Uniquely Abled Academies in Northwest PA Enrolling Students

There are now two Uniquely Abled Academies (UAA) in Northwest PA and they are enrolling students for their fall cohorts. UAA is a CNC machinist training program to create career opportunities for young adults with high-functioning autism by matching unique…

Improving Your Supplier Selection Process

by Art Thomas, Director of Business Development, Purdue MEP (Indiana)  Many manufacturers have had to make significant changes in suppliers in recent years because of various disruptions. Small and medium-sized manufacturers are often resource-challenged and do not have supply chain…

NWIRC Announces Incoming Board Members

New members were recently announced to the NWIRC Board of Directors at the April quarterly meeting. The incoming additions include: Kelly Goodsel, President/CEO, Viking Plastics Elizabeth (Betsy) Jacobs, Division Manager, Barnes Group – Associated Spring Matt Koket, President/CEO, GeorgeKo Industries…

Recipes for Manufacturing Success -the Podcast

by Bob Zaruta, President/CEO, NWIRC What do manufacturing and cooking have in common? Answer: Recipes for success! And NWIRC is spooning into the secret sauce of regional manufacturing companies for our brand new podcast. Most working inside the industry and…

The Power of Self-Assessments

by Bob Zaruta, President/CEO, NWIRC Just coming off watching some of the NFL draft, I can’t help but remember the countless hours I spent as a high school football coach watching video tapes of practices and games. Assessing, assessing, and…

3 C’s of Employee Development

by Lisa Pustelak, NWIRC, Strategic Planning & Culture Development Specialist With a desperate need for workforce by many companies and industries, is your company known as a “go to” for employment in your community? If not, why? How do your…

Three Things to Know About ISO 9001

by Kevin Smith, President, Leaderstone and The Kevin Shabaar Smith Co. If there’s one thing I know after delivering performance and quality management consulting for over a decade now, is that most people would rather take a hockey puck to…