COMPETE SMART CONFERENCE

MADA participates in Manufacturing Conference

MADA recently participated in the Montana Manufacturing Extension Center’s (MMEC’s) “Compete Smart Conference” in Bozeman. This conference focused on how Montana manufacturing firms can succeed in an increasingly complex global-market place. The conference’s keynote speaker was Mr. Ken Schmidt, former Director of Communications of Harley Davidson Corporation. Mr. Schmidt’s extremely interesting talk described how Harley Davidson transformed itself to successfully compete in the global market. The conference also showcased several successful Montana manufacturing firms, and several “Breakout Sessions” addressed various topics related to manufacturing. Over 200 people participated.

An Aerospace “Breakout Session” was held during the first day of the conference. This session consisted of presentations on MADA and its strategic plan, the MMEC, the Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC), and the MSU TechLink Center. Additionally, two of Montana’s most successful aerospace-related manufacturing firms, Scientific Materials Corporation and Precision Lift, Inc., were highlighted.

MADA President, Dave Micheletti, provided an overview of MADA’s mission, membership, partnerships, current activities, and recent/upcoming conferences. Additionally, Mr. Micheletti covered both the MADA strategic plan and the newly initiated U.S. Army Mariah Hypersonic Wind Tunnel Development Program,” which is being lead by MSE Technology Applications, Inc. in Butte.

Mark Shyne provided an overview of the MMEC and the services it provides to Montana’s manufacturing community. He addressed how MMEC can assist firms in winning contracts within both the public and private-sectors, as well as how they can improve the efficiency of their manufacturing processes and the quality of their products and services.

Adam Steadman of the Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) discussed the services that PTAC field offices can provide to the small business community regarding acquiring new business with the Department of Defense (DoD) and other federal agencies. PTAC is funded by the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) and executes its mission through a network of field offices located around the country. PTAC can assist small and medium-sized businesses interested in performing work for the federal government with both marketing and contracting activities, and there is no fee associated with their services.

The MSU TechLink Center is Montana State University’s main outreach arm to high-tech companies in Montana and the northern Rocky Mountain region. David Weston discussed TechLink’s mission as a technology transfer and commercialization center for both DoD and NASA. TechLink can assists high-tech firms with the licensing of DoD and NASA technologies, establishing joint R&D projects with DoD/NASA laboratories, helping companies obtain federal R&D funding, and assisting start-up companies utilizing DoD/NASA technologies.

Finally, two of Montana’s most successful aerospace-related manufacturing companies were profiled, Scientific Material’s Corporation and Precision Lift, Inc. Dr. Randy Equall provided an overview of Scientific Material’s optical crystal technologies and products as well as their customers, manufacturing facility, and ongoing projects. Chris Croff of Precision Lift discussed their Heli-Basket product and their diverse list of federal and private-sector customers. Additionally, Mr. Croff described Precision Lift’s unique approach to manufacturing their product, which involves the use of several suppliers in various parts of the U.S. and Canada.

The Aerospace Breakout Session was very well attended, and the feedback received from the participants was extremely positive.