UW Collaborative Program Achieves High Mark in Serving Wyoming Manufacturers

A program that provides technical and business assistance to manufacturing companies across Wyoming has reached a new level of excellence based on its impact on clients.

Manufacturing Works, a partnership among the University of Wyoming, the Wyoming Business Council and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), has achieved a score of 100 on its NIST impact metrics report. This is based upon statistics including the number of manufacturing companies served; jobs created and retained; new and retained sales; and cost savings and investments made by the companies as a result of Manufacturing Works’ services.

“This is a great accomplishment for our Manufacturing Works team,” says Steve Farkas, UW’s associate vice president for economic development. “We’ve come a long way in a fairly short period of time, and this score is a reflection of the team’s leadership and dedication to Wyoming’s manufacturing community.”

Manufacturing Works is part of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) National Network, which has centers in all 50 states and Puerto Rico. MEP is administered by NIST, which is part of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

According to the impact metrics report, Manufacturing Works served 52 clients across Wyoming in the past year. Because of those services, the companies reported creating or retaining a total of 471 jobs; generating $64.3 million in new sales; and retaining $30.5 million in sales. Additionally, the companies made a total of $10.8 million in new investments in machinery and other items, while saving $6.7 million in costs.

“We’re excited at the tremendous progress we’ve made in serving Wyoming manufacturers,” says Rocky Case, center director for Manufacturing Works. “These numbers represent real impacts on Wyoming companies and the state’s manufacturing industry.”

Here are some specific examples of Manufacturing Works’ impact:

-- Electrichlor LLC, based in Laramie, provides water treatment, cathodic protection, field engineering and manufacturing in the on-site hypochlorite generation industry for water treatment. In particular, Electrichlor has had tremendous success in producing systems focused on the cleansing of ballast systems for ocean-going vessels. To continue growing, the company aimed to diversify into a water cleansing system for municipalities.

Manufacturing Works researched that potential new market and helped the company find a UW chemical engineering intern to further explore the opportunity, including securing an internship grant from the state Department of Workforce Services.

“Manufacturing Works has been a huge asset to the success of Electrichlor in the past several years,” says Darwin Keeney, the company’s sales and operations manager. “The intern has helped us test a new endeavor that we were able to start and finish ahead of schedule. Without the help of Manufacturing Works, my job would have been a lot more difficult with finding the right person and securing the funding to bring them on board, as Electrichlor is a small company.”

-- L&H Industrial, with headquarters in Gillette, is a leader in technology innovations, custom manufacturing and comprehensive services for heavy industrial machinery used in mining, oil and gas, railways and other industries. Since securing initial work for NASA in 2015, L&H had tried to get more work in the space industry as well as with U.S. Department of Defense prime contractors. To do so, L&H needed to complete a NIST 800-171 self-assessment and submit a system security plan to the supplier performance risk system.

Upon assessment of L&H’s cyber needs, Manufacturing Works linked the company with 4th State Communications, a Wyoming-based cyber expert, so that L&H could document and solidify its internal cyber standards. And Manufacturing Works assisted in the timely submission of L&H’s self-assessment.

“We were thankful to receive that help from Manufacturing Works,” L&H Engineering Manager Bill Schroyer says. “In parallel with the cyber training, L&H had signed up with the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), which was a requirement for doing business with the Department of Defense. After a short grace period, the agency sent correspondence saying we needed to submit (required paperwork) within two weeks or risk having DLA access shut off. Manufacturing Works helped us get through that hurdle as well.”

-- Moser Engine Service Inc., based in Casper, is an industry leader in power generation and industrial engine innovation and reliability. Moser’s natural gas generators and diesel generators are designed and built to perform reliably in all situations, from urban environments to the oil field’s harsh conditions. Due to rapid business growth, the company needed to expand its engineering change management (ECM) system and capacity.

After assessing Moser’s engineering department and systems, Manufacturing Works proposed actions including implementing Microsoft ECM documenting internal processes and using UW engineering and MBA students to cost-effectively make updates.

“Thank you to the Manufacturing Works team for its invaluable support in assisting Moser Energy in establishing our engineering change management project. This will go a long way toward positioning Moser as a state-of-the-art engineering company, enabling us to better engage our corporate goals,” says Darrin Moorman, the company’s senior vice president of engineering and innovation. “The experience has been so successful that we recently hired one of the UW interns who participated in the project. He has quickly distinguished himself as a key contributor and future leader of our engineering team. It is very satisfying to see talented individuals stay close to home and help advance our company and the state of Wyoming into emerging and high-tech markets.”

-- Based in Powell, Wyoming Completion Technologies Inc. is an oil tool manufacturing and design firm with customers across the world and a design team of licensed professional engineers. The company aimed to seek ISO 9001 certification as a means of achieving greater sustainability and acquiring new contracts.

Manufacturing Works connected the company with a vendor and worked with the Wyoming Business Council to secure a cost-share grant from the state. As a result, Wyoming Completion Technologies achieved ISO 9001 certification and has experienced a boost in attention and visibility, resulting in new contracts and expanded opportunities in international business.

“Assistance from Manufacturing Works enabled Wyoming Completion Technologies to achieve its goal of  ISO 9000 certification,” owner Scott Hecht says. “After helping to select a consultant, they worked with us until the project was complete and then followed up. This has opened many opportunities.”

About Manufacturing Works

Manufacturing Works provides technical and business assistance to manufacturing companies across the state. It is part of the Wyoming Business Resource Network, with offices in Afton, Casper, Cheyenne, Laramie and Sheridan. Manufacturing Works promotes innovation, manufacturing and industrial competitiveness to build a stronger and more prosperous Wyoming through enhanced economic security and improved quality of life. Services to manufacturers include broad technical assistance, engineering solutions, general business assistance, marketing assistance and financial counseling.