Feds refocus grants to aid cutting-edge firms - Manufacturing Extension Partnership
| March 11, 2008 |  View for printing |
The rising price of oil explains why Matt Clementz sought federally subsidized consulting help for his family-owned manufacturing firm that turns a petroleum-based goop into bathroom countertops and shower stalls in San Leandro.
Behind the showroom at Cultured Marble Products, about 50 workers, averaging $12 an hour plus some health benefits, pour stinky goop into molds, run it through a hardening and drying process, and polish it into a product that falls somewhere between laminates like Formica and real stone in cost, durability and visual appeal.
"We've seen our raw material prices more than double," Clementz said during a plant tour.
To help his tiny company survive, Clementz turned to a 20-year-old federal program called the Manufacturing Extension Partnership http://www.mep.nist.gov/
Tom Abate, Chronicle Staff Writer
Full Story: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl ... ONVHBLM.DTL
***
In Montana: Montana Manufacturing Extension Center
Serving firms statewide. Affiliated with Montana State University.
Phone: 406-994-3812 Fax: 406-994-3391 Email: mmec@coe.montana.edu Web Site: http://www.mtmanufacturingcenter.com
In other states: http://www.mep.nist.gov/centers-near-you/index.htm
No reader comments so far. Be the first to comment by clicking the button below.
Reprinted under the Fair Use doctrine of international copyright law. Full copyright retained by the original publication. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.
