| Win-Win-Win:The "New Breed" of
Service that Every Manufacturer Needs |
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BY: Robert Osborne
We’ve heard things
like this from our parents, bosses, and mentors:
- There’s no such thing as a free ride
- You get what you pay for
- Nothing worthwhile comes easy
This is so
ingrained into us that when someone comes along and
offers something “free,” we immediately become paranoid,
wonder what they’re “selling,” and move to protect our
wallets! We’re just waiting for the “pitch"
But wait! What if there really are people that can
solve your most urgent logistics, purchasing. and
materials problems – people that are ready to listen to
your problems, do research on your behalf, and find you
the best (and often lowest-priced) solution – at no cost
to you? Does this sound too good to be
true?
Enter the Unpaid Consultant – The
Solutions Broker.
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| The Research and Development Tax
Credit - Is Your Company Eligible to Reap Its Benefits?
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BY: Ted Drass
The R&D Tax Credit
can be a significant and immediate source of cash for
small and mid-size companies. Recently, new IRS
regulations have made qualifying for the R&D credit
more appealing to more companies and, as a result, there
has not been a better time for your company to take
advantage of its benefits.
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| Just In Time -- Are Your Best
Practices Getting The Job Done? |
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Product innovation could be the key to turning around
U.S. manufacturing, based on Singapore's recent success.
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| MEP Last Quarter Client Impacts
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Every quarter, the U.S. Department of Commerce
surveys the clients of MEP Utah to make sure that the
services they provide are having a positive impact on
the manufacturers in the state.
Here are the latest impact results from the
Department of Commerce Survey of MEP Clients - 3rd
Quarter 2006.
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| U.S. DOL Awards $125 Million for
the President’s Community-Based Job Training Grants
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On December 11, 2006, the U.S. Department of Labor
awarded 72 community colleges and One-Stop Career
Centers $125 million for successfully competing under
the President’s Community-Based Job Training Grants
initiative. A total of 429 entries were submitted in
response to a competition announced on July 3rd.
Both College of Eastern Utah - San Juan Campus and
Salt Lake Community College were recipients of these
grants. We are pleased to recognize that Salt Lake
Community College was competing in and awarded in the
Manufacturing and Biotechnology Sector.
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| 2006 MEP Manufacturer of the Year
Award Winners to be Announced at the Capitol
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The Manufacturing Extension Partnership of Utah will
be holding their annual Manufacturer of the Year Awards
Banquet on February 7, 2007 at the state capitol. During
this event, the award winners will be announced by Lt.
Governor Gary Herbert and will be honored for
accomplishments conducted in 2006.
If you would like more information about this event,
please contact Melanie Butterfield at (801) 368- 0468
or email mbutterfield@mep.org.
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| The MEP Program is mentioned in The
Global Innovation 1000 Report |
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Booz Allen Hamilton released the second annual study
of the world's 1,000 largest corporate R&D budgets
on December 14, 2006. The Global Innovation 1000 study
identifies 94 "high-leverage innovators," that
consistently spend less than their competitors on
R&D yet outperform their industries across a wide
range of performance metrics.
The report references the NIST MEP Program on page
11, saying that, “The public sector also has a role to
play in helping smaller companies improve their
innovation processes. One model in the U.S. is the
Manufacturing Extension Partnership operated by the
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST),
which enables small and medium-sized firms to tap the
knowledge of business experts, including innovation
specialists.”
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