WMEP and partners launch Wisconsin Next Generation Manufacturing Survey

[PRESS RELEASE]

Milwaukee, Wis. - What are the best practices that will propel Wisconsin manufacturers to success in 2015? To what extent are the state's 10,000 manufacturers embracing world class manufacturing strategies to transform their companies?

Wisconsin's Next Generation Manufacturing Survey will provide answers and fresh insights to these and other questions. The web-based survey launched today and can be accessed at www.WisconsinNGM.com. Any Wisconsin manufacturing owner, CEO or senior level executive is eligible to participate. The survey is confidential and takes approximately 30 minutes to complete. Deadline for participation is Sept. 30. Survey participants will receive a personalized Next Generation Manufacturing Performance Report or a summary report after results are tabulated.

The survey will identify and measure key performance metrics and best practice strategies consistent with next generation manufacturing. The elements of next generation manufacturing are customer-focused innovation, global engagement, green/sustainability, supply chain management and collaboration, process improvement and talent acquisition and retention.

“Everyone - industry leaders, government officials, academia - understands that Wisconsin's manufacturing base must change if it's going to win in this new economy,” said Mike Klonsinski, executive director of the Wisconsin Manufacturing Extension Partnership (WMEP). “The survey results will provide us with a scorecard to determine where we are today, and where we need to be to be considered a world class manufacturing center.”

The survey is being conducted by the Manufacturing Performance Institute for WMEP and its partners, the Wisconsin Department of Commerce, Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC), Milwaukee 7, New North, Inc. and the Northwest Wisconsin Manufacturing Outreach Center (NWMOC). Mary Isbister, president of Mequon-based GenMet, and member of Milwaukee 7's Next Generation Manufacturing Council, is lending her support to the effort and encourages state manufacturers to participate. “Change is the only constant in manufacturing today,” said Isbister, who also serves on WMEP's board of directors. “This survey will help us benchmark where Wisconsin manufacturers are on this continuing journey of transformation.”

The survey findings will be used to align and strengthen local and state policies, programs and infrastructure supporting the state's 10,000 manufacturers. Klonsinski said. Survey results will be released this fall, and will be widely disseminated to business leaders, elected officials, state policymakers, the media and general public.

WMEP received partial funding for the survey from the WIRED program coordinated by the Regional Workforce Alliance, along with a grant from the federal Economic Development Administration.

Manufacturing contributes 20% - $47.7 billion - to Wisconsin's economy and employs nearly 500,000.

For more information on the survey, call 1-877-800-2124 or email results@wmep.org.

About WMEP

WMEP is a private, nonprofit organization committed to the growth and success of Wisconsin manufacturers. WMEP is a leader in lean manufacturing, growth services, strategic business planning, quality systems and supplier development. During the past five years, WMEP-assisted manufacturers reported economic impact of $931 million with 8,635 jobs created/retained. WMEP receives financial support from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Manufacturing Extension Partnership, the Wisconsin Department of Commerce, and partners with many public and private organizations to serve Wisconsin manufacturers. For more information, visit www.wmep.org or call 1-877-856-8588.