Q&A talks with Bonnie Del Conte, president of CONNSTEP, a Rocky Hill-based manufacturing consultant that recently secured federal funding to expand its lean training programs to more Connecticut companies.
Q: CONNSTEP recently announced the award of a new five-year cooperative agreement from the U.S. Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to manage the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) in Connecticut. What will this federal funding be used for?
A: The five-year agreement brings $7.4 million of federal support into the state to promote the growth of Connecticut manufacturing companies. CONNSTEP is the Manufacturing Extension Partnership Center for Connecticut, which allows us access to federal funding to assist small- and mid-size manufacturers to foster job growth, increase profits, and gain new clients by streamlining their production processes. The program funding helps defray costs for development and labor. Our consulting services to manufacturers helps them eliminate waste and improve quality and productivity. This translates into gains, both cash and excess capacity, enabling business growth in current sales and new market expansion. We provide assistance in these areas for growing the top-line.
Q: What are some of the advantages of being a Manufacturing Extension Partnership Center?
A: As part of the MEP system, CONNSTEP has access to more than 1,600 subject-matter experts in all manufacturing sectors. Their areas of expertise are focused on both operational excellence and strategic growth. Because we are part of the MEP national system, if opportunities exist for projects with specific industry requirements, we can leverage expertise from outside of the state from our MEP partners. This makes us a lean and efficient program nationwide.
Q: What are some of the specific steps CONNSTEP plans to take over the next 5 years of the grant to benefit Connecticut manufacturers?
A: Because roughly 85 percent of Connecticut manufacturers have fewer than 50 employees and owners wear many hats, implementing change is difficult. Meeting current demand leaves little time devoted to developing business strategies for today’s market. However, it is a critical pain point that needs to be addressed. Change is rapid, whether it be in new equipment and technology, sales and marketing, or hiring the appropriate skillsets in their workforce.
CONNSTEP is addressing these areas of concern with business leaders to help them form strong leadership teams in their companies and stress the importance of strategic planning.
Q: What trends are you seeing among manufacturers right now in terms of strategies for improving operations? Is there sufficient private capital in addition to public funding?
A: Recent reports show an uptick in capital investment funding. As manufacturers become focused on the need for speed to market, there is an increase in spend for upgrading plant, equipment, and technologies. Through the slow economic recovery, this is the logical first step for many as they replace and upgrade in these areas.
Private capital may be more available as investors have been holding off for better opportunities but still want to invest in companies that have the ability to grow and operate strategically. So even if the capital is available, the challenge still rests with the business owner to drive results.
Probably the most important trend of all is recognizing the need to think and run the business differently than in the past.
Q: Not related to the federal grant, but how is CONNSTEP helping aerospace component makers prepare for the huge increased workload from Pratt & Whitney’s geared turbofan engine?
A: CONNSTEP has several programs and methodologies that address suppliers in the aerospace sector, as well as other industries. Major factors are always consistent with customer needs, those being on-time delivery and superior quality. When demand is high, being able to produce even more within these standards is very critical, considering that you need to be profitable. Working with the suppliers, our business growth consultants help them see and remove waste in their production process, thus increasing their capacity to produce more.
Our team of quality service providers assists with auditing standards to achieve non-inferiority. We also work with them to develop strong supply chains that consider a skilled workforce and new technologies, such as 3D printing now being used for tooling. We don’t assume that we know every pain point a supplier may be experiencing with their client or their sub-tier supplier. In order to keep abreast of their issues, we constantly obtain market intelligence and consider this information in our design for solutions. Currently, we have a “Voice of the Customer” survey being performed independently with this exact sector, including the original equipment manufacturers and manufacturers in three levels of supply tiers.
