The Colorado Association for Manufacturing and Technology (CAMT) is a new name, but it’s the same people and services you’ve know for twelve years. Formerly a part of the Mid-America Manufacturing Technology Center (MAMTC), CAMT is still part of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) system but has a sole-focus on Colorado manufacturers.

Along with the change to a new name and Colorado focus, CAMT moved its main office! CAMT was accepted into the Advance Colorado Center (ACC), a common headquarters located in downtown Denver for non-profit organizations working towards economic growth and development in Colorado. The ACC is jointly-funded by the Colorado Economic Development Commission (EDC), the Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) and the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Science Center (UCDHSC). In addition to free rental space and logistical support, our ACC residence allows us a direct line of communication to government officials, business leaders and other non- profits working towards similar economic development goals.

With over 6,000 manufacturers in Colorado and a state government committed to supporting the industry at higher levels, the Colorado management team believed CAMT could provide more effective services tailored to Colorado manufacturers, such as:

• a collaborative knowledge-sharing forum;
• an innovation program in partnership with Colorado universities;
• direct support for manufacturing groups across the state;
• advocacy at the local, state and national levels.

All this in addition to the customized training and technical assistance we’ve been providing for over a decade in lean enterprise, quality improvement, strategic management and policy deployment, and marketing and growth planning.

Since our transition to CAMT in October of 2005, the organization has also welcomed four new staff members. Dan Breslin, has joined the CMEP team in delivering lean manufacturing training. Merrily Hill Smith comes to CAMT with extensive experience in non-profits and is assisting us in our marketing efforts. Jo Ann Galvan, Director of Industry Relations, has been initiating and supporting task forces around the state and has assisted in establishing our new CAMT web portal. G Ravishankar, with years of manufacturing experience, has also joined us as Director of Operations. Look for new staff profiles in upcoming newsletters!

When Greg Dice joined Intrex Corp as General Manager in 2003, he immediately identified the need for a company-wide culture shift to reduce lead- times and non-value adding activities and processes. As a Six Sigma Black Belt and an experienced hand with applying Lean in previous organizations, he understood the need for a framework in which to put improvement activities. He quickly brought in CAMT to conduct a variety of Lean Manufacturing trainings, including the Principle of Lean, 5S and others. Understanding that shifting a company culture takes classroom lessons, examples, and implementation, along with repetition, Intrex Corp has been utilizing CAMT services for three years and plans on completing additional sessions soon.

The latest sessions were a week-long Kaizen and a Set-Up Reduction class with teams working on floor projects. Greg explained that virtually all lean classes used at Intrex are to reduce set up time. The goal at Intrex Corp is to have as much machine "up-time" as possible. In Intrex Corp's Kaizen, several projects were initiated, including reducing waste oil, and streamlining the metals recycling and chips management processes. Several new processes were put into place to ensure that both inventory and waste products processes were timely and reduced set-up time of machines.

When asked about the immediate impacts he has witnessed in the company since receiving lean trainings, Greg says that the culture has been transformed into a more disciplined systematic work environment. The lean trainings helped Intrex Corp identify sustainable processes that eliminated wasted time and motion at all levels of the manufacturing: inventory, set up, quality, and packaging.

What is a Visual Workplace?

The Visual Workplace is a work environment that is self-ordering, self-explaining, self-regulating, and self- improving ... where what is supposed to happen does happen, on time, every time, day or night because of visual devices. –Dr. Galsworth

CAMT has recently introduced a new training, “Visual Inventiveness/Visual Order,” based on Dr. Gwendolyn Galsworth’s book and curriculum, “Visual Workplace/Visual Thinking.” This initial training serves as a foundation for a complete Visual Thinking journey, a company-wide continuous improvement culture change resulting in meeting daily performance goals, eliminating waste, and vastly reducing lead times.

Why Should Your Company Implement Visual Workplace?

• Reason 1: A Visual Workplace provides a strategy for widening and sustaining gains formerly realized by implementing Lean principles.
• Reason 2: A Visual Workplace creates measurable & significant bottom line results.
• Reason 3: A Visual Workplace provides a comprehensive mechanism for leadership development and cultural transformation.
• Reason 4: Visuality is universal— there is no company or person it cannot help.

CAMT is Hosting a Training of the Trainers, available only to Manufacturing Extension Partnerships (MEP) November 27 through December 1, 2006.

As one of the first manufacturing consulting organizations, including MEPs, to be licensed in this transformational expansion of the Lean methodology, CAMT is excited to share the great gains to be made from Visual Lean for both manufacturers and other consulting organizations across the nation. CAMT is pleased to host the "MEP Trainer Certification in the Visual Workplace/Visual Thinking Seminar" November 27th thru December 1st in Denver, Colorado. The instruction is inspired, the materials excellent, and the market opportunity impressive.

For more information on “Visual Inventiveness/Visual Order” Training for your company or the MEP Trainer Certification Seminar, please contact Aleta Sherman at 303.554.0396.

Please attend a breakfast seminar to learn more about conducting business with Hong Kong and China!

Friday, November 10, 2006 -- 7:30am – 9:30am

Adam’s Mark Hotel -- 1550 Court Place -- Denver CO 80202

The pace of change in China is unprecedented. Long a major manufacturing center and exporter, China is now also a major importer with demand for technology, equipment and products growing at a blistering rate. To succeed in China, sufficient preparation is vital. The size and complexity of the China market require a commitment and a viable business strategy, particularly if you're a small or mid- sized enterprise. Many U.S. companies have chosen the Greater Pearl River Delta region - Hong Kong and the neighboring cities in southern China - as their entry point, and succeeded. You are invited to attend the above seminar and find out how to enter the China market using the Hong Kong platform from a panel of experts and leading business executives.