[#SUBJECT#]

April 2023

TWI April

How Training Within Industry Helps You Capture and Transfer Experience Know-How

This proven tool applies to anyone who teaches anybody to do anything. It’s ideally suited for supervisors, team leaders, and those indirectly managing others. A superior training methodology, particularly in a mass-production setting, TWI helps manufacturers facilitate more incredible market speed and removes waste associated with training time. Once taught, it helps sustain high performance and excellence in quality.

For manufacturing companies concerned about retiring employees taking their production and operational knowledge with them, TWI can help capture that experienced know-how and transfer it to the remaining workforce.

Learn More Here

MANUFACTURERS GROWTH GRANT FOR UNDERSERVED ENTERPRISES

Manufacturing Growth Grant for Underserved Enterprises - Update

After being awarded a Small Business Innovation Fund (SBIF) grant in late Q4 of 2022 from the Washington Department of Commerce, Impact Washington completed a successful rollout of $528K in project awards to support small, underserved manufacturers (< 50 employees or < $7M). The funds are delivering critical services to support stability and growth.

Thank you to all those who helped us get the word out about this grant opportunity.

A few highlights from the rollout are below:

All the funds for this program are committed, and projects are in progress.
We were able to evaluate and award a total of 37 project awards to qualifying manufacturers. This number of projects exceeded our initial goal of 32 in our proposal to Commerce.
Projects are running in 20 of the 33 Washington state counties supporting 435 workers.
Follow us on LInkedIn to learn more about these projects

Lean and Green Ecology Grant

Lean Into Sustainability With Impact Washington And The Washington State Department Of Ecology

Are you:

Struggling to find new and untapped low-cost opportunities to reduce your organization’s energy and environmental impacts?
Searching for affordable ways to learn and get support for implementing a successful Lean Six Sigma project in your organization?
Looking to integrate environmental projects into your organization’s continuous improvement initiatives to reduce operational and ecological costs?

What Funding Assistance Is Available?

Our Lean and Green (W.A.S.T.E) Programs are an affordable approach to reducing waste and improving quality in your organization. Learn More Here

For facilities that use, release, or throw away certain toxic chemicals, an Ecology grant can cover up to 50%-80% (up to $24k) of the project consulting fees (depending on the potential environmental savings). Learn More Here

Read how we helped Romac Industries use the Ecology grant funding to decrease waste generation, maintain product consistency, and increase the safety of their workers on the passivation line. Project outcomes produced a 50% reduction in waste (64,000 to 30,000 lbs), and they experienced $50,000 per year in actual savings, improved product quality, and greater process control. Thanks to their efforts, Romac Industries received the 2022 MVP2 (Most Valuable Prevention Award) Multimedia Award from the National Pollution Prevention Roundtable (NPPR).

FSMA April

Make food safety a top priority and ensure that you meet all FSMA requirements

If you are a food and beverage manufacturer in the United States, it's essential to understand the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) and ensure that your facility remains compliant. Take the necessary steps to implement food safety plans, identify causal factors, and correct any problems. Stay up-to-date on the evolving rules and regulations of the FSMA, and apply for any exemptions that your business may qualify for.

How Does FSMA Impact Washington State Food and Beverage Manufacturers? Learn More Here

Our Chief Food Scientist, Craig Doan, has 40+ years in the food and beverage industry and academics specializing in food safety, processing, and product innovation.

Need FSMA compliance guidance? Contact Us Today!

Let's join forces for a successful MFGDay 2023

Join Impact Washington on these webinars to learn valuable information to help you and your partner organizations plan your event.

Manufacturing Day, or MFG Day, is a national event on the first Friday in October each year. This dedicated day raises awareness of modern manufacturing and its importance to the economy.

While October is recognized as the national MFG Day/Month, we know many manufacturers who open their doors at other times of the year to middle and high school students. Learn More About MFG Day Here

From April 18th to April 20th, Everett Community College's (EvCC) Advanced Manufacturing Training and Education Center (AMTEC) center hosted nearly 500 middle and high school students from Everett, Snohomish, Mukilteo, Cle Elum-Roslyn, Edmonds, and Monroe school districts and several local manufacturers. The event aimed to introduce students to the manufacturing world and inspire them to pursue careers in this field. Read more about their successful event here

We are pleased to announce the promotion of Jessica Ingle to Chief Operating Officer

Ingle has been in the manufacturing industry for over 18 years, most recently serving as Impact Washington’s Deputy Director. Read News Release Here

We are committed to being a change-competent organization focused on providing the most value to Our clients and industry partners.

Impact Washington is immediately adding a Senior Program Manager/Change Leader to the organization. Sarah Stuart will fill this position. Read News Release Here

Celebrating Women Who Tell Our Stories

March was Women’s History Month. The National Women’s History Alliance, which spearheaded the movement to recognize the month, announced the women’s history theme for 2023 as “Celebrating Women Who Tell Our Stories.”

Impact Washington is dedicated to sharing the stories of women within its organization all year long in honor of that declaration - Read Their Stories Here

Impact Washington would like to invite partners and clients to attend local webinars presented by members of the Washington Export Outreach Team (WEOT). This collaborative team of local, state, regional, and federal export assistance agencies provides businesses with the tools and resources to sell internationally.

Wednesday Webinars with SBA Seattle is an ongoing series of free, virtual, webinars covering a variety of topics to benefit small business owners.

Join Impact Washington at the Pacific Northwest Aerospace Defense Conference to gather the market intelligence, trends, and analytics you need to navigate the changing landscape of the defense marketplace.

Mission Acceleration Center Pacific Northwest | Brown Bag Innovation Lunch

Innovators are invited to meet at the MAC for a small group lunch. Discussion will help innovators identify and capitalize on opportunities to supply defense and security customers during this informal meeting.

Join us for an exciting event on May 17th, where we will be celebrating and empowering girls in STEM! This PNAA event is designed to inspire young girls to explore the wonders of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) by showcasing a special guest, Alyssa Carson Astronaut hopeful who will share her personal journey towards becoming the first human on Mars.

This is a fantastic opportunity for young girls to engage with a woman who is passionate about STEM and can inspire them to reach for the stars. Our guest speaker will share her experiences, provide insight into the world of STEM and space exploration, and offer advice on how to succeed in a STEM career.

May 17th - 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm (Doors open at 5:30 PM)| Museum of Flight | No-Cost to Attend

We are thrilled to once again sponsor PNAA's Women in Aerospace annual Conference. This year's theme is nothing short of awe-inspiring - "Power of the Past - Force of the Future."

May 18th - 8:30 am to 4:00 pm | Edward D Hansen Conference Center at Angel of the Winds Arena

More than 200 aerospace supply chain leaders convene each year in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, for the I-90 Aerospace Corridor Conference & Expo produced by INWAC.

In 2023, they are introducing a “Smart Manufacturing Demonstration Zone” sponsored by Impact Washington - NIST MEP and TechHelp - Idaho Manufacturing Specialists. The zone will include a select number of companies demonstrating how their machines, tools, and software can be game changers in production efficiency, cost savings, and innovation.