Journal Star, Peoria, Ill., Business File column

Oct. 22--About a decade ago, American manufacturers were enjoying a resurgence in demand and sales after the economic downturn of the early 1990s.

The problem was, after having gone through layoffs or other cutbacks during the down turn, many of those manufacturers were ill-prepared for that resurgence, particularly those affected by increasing globalization.

That's when the Illinois Manufacturing Extension Center was born, and 10 years later, the group based at Bradley University boasts an impressive record. It has helped nearly 2,000 Illinois manufacturers in areas such as efficiency, strategy, quality, technology and innovation.

The companies IMEC has assisted -- many of them in central Illinois -- have invested a combined $25.8 million in IMEC services, with a return of nearly $3 billion in sales, savings and productivity gains, said Tucker Kennedy, IMEC vice president of marketing.

Not bad for an organization that operates statewide on an annual budget of $9 million.

"In our first few years we were called in by manufacturers to help them resolve a specific problem, like the cause of a product defect or a long production cycle," said IMEC President Bob Weinstein. "We still deliver these important services but as our organization has matured, and as we've raised the level of talent and training of our staff, we're much more involved in helping the manufacturing leaders deploy broader continuous improvement strategies that affect more areas of their operations."

IMEC was formed when the U.S. Department of Commerce and Community Affairs gave Bradley University a grant to integrate three separate regional manufacturing assistance organizations into one statewide entity.

Today, IMEC has 11 field offices throughout Illinois with 30 full-time specialists. It is geared for manufacturers with fewer than 500 employees -- smaller companies that "often do not have the internal expertise or time to focus on making the changes necessary to compete long-term," said Kennedy.

Helping these companies learn to compete globally has been a chief goal.

"I think for the most part the smaller manufacturers were unprepared or unwilling to accept the rapid globalization of manufacturing. They were overwhelmed by the speed at which China became a player," said Weinstein. "Now that everyone has taken a deep breath, domestic manufacturers are starting to figure out that they can compete by providing a total value to their customer."

IMEC has learned along the way, as well. On the manufacturing side, IMEC has become knowledgeable in how supply chains work, Weinstein said -- so much so it is now managing Boeing's supplier training program and has done the same for Caterpillar Inc. and Deere and Co.

But it also has learned other things, Kennedy said.

"We've become more attentive to the people side of manufacturing. You can have the best solutions for cutting waste or putting in a quality management system, but unless the employees buy in and understand what these changes will mean to them personally, they will not be sustainable," he said.

Also, Kennedy said, IMEC has learned while out in the field that people don't think about manufacturing the way they used to.

"I spend a lot of time educating our elected officials and policy makers that manufacturing still matters," he said. "We certainly know that it does in Peoria. But if you read the mainstream press, you'd get the impression that we don't produce any goods in this country any more. It is a continuing challenge to convince people that the sector is very viable and still relevant."

He said manufacturers produce 14 percent of the state's gross product, two to five jobs for every new job in other sectors and pay better than other sectors.

And, yet, it seems IMEC has to work harder every year to get continued funding.

That funding will become increasingly important as technology continues to become a bigger part of manufacturing processes. IMEC will be able to put its experts with manufacturers to make sure they have the technology they need to continue competing.

Paul Gordon is Journal star business editor. Business File appears here each Sunday. Gordon's e-mail address is pgordon@pjstar.com.

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