News

Senator Garrett Richter gives SRMA a legislative up-date

On October 26th Senator Richter took time from his busy schedule to attend the SRMA Luncheon at the Airport Holiday Inn. In his talk the Senator stressed the importance of manufacturing in todays Floida Economy. He said the "Manufacturing will bring jobs and prosperity to the state." He added that "gone are the days of depending on construction to fuel the economy."

SRMA Members listen to Senator Richter’s Senator took extensive questions about taxes The Senator discusses the Senate and

discussion on reducing taxes for the Manufacturers. and the roll of State Government, from the full the Governors number one priority, JOBS.

house of SRMA members.

Cable USA, LLC. Recognized by OSHA SHARP Award

SRMA Member Cable USA, LLC. has been recognized as a leader in workplace safety. The Naples wire and cable manufacturer received OSHA's SHARP (Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program) award, which is given to U.S. small businesses with exemplary safety and health management programs. Cable USA has 69 employees and is one of 55 SHARP-certified companies in Florida.

The SHARP program is a testament to Cable USA’s effort of safety becoming a core component of its business culture. In 2007, the company’s safety performance was not on par with its industry average, thus causing it to pay higher workers’ compensation claims. After hiring a safety director, the company contacted USF SafetyFlorida to request a free and confidential on-site safety analysis, which helped the company to identify and correct hazardous areas. Devin Brock, Vice President of Operations at Cable USA, says the results have been tremendous. “Our incident rates have significantly improved, and our workers’ compensation costs have dropped dramatically, which is a cost savings for our company.”

Jim Ulseth, USF Safety Florida Jim Ulseth presenting OSHA Cable USA OSHA SHARP award Cable USA company displaying

consultant, presenting OSHA SHARP SHARP award to the Cable USA lunch from Rib City. OSHA SHARP flag

award to Devin Brock, Cable USA safety committee. Front Row Lyn

Vice President of Operations Yandell, Kathy Robinson and Rick

Raymond. Back Row L – R: Brian Conners,
Shaun Marvel, Jim Ulseth, Andy Schmitt, Paul

Holbrook, Justin Eaton and Bob Hutchison, Vice

President of Operations.

Open House and Plant Tour of The News Press High Speed Printing Operation

Fort Myers, FL (February 10, 2011) – The Southwest Regional Manufacturers Association and The News Press hosted an open house Wednesday, February 16, 2011 from 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM. A Lite dinner was served before the plant tour. This was a rarer plant tour of the largest high speed newspaper printing press in South Florida. This was a behind the scenes view of Fort Myers oldest manufacturer. The News Press is the largest manufacturer in Lee County, with over 400 employees in their printing department. It is hard to imagine using 54,000 pounds of paper and 125 gallons of ink to produce their daily volume of 130,000 news papers. News Press Media Group has operated in Fort Myers for 127 years, since 1884. The paper has been operating as The News Press since its merger with The Tropical News in 1931. Gannett Company, Inc. acquired the newspaper in the 1970s. Gannett is the largest newspaper publishing company in the United States with more than 80 daily newspapers that stretch across the country from Washington, D.C., to California. Today, The News-Press Media Group has numerous holdings including the largest daily newspaper in Southwest Florida, the No. 1 news website, magazines, weekly newspapers, MetroMix.com, MomsLikeMe.com, Grandeur and other publications that serve different audiences across the region. The News-Press also houses the regional hub for Gannett’s partnership with Yahoo!

Novembers Open House at Structure Medical Draws Largest Crowd of the Year

SRMA Hosts Dr. Shibab Asfour

At our October meeting, the Southwest Regional Manufacturers Association hosted Dr. Shihab Asfour, Professor and Chairman of the Department of Industrial Engineering and Director Industrial Assessment Center at the University of Miami. Dr. Asfour discussed a long list of corrective items he has found over the past fifteen years of his departments work. For example changing to high efficiency fluorescent bulbs, reducing the air condition temperature in the summer, and the use of variable speed motors in critical equipment can save thousands of dollars each year, often with a 3 to 4 year payback. As Director of the Industrial Assessment Center, Dr. Asfour has been performing industrial green assessments for over a decade, saving manufactures an average of $55,000 in potential annual savings.

Go to the University of Miami Assessment Center website for complete details on how to qualify for a free assessment.

Employed Worker Training for Your Small Business to Help You Save Thousands on Training Cost!

Get started with your career Workforce Florida (www.workforceflorida.com/ ) has been chosen by Governor Crist to receive $165 Million. This “Employed Worker Training” program is part of this funding.

Employed Worker Training is funded by the Southwest Florida Workforce Development Board, Inc. and administered by your local Career and Service Center.

How do I get started?

Lean Manufacturing Principles Seminar Held

Lean Seminar The Southwest Regional Manufacturers Association along with the Florida Manufacturing Extension Partnership recently held a seminar, at Lee County Schools High Tech Central, focusing on Lean Manufacturing Principles. The seminar was attended by over 20 manufactures from throughout the region.

The seminar involved hands on learning and application of Lean principles. Attendees were impressed by the in-depth coverage of the subject and the many resources they were given and learned to implement in their organizations. Many of the attendees left with plans to implement many of the Lean methods in their organizations.

“This seminar was so much more than what I had expected, there is a lot that we can use,” said Jim Zajas, Packaging and Printing Manager at the News-Press.

Doug Gyure, CEO for S4j Manufacturing Services Inc in Cape Coral, also walked away with more than he expected saying, “Our team really learned what Lean is and how we can make it work for us.”

Lean Manufacturing is an operational strategy oriented toward achieving the shortest possible cycle time by eliminating waste and reducing incidental work. The methodology decreases the time between a customer order and shipment, and it is designed to radically improve profitability, customer satisfaction, throughput time, and employee morale. The benefits are lower costs, higher quality, and shorter lead times.

SRMA is a professional organization representing southwest regional companies engaged in manufacturing operations producing products for local, national, and international markets. The purpose of the Association is to work together to encourage the economic development of Southwest Florida through manufacturing and to act as a forum for the expression and exchange of ideas and information among its members.

Learn more about what’s made in your hometown, check out your local manufacturers association.

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