“Manufacturing is one of those industries that adds jobs with higher wages, and it’s normally stable because people have to put in infrastructure,” says Manufacturing-Works (MW) Director Larry Stewart.
MW’s team of 10 engineers offers workshops and makes it a goal to visit each manufacturer at least every two years. Each manufacturer receives eight hours of free consultation and services—help with innovating new products, marketing, exporting, sales, floor plans, productivity, energy reduction and more. If additional help is needed, the manufacturer pays a fee that helps fund MW along with the WBC and federal funding from the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
In 2013, MW helped manufacturers decrease costs, increase sales and create and retain jobs for a $19,899,200 capital impact.
One of the businesses MW helped is L&H Industrial, a mining repair company and manufacturer of replacement parts. In the past 20 years, the company has gone from $6 million to $96 million in sales growth and now exports throughout the world.
“MW did my first worldwide marketing plan,” says Vice President Jeff Wandler. “They helped build us into the company we are today.”
“They introduced us to the Tom Reilly value-added sales philosophy, which is core to our whole selling philosophy today,” Chief Financial Officer Jim Clikeman adds. “They’ve expanded our horizon, broadened our perspective and given us a lot of good ideas we can implement.”
Stewart also oversees the Wyoming Innovation Marketplace (WIM), which he describes as a Match.com for manufacturers and inventors. “It’s the premier place where inventors and entrepreneurs can be exposed to people who can actually manufacture, market and sell the goods.”
