Manufacturing
The Support System
By Bill Virgin May 26, 2011
> Impact Washington (impactwashington.org). Formerly known as Washington Manufacturing Services, the Mukilteo-based organization provides fee-based consulting to manufacturing companies on ways to improve productivity, efficiency and competitiveness.
> Center for Advanced Manufacturing Puget Sound (camps-us.com). CAMPS has grown to the point that it has two membership pods, one in the Kent Valley, the other in the Edmonds-Everett area. CAMPS has been working on job-training programs, opening new markets for medical devices and becoming part of the supply chain for maintenance and repair of wind turbines.
> Manufacturing Industrial Council of Seattle (micouncil.org). MIC focuses on issues such as transportation and worker training to help keep manufacturing in Seattle.
> Association of Washington Business (awb.org). While the state doesnt have an association specifically dedicated to manufacturing, AWB considers manufacturing one of its core areas of interest.
> Industry-specific groups. Many sectors within manufacturing have organizations focusing on their issues, including Pacific Northwest Aerospace Alliance (pnaa.net), Inland NorthWest Aerospace Consortium (inwac.com), Washington Biotechnology and Biomedical Association (washbio.org), Washington Clean Technology Alliance (wacleantech.org), Northwest Food Processors Association (nwfpa.org) and Washington Technology Industry Association (washingtontechnology.org).
JUDGES FOR THE WASHINGTON
MANUFACTURING AWARDS
Bill Virgin, editor and publisher of Washington Manufacturing Alert and profiler of Seattle Business magazines 2011 Washington Manufacturing Awards recipients, joined a group of distinguished colleagues in evaluating this years entries: ROn Benoit, partner, Moss Adams LLP; Peter Haug, professor of manufacturing management, Western Washington University; Loren Lyon, CEO, Magic Wheels Inc.; Tom McLaughlin, executive director, Center for Advanced Manufacturing Puget Sound; John Vicklund, president, Impact Washington; and Gary White, business retention and expansion specialist, Tri-City Development.