in-house sales and technical positions this spring.

“The City of Cedar Falls is extremely pleased that Zuidberg North America, Inc. has selected Cedar Falls and the Cedar Valley as its home for the company’s first facility in North America. We appreciate the efforts of all involved to make this project a reality including the IEDA, GCVAC, City staff, Cedar Falls Utilities, Brent Dahlstrom, and of course Rudolf de Jong.” said Cedar Falls Mayor Jon Crews.

“We are glad to welcome Zuidberg as our newest member of the Cedar Falls Industrial Park and look forward to a successful long term partnership.” said Bob Seymour, Community Service Manager, City of Cedar Falls.

Zuidberg is a family owned and managed company based in Ens, The Netherlands, dedicated to serve the world-wide agricultural industry. Since 1982, farmers all over the globe rely on Zuidberg to make their businesses more efficient by making use of the Zuidberg front hitches and front PTO’s, transmissions or rubber track systems. Zuidberg‘s products are sold by importers in over 45 countries worldwide. The remarkable quality and performance of the Zuidberg products has as well been recognized by many OEM’s, more than 40 manufacturers of tractors and harvesting equipment around the globe make use of Zuidberg’s unique knowledge and experience. www.zuidberg.com

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TechWorks Progress Steady

21 hours ago • By Jim Offner

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WATERLOO | Mark Kittrell issued a challenge to attendees at the Cedar Valley Manufacturing Conference this week at Hawkeye Community College.

Kittrell, president of the Des Moines-based Iowa Innovation Corp., told an estimated 200 representatives from area manufacturers that the nascent Iowa Advanced Manufacturing Center, which will operate at Cedar Valley TechWorks, will need their input on how to push industry forward in the state — and build it in the Cedar Valley.

The center is the focal point of the effort, he said, since it will bring together new technology, expertise and research on the 30-acre campus in downtown Waterloo.

Planners say the center will be open in the middle of this year.

The center will offer new services to manufacturers, including an industrial business incubator, acceleration services, modeling and simulation, industrial laboratories, production equipment and access to ideas and graduates from universities and community colleges as well as ways to improve manufacturing processes.

“I think it will serve as a place, and a group of people are going to help bring together a lot of resources across the state into one place, where people come and say, ‘Hey, I’ve got a new manufacturing company. I’ve got a new product I need. I’d love to figure out how I can get this thing done,’” Kittrell said of the center’s relationship with the manufacturing community.

“That kind of question is being dealt with all the time. That’s the primary role. What impact will it have in the Cedar Valley?”

There are several similar initiatives taking shape across Iowa, but the center at TechWorks will play a particularly important role, Kittrell said.

“We’re built on this stuff,” he said. “The reason why a community like the Cedar Valley exists is to build things, I think, because of TechWorks, that sort of history, the legacy that’s here, the opportunity to really show we can move the needle ahead in this community by bringing more R&D and more manufacturing back to this area.

“If we can do that, we’ll be a national model,” Kittrell said. “We’ll be the kind of place where people will say we’re going to be doing more of that and look to us as innovator.”

Iowa Innovation Corp. and the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber are working together to build the Advanced Manufacturing Center, said Steve Dust, CEO of the Alliance and president of TechWorks.

“You’ve already seen pieces of it with UNI’s Metal Casting Center up and running, so you’re getting a hint of what we’re talking about,” Dust said.

Attendees at Wednesday’s conference got a tour of the Metal Casting Center and a demonstration of its new 3-D printer late in the afternoon.

The center will begin to take tangible shape at TechWorks shortly, Dust said.

“A part of that same appropriation were dollars to improve two floors of our Tech 1 building for that hub of advanced manufacturing, and that construction activity will begin in just within a few weeks within that building,” he said. “So, you’ll start to see physical changes happening to accommodate the growth of the center in the building.”

The Advanced Manufacturing Workgroup is led by Sarah McDonald Hasken, vice president of A.Y. McDonald Manufacturing Co., and Glenn Baker, director of global manufacturing and enterprise services at John Deere. It includes leaders from advanced manufacturing firms across Iowa and also includes representatives of the state universities, community colleges, state government, engineering, business associations and economic development leaders.

Among local participants in the work group are David Takes, president of Doerfer Cos.; Mark Hanawalt, president and CEO of United Business Equipment Inc.; Marvin Schumacher, president of Schumacher Elevator; Jerry Thiel, UNI Metal Casting Center director; Linda Allen, president of Hawkeye Community College; and TechWorks representatives Cary Darrah, Wes James and Dust.

The Advanced Manufacturing Workgroup will hold a series of industry focus group sessions around the state to discuss the issues faced and needs of small and medium-size manufacturers. Focus group sessions are scheduled in March through mid-April across the state.

Kittrell said there’s a potential for 37,000 manufacturing jobs that bring wages of $50,000 or more.

“These are good jobs,” he said.

Kittrell challenged each attendee at Wednesday’s conference to ponder how the new center can help their companies.

“We ask them what would you like to see,” Kittrell said. “They say, ‘We’d like to look to this place as being the place where we can have a good gauge of what new technologies are coming out.’

“Second,” he said, “they said what new processes and materials will be important for us. Then, they had the three things that you’d expect to see: They’re looking for help with workforce. They’re helping very much with education and entrepreneurship kind of work. And they’re looking for guidance on how do they finance the kind of growth they’re working for.”

Kittrell announces the IAMC proposed location at the Cedar Valley TechWorks in Waterloo

Cedar Valley of Iowa – On February 5, the Iowa Innovation Corporation will unveil the vision for the Iowa Advanced Manufacturing Center (IAMC). Two announcement / presentations will be made by Mark Kittrell, President, Iowa Innovation Corporation (IIC) on that day. The first will be at 9:00am during the 2014 Cedar Valley Manufacturing Conference held in Tama Hall on the Hawkeye Community College campus. Later, Kittrell will make an official presentation in Des Moines as a part of the IIC Legislative reception at 5:00pm at the World Food Prize building.

Kittrell’s announcement is expected to include: the IAMC proposed location at the Cedar Valley TechWorks in Waterloo; the role and composition of the newly formed Advanced Manufacturing Workgroup ; a schedule of Advanced Manufacturing Focus Groups to be held in various locations; the resources to be offered to Iowa small & medium size manufacturers such as an industrial business incubator, acceleration services, modeling and simulation, industrial laboratories, state of the art production equipment, access to Iowa’s top industrial innovation work and talent from our universities and community colleges, and process improvement.

Kittrell will also discuss capital and operational funding necessary to continue development of the Iowa Advanced Manufacturing Center.

Advanced Manufacturing Workgroup

Co-chaired by Sarah McDonald Hasken, Vice President, A.Y. McDonald MFG. Co., and Glenn Baker, Director Global Manufacturing and Enterprise Services, John Deere, this core group of Iowa’s manufacturing sector, has been formed to set the direction for the IAMC.

The workgroup comprises leaders from all types of advanced manufacturing in the state of Iowa and also includes representatives of the regent universities, community colleges, state government, engineering, business associations and economic development leaders. David Takes, President of Doerfer; Mark Hanawalt, President/CEO of United Business Equipment; and Marvin Schumacher, President of Schumacher Elevator; Metal Casting Center Director Jerry Thiel; Linda Allen, President of Hawkeye Community College; and TechWorks representatives Cary Darrah, Wes James, and Steve Dust participate in the Workgroup from the Cedar Valley.

Advanced Manufacturing Focus Groups

The Advanced Manufacturing Workgroup will hold a series of industry focus group sessions around the state to discuss the issues faced and needs of small & medium size manufacturers. The focus group sessions will be held March through mid -April. Advanced Manufacturing Focus Group Sessions will be held in: Council Bluffs, Mason City, Cedar Rapids/Iowa City, Dubuque, Iowa Quad Cities, and Holstein. Earlier, a session was held in the Cedar Valley.

TechWorks Campus

TechWorks is a 30-acre campus containing 20 acres of development sites and 300,000 square feet of space in two existing buildings undergoing renovation. In 2007, Deere & Company donated land and buildings to start this innovation-driven economic development project. This historic plant was the site of manufacturing and assembly of the earliest John Deere tractors. TechWorks Campus is a subsidiary of the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber.

TechWorks will partner with the Iowa Innovation Corporation to establish and house the Iowa Advanced Manufacturing Center (IAMC) in the Tech I building on the TechWorks Campus.

For more information on the Iowa Innovation Council, the Iowa Innovation Corporation, the Iowa Advanced Manufacturing Center, or the Iowa Innovation Council Legislative Reception on Feb. 5th, contact:

Tonja Richards

Director of Marketing and Communications
Iowa Innovation Corporation
tonja.richards@iowainnovationcoporation.com
(515)421-4038

For more information on the Cedar Valley Manufacturing Conference contact:

Pamela Wright, Business Development Manager

Hawkeye Community College

Pamela.wright@hawkeyecollege.edu
(319)296-2329 ext.3012

For information on the TechWorks Campus contact:

Steve Dust, CEO
Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber
sdust@cedarvalleyalliance.com
(319)232-1156

Cedar Valley Manufacturing Conference Scheduled for February 5

The Cedar Valley Manufacturing Conference is scheduled for February 5 in Waterloo. The conference will be held from 8:15 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. in Tama Hall on Hawkeye Community College’s campus. The conference is open to the public and there is no charge to attend.

Individuals who work in manufacturing will find this conference informative as they network with other decision makers, discuss the global marketplace, review employment trends and statistics, question the panelists, and tour Hawkeye’s vitual technology labs.

The keynote speaker is Tom Kammer, manufacturing consultant at the Center for Business & Industry at South Central College in Minnesota. Kammer specializes in helping organizations with Process Improvement. He is a nationally certified trainer with implementation experience with more than 200 companies.

The conference is co-sponsored by Hawkeye Community College Business and Community Education and Greater Cedar Valley Alliance and Chamber. Those interested in attending should call 319-296-4223 to register or online at www.hawkeyecollege.edu/go/manufacturing.

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TechWorks proponents forge ahead

September 30, 2013 12:00 pm Editorial – Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier

That’s why proponents of the Cedar Valley TechWorks should not lose heart.

TechWorks, the agri-industrial research complex being developed on portions of John Deere’s former Westfield Avenue facilities, is now 10 years in the making. It was jointly proposed in 2003 by then-University of Northern Iowa president Robert Koob and Barry Shaffter, then general manager of Deere’s Waterloo operations.

Part of the project appears to have hit what proponents call a financial “speed bump.” An application for historic designation through the U.S. National Parks Service has been turned down. At stake is some $10 million in historic preservation tax credits toward the $50 million project.

Proponents are forging ahead.

Bryce Henderson, chief financial officer and chief operating officer with Davenport-based Financial District Properties, the project’s developer, said, “This decision was largely subjective, and we’re going back next week to present our case again,” he said last week.

Darn right. With all due respect to the Park Service, we don’t understand how preserving and enhancing a complex that was the industrial heart of Waterloo for most of the 20th century cannot have historic significance. We areapproaching the 100th anniversary of John Deere’s entry into Waterloo with the purchase of the Waterloo Gasoline Engine Co. in 1918, which was located on that very spot.

Henderson said the project will continue, and that there are backup financing plans. “You never go into a redevelopment project like this without a Plan A, Plan B, Plan C and Plan D,” he said.

Developers have not given up on securing the historic designation for the Tech 2 building, which is scheduled to open in the winter of 2014 with a Radisson business-class hotel with a ground-floor restaurant, John Deere training facility, showroom and office space and a location for education programs of Hawkeye Community College.

“Part of our discussion was how to get started on the west end of the campus around the museum (Deere Tractor and Engine Museum, now under construction) and Tech 1 while we’re still putting all the pieces together for the Green project,” said Steve Dust, president and CEO of TechWorks. “It was important to understand that we continue to move ahead, even though this is a very important part of the project.”

We appreciate and applaud that undaunted approach. We would ask Park Service officials to consider the alternative. Longtime Cedar Valley residents have seen many industrial buildings fall victim to the wrecking ball, which subsequently resulted in aesthetic eyesores and environmental cleanup headaches.

The TechWorks project is a responsible, systematic re-use of a major industrial site in this city, preserving the site’s heritage with a look to future technologies. That’s a plan worth pursuing, and fighting for.

Mark Kittrell Joins the Iowa Innovation Corporation

Des Moines, Iowa (Oct. 7, 2013) – The Iowa Innovation Corporation Board of Directors has announced the appointment of Cedar Falls entrepreneur Mark Kittrell as the new president of the Corporation. Kittrell replaces Jack Harris. Harris left the president’s position to work fulltime on the creation of an advanced manufacturing and materials center.

“We could not be happier to have Mark on board,” said Board Vice Chair Cara Heiden. “His experience in technology start-up companies and his service to the state as an officer or director of numerous industry, state and regional economic development organizations makes him the perfect candidate to move the organization to the next level”

Kittrell is a serial entrepreneur, real estate developer and IT consultant based in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Through his over 30 year professional career he has been involved with multiple tech start-ups, real estate development and community/economic development initiatives including:

Founder of TEAM Technologies, a regional IT consulting/services firm specializing in IT and Internet services. Mark led the firm from modest beginnings to well over 100 staff members principally through engagements with many of the Midwest’s leading companies including John Deere, Meredith Publishing and Principal. The firm was sold to a publicly-traded company in 1998;
Co-founder and vice president of development for TEAM Companies, a specialist in mission critical IT facilities. The company developed and operated three data centers in Iowa and Wisconsin specializing in healthcare, financial services and other regulated industries. The firm was honored three times with the INC. 500 award for rapidly growing private companies and was acquired by TDS Telecom in December 2010; and
Co-founder and CEO of Eagle View Partners developing River Place, a $70 million mixed-use real estate project situated along the Cedar River in downtown Cedar Falls. In partnership with the Western Home Communities, the project consists of multi-family residential, national branded hotel and 55+ active lifestyle housing. The project is completing its first 21 units and is ready to break ground on an additional 30 units and over 20,000 feet of commercial space which is currently 50% pre-leased.

Holding a B.S in Physics from the University of Northern Iowa and an Advanced Management Development Program in Real Estate (AMDP) from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design, Kittrell has served in numerous industry, state and regional economic development organizations including the Iowa Innovation Council, Technology Commercialization Committee, Technology Association of Iowa, Greater Cedar Valley Alliance, TechWorks (a regional biotech redevelopment project), the University of Iowa Research Foundation and the University of Northern Iowa’s College of Natural Sciences Advisory Council and the John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center (JPEC)).

Mark joins COO Karen Merrick and two other recent hires by the Iowa Innovation Corporation:

Tonja Richards, Director, Marketing & Communications – Richards brings over 20 years of public relations and communications experience to the Corporation. Recently she was the communications and marketing person for the Governor’s STEM Advisory Council Administrative Office, where she was responsible for social media, web management, event management, media relations, branding and graphic design. Prior to that position, Richards spent eight years with the Iowa Department of Economic Development (now Iowa Economic Development Authority) as a marketing manager for existing industry. Tonja earned an MPA from Drake University, is a past recipient of the Governor’s Volunteer of the Year Award and currently serves on the ABI’s Leadership Iowa Board of Governors.

Alex Carter, Program Manager – Carter earned his undergraduate degree in education from Monmouth College in Monmouth, Ill. and a J.D. from Drake University Law School. Joining the team to specialize in research, business commercialization and strategy, Alex is a native of Wilton, IA.

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The Iowa Innovation Corporation: Created in 2011 to build public/private partnerships to “grow Iowa’s own”, the Iowa Innovation Corporation is a business-led, not-for-profit working as facilitators with businesses, government, start-ups, existing companies, nonprofits, universities, community colleges and anyone in the business of job creation and business growth to ensure Iowa has the tools necessary to succeed in the Innovation Economy.. For more information, go to www.IowaInnovationCorporation.com .

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Alliance & Chamber encourages voters to renew Hawkeye Community Collge Maintenance Levy

Board of Directors of the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber resolve to support the approval of the renewal of the Hawkeye Community College Maintenance Levy, and encourage the voters within the 10-county HCC District to approve the renewal on September 10, 2013.

Hawkeye Community College (HCC) delivers educational opportunities to students from all over the Cedar Valley Economic Area, and beyond. HCC serves as an important bridge into higher education for high school students wishing to advance their technical and general education, and presents educational options to high school students at a critical point in their educational experience. Further, HCC delivers 50 specialized career training programs developing a broad range of skills that are important to the continuing growth of the Cedar Valley economy and contribute to increasing the incomes of talented Cedar Valley people. These include such areas as health care technicians and nursing, teacher preparation, advanced manufacturing and basic industrial operations, green and sustainable construction and energy technologies, logistics and large vehicle drivers training, web design and information technologies, and more. HCC also collaborates closely with the University of Northern Iowa, Allen College, and other schools to ensure that higher educational programming is coordinated to deliver maximum productivity in the student’s experience, shorten the time the student must be in the formal educational setting as they seek to get into the job market quickly, and employers seek students to acquire basic skills to fill immediate openings in well paying, skill-based jobs.

To deliver these economy-building educational programs both efficiently and effectively, HCC must continuously maintain and improve its physical facilities. Since the primary programs of HCC are focused on the fast changing industries, continuously investing in more advanced technologies and methods, so too must HCC continuously invest in state of the art educational and training facilities to fully prepare the students to maximize their income when they enter the job market. For instance, Hawkeye has recently delivered facilities that, using advanced virtual technologies, reflect modern hospital and clinical conditions for healthcare technologist training; a center housing advanced driving simulators for logistics and large vehicle training; and are preparing to open, this fall, an advanced manufacturing center to ensure our production-oriented operations are receiving new employees with needed skills to advance the productivity and profitability of Cedar Valley industrial employers, as well as ensuring graduate building and energy technicians are well prepared to deliver the highest levels of expertise in energy efficiencies in construction and energy generation.

HCC has proven to be a good steward of the existing Maintenance Levy funds. The Levy has been authorized for nearly 50 years. The funds generated by the small levy have been used to continuously modernize and maintain the efficient campus.

HCC is highly beneficial to the Cedar Valley economy. It has an enrollment of over 6,000 students in college-credit programs. HCC also plays a significant role in establishing the Cedar Valley as an

ideal location to build a “second career” through lifelong learning and adult education courses. HCC is very efficient for Iowa: fully 94% of graduates stay in Iowa to contribute to our economy and participate in our communities. Cedar Valley businesses benefit from HCC’s $106 Million in annual economic benefits delivered, including over 1,300 jobs.

The impact of the extended levy of $.2025 per $1,000 of assessed value will cost the average district homeowner less than $11 per year, yet deliver over $1.7Million of revenue targeted to facilities improvements on the HCC campuses only.

Based on the high levels of reliance the Cedar Valley businesses have on the success of HCC, and that HCC’s role in skills training and higher education is increasing as talent and skills are what drives economic growth, that HCC has proven itself a good steward of the Maintenance Levy funds, and it is to the benefit of the Cedar Valley in greater skills delivered, converting to higher incomes and stronger communities throughout the economic area, delivered to students who primarily work at Cedar Valley businesses and institutions and live in the Cedar Valley, and the levy is a continuation of an existing levy that is well managed, the Board of Directors of the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber resolve to support the approval of the renewal of the HCC Maintenance Levy, and encourage the voters within the 10-county HCC District to approve the renewal on September 10, 2013.

Further, the Board of Directors asks the CEO and his representatives to distribute its reasoning and action to the investor-members and general public through appropriate means and media.

Resolved unanimously by the Directors present at the Board of Directors meeting on July 21, 2013.

Tom Penaluna, Chair of the Board

Steven J. Dust, President & CEO, Secretary of the Board

Tech Shop Operations Match Cedar Valley Heritage and Future in “Making”

Many Cedar Valley regional business and institutional leaders are involved in creating a Cedar Valley Tech Shop location. The Alliance & Chamber in partnership with Cedar Valley’s McElroy Trust, is collaborating with San Francisco-based TechShop to establish one of its nationally known, membership based industrial workshops here (look at www.techshop.ws).

The project includes a 15,000 to 17,000 square foot industrial workshop that provides an array of machinery and equipment to design and make just about anything anyone would want to try to make. The equipment includes everything from the CAD stations and small format 3D printer equipment, to hand tools, to highly sophisticated water jet cutting equipment, and applicable to the spectrum of materials, including cloth and fabrics. Importantly, it delivers a long menu of specific machine and “how to” training courses, on-site, to make anyone, a “maker.”

A key element of TechShop success is community engagement and outreach. The Cedar Valley presents an opportunity to engage students, and adults of all interests with a hands-on shop environment to learn about and do manufacturing. In the Cedar Valley, our “hook” is our deep heritage and sophistication in manufacturing in the economy and our emphasis on STEM education at all levels, including the STEM emphasis of UNI’s teacher education programming, and the Iowa STEM Initiative programming.

We are currently working with the for-profit firm to secure the facilities and required partnerships. Contact Steve Dust or Cary Darrah regarding Tech Shop.

Iowa Community Colleges Team Up To Improve Advanced Manufacturing Workforce

WATERLOO—A new campaign to promote careers and educational pathways in advanced manufacturing has been launched in Iowa. Hawkeye Community College, along with the other Iowa community colleges, has teamed up to improve the state’s manufacturing workforce with the assistance of the Iowa-Advanced Manufacturing (I-AM) Consortium and Iowa Association of Business and Industry (ABI).

The “Elevate Advanced Manufacturing” campaign will begin by addressing the current public perception of manufacturing and educating Iowans on the opportunities that exist within this industry.

“When you ask the average Iowan about advanced manufacturing, they think of an outdated image – a dirty, unsafe work environment,” says Mike Ralston, President of ABI. “That simply is not the case. Iowa has strong, innovative companies that make cutting-edge products and are well-regarded as leaders in their industry,” says Ralston.

Computer savvy employees, a highly skilled and compensated workforce, and innovative products are the reality of the term, “advanced manufacturing”. This industry relies on skills and creativity to produce highly-specified and complex products. The website, www.elevateiowa.com, has been launched to support this campaign with the use of video testimonials, self-assessment career guides, job search tools, and training information.

By 2018, there will be a shortage of 6,672 skilled workers in the advanced manufacturing sector*. These available positions offer attractive pay and benefits packages. According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis in 2011, the average manufacturing worker made $77,060 annually, including pay and benefits, while the average worker in other industries earned $60,168.

“Iowa’s 15 community colleges offer a broad range of training opportunities within advanced manufacturing,” says Stephanie Ferraro, Project Manager of the I-AM Consortium. “With funding from the U. S. Department of Labor, the I-AM Consortium is building capacity in programs across the state. Colleges are redesigning and developing industry-influenced curriculum, embedding industry credentials into educational pathways, and purchasing state-of-the-art equipment to replicate the technology-rich work environment found in Iowa’s manufacturing sector. Now is the ideal time for those considering careers in manufacturing to begin training at their local community college.”

Manufacturing contributes the largest share of Iowa’s gross domestic product (GDP) at an annual level of $27.6 billion, more than 18 percent of the state’s economy. As of March 2012, Iowa’s manufacturing firms supplied 215,600 jobs to Iowans, representing 14% of the state’s total employment – and that number is growing.

In order to make a lasting impact on the state of Iowa’s economy – industry, government, and education have combined efforts. Key players include ABI, the I-AM Consortium, a collaboration of all 15 Iowa community colleges, and various programs throughout the State of Iowa including the Governor’s STEM initiative, Iowa Workforce Development’s online Job Bank, and more. Each party has a common goal: to elevate the perception of advanced manufacturing and to arm Iowans with the skills they need to engage in Iowa’s workforce.

Elevate Advanced Manufacturing’s message and efforts are in action throughout the state, including:

The Elevate campaign website will feature video testimonials, a self-assessment for potential career pathways, career search tools (powered by Iowa Workforce Development), information on training opportunities (at Iowa’s 15 community colleges), and ways for industry to get involved. Visit: www.elevateiowa.com
Educational opportunities and curriculum integration with K-12 schools involving advanced manufacturing tours, speakers, and demonstrations.
Statewide media campaign using testimonials from skilled employees and manufacturers in Iowa.
Statewide events including exhibits at the Iowa State Fair with the American Welding Society booth, Iowa Speedway (Sept.7-8), Girls Scouts of Iowa Annual Conference, and more.

The Iowa Advanced Manufacturing Consortium (I-AM) is an Iowa community college initiative to elevate advanced manufacturing, funded through a $13 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) Grant Program. The Iowa Association of Business and Industry (ABI) has been the voice of Iowa business since 1903, and its mission is to collectively provide value to business and industry on issues impacting Iowa employers. ABI is currently comprised of over 1,400 Iowa businesses of all types and sizes employing more than 300,000 Iowans.

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Mark joins COO Karen Merrick and two other recent hires by the Iowa Innovation Corporation:

Grow Cedar Valley