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A Blueprint for America: American Manufacturing – Wood’s Powr-Grip in Laurel, Montana

"I want to speak about how we move forward, and lay out a blueprint for an economy that’s built to last – an economy built on American manufacturing," said President Obama in the 2012 State of the Union Address.

The President’s message was clear – manufacturing is essential to the growth of the U.S. economy. He mentioned the word ‘manufacturing’ eight times and used almost half of his speech to layout a framework for a U.S. economy that is rooted in manufacturing.

Wood’s Powr-Grip http://www.powrgrip.com employs 80 people at its facility in Laurel, Montana. Powr-Grip provides innovative equipment which uses vacuum to lift, hold, and position nonporous materials, including glass, plastics, engine valves, sheet metal, stone slabs, and appliances. Managing the innovation process to get the right product or service out quickly and at an attractive price became an imperative for the firm.

The severe economic downturn had turned the tables on growth, and the company found itself wrestling for market share rather than just trying to keep up with organic growth. The company turned to the local MEP center to guide their employees in the identifying, qualifying, and refining ideas for growth. The company now has a pipeline of new ideas for business growth. Bryan Wood, Powr-Grip’s President, shared, "we jumped right into processing of the ideas and helped us prioritize, which was largely what we needed. It has definitely positioned us for growth into the future."

by Roger Kilmer

Full Story: http://nistmep.blogs.govdelivery.com/2012/01/31/a-blueprint-for-america-american-manufacturing/

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