MRMA Tours the Marion Technical Institute

Please click on the below link for the write up on our recent tour to the Marion Technical Institute!  Pictures included!

MRMA Tours the Marion Technical Institute 1-12

MEMBER NEWS! Lassiter-Ware celebrates 100 years!

Congratulations to Lassiter-Ware on 100 years of business in the Central Florida area.  A link to the article in Style Magazing is below

Lassiter-Ware Centennial article

BE SURE TO VIEW THE NEW ARTICLES POSTED IN THE INDUSTRY LINKS TAB!

Clik on the Industry Links Tab - Top right of page for new articles on current trends in manufacturing.

THE POWER OF "MADE IN AMERICA"

CLICK HERE for great video showing the positive impact that buying \"Made In America\" can have on our economy

MRMA - Holiday Event Thank You Letter

Holiday Event Thank you Letter

MRMA HOLIDAY CHARITY EVENT!

CLICK THIS LINK FOR A PRINTABLE FLYER FOR MRMA'S HOLIDAY CHARITY EVENT!

MRMA Holiday Charity Event

MRMA October Meeting - IHMC

MRMA Tours IHMC

 October 2011

 On October 13^th 2011 our monthly meeting was held at IHMC in beautiful downtown Ocala.  As many remember, IHMC is located in the building formerly occupied by the Public Library so it took a while for many of us to feel comfortable carrying on a conversation in anything but a “hushed” tone!  The main common area and the multiple smaller sitting areas have been designed and set up to promote creative thinking and discussion. 

 IHMC stands for Institute for Human & Machine Cognition.  Dr. “Row” Rogacki led us through a brief presentation introducing us to the main focus of the organization. IHMC is a not-for-profit research institute of the Florida University System and is affiliated with several Florida universities.

 Researchers at IHMC pioneer technologies aimed at leveraging and extending human capabilities. Our human-centered approach often results in systems that can be regarded as cognitive or perceptual prostheses, much as eyeglasses are a sort of ocular prosthesis. These systems fit the human and machine components together in ways that exploit their respective strengths and mitigate their respective weaknesses. The design and fit of computational prostheses require a broader interdisciplinary range than is typically found in one organization, thus IHMC staff includes computer scientists, cognitive psychologists, neuroscientists, physicians, philosophers, engineers and social scientists of various stripes, as well as some people who resist all attempts to classify them.

 Current active research areas include: knowledge modeling and sharing, adjustable autonomy, robotics, advanced interfaces and displays, communication and collaboration, computer-mediated learning systems, intelligent data understanding, software agents, expertise studies, work practice simulation, knowledge representation, and other related areas.

 IHMC faculty and staff collaborate extensively with industry and government to develop science and technology that can be enabling with respect to society's broader goals.

 In addition to the presentation by Dr. Rogacki we also heard from a delegation from Citrus County explaining some of the benefits that the upcoming expansion of Port Citrus could have on the Central Florida area.  Below are some pictures from October’s meeting!

MRMA Tours Phillips Printing

MRMA Tours Phillips Printing

September 2011

On Thursday September 8^th, 2011 MRMA toured Phillips Printing in Ocala, Fl. Phillips Printing (owned by Jody Phillips) is a commercial print and design provider specializing in offset and digital, multi and full color printing. They help companies, organizations and institutions enhance their community image and increase sales, by incorporating Eco–Friendly "Green" Printing Practices along with Integrated Marketing Tactics and Social Media Strategies. They provide our clients with the highest level of quality and service, while continuing to incorporate systems and strategies that lessen their impact on the environment. - Chemical Free CTP Workflow - Chemical Free Processless Plates - Vegetable Based Inks - Recycled and Sustainable Forestry Paperstocks - State of the Art, Energy Efficient Technology - Recycled Waste Paper - Recycled Waste Ink and Toner - Greenworks Certified.

David Howard with Brick City Interactive presented “Six Tips for Engaging Customers with Social Media”. Brick City Interactive is a full service website development, online marketing, animation, video production and marketing consulting firm.

During his presentation, David gave us six tips one could employ to start a successful social media campaign. These steps include:

1) Create six-month content plan or editorial calendar.

2) Double conversions with a custom Facebook landing page.

3) Listen more effectively with Google Alerts.

4) Use photos to build engagement.

5) Simplify your communication channels.

6) Use analytics tools to measure your response.

With social media, we are always “running after the tiger’s tail’” says David, “but they can be effective tools for your business.”

David Howard promotes a cooking competition benefiting the Shriners Childrens Hospitals. The next event will take place on October 2, 2011 at the Ocala Hilton. For more information, visit their website at www.culinarycombat.com or call 352-427-7400.

Brick City Interactive is the developer of MRMA’s new website so please check it out at www.MRMA.net.

Below are some pictures of September’s event!

Project Management Professional (PMP) Exam Prep Course

ATTENTION MRMA MEMBERS

The College of Florida Institute is offering a PMP Exam Prep Course. This five day course is structured with the goal of providing students with exactly what they need to pass the PMP examination. Students will learn a study strategy designed to increase comprehension and retention of key elements while also providing students with practical information that can be applied immediately to the project work environment. Please click on the below link for more information.

Flyer - Project Management Professional Exam Prep Course

2011 MRMA Vendor Fair Flyer

2011 MRMA Vendor Fair Flyer

MRMA 2011 Golf Tournament

MRMA 2011 Golf Tournament

On May 12^th 2011 the annual MRMA Golf Tournament to benefit MTI was held at the Country Club of Ocala. It was a great afternoon to kick back, fellowship, eat and drink and raise money for a worthy cause! This year we had 110 golfers participate in the tournament and a great time was had by all.

For the second year in a row 1^st Place was taken by the Phoenix Wood Products team of Glenn Ryan, Jonathan Farrar, Stan Redrick and Russell Barber. Congratulations guys! Other notable scores and winnings are listed below.

1^st Place Net 2^nd Place 3^rd Place 1^st Place Gross

Glenn Ryan Nick Blaser Carl Ruder Danny Duncan

Stan Redrick Greg Linton Mike Gleason Jeff Duncan

Jonathan Farrar Peter Villela Dave Rea Paul Rubly

Russell Barber Todd McMullen Greg Vollendorf Whitt Harper

Closest to the Pin

Hole #: 3 5 11 14

Jeff Beudet Tim Reynolds Alan Millett Tim Reynolds

Longest Drive

Hole # 17 Men Only, was Jeff Duncan

Hole # 7 Women Only, since there were no women playing, this award was given to the runner up for the men’s longest drive, Kevin McVean

We would like to thank everyone who participated in making the MRMA golf tournament a success including Mike Tomasetti and the MRMA Golf Committee which includes John Conway, Whitt Harper, Johnny Lightfoot, Doreen Moore and Steve Wagner. A special thank you to all of the other MRMA members who helped the day of the event, the Emergency One Employees who drove the refreshment carts and of course all of our sponsors (listed below).

Submitted by: Brian Ballard of Express Employment Professionals

Communications Chair - MRMA

2011 Golf Tournament Pictures:

MRMA Tours SPX - April 2011

MRMA – April 2011 Meeting Write-Up – SPX Tour

On Thursday April 14^th, 2011 MRMA toured the Ocala Plant facilities of SPX Flow Technology. Carl Ruder (General Manager) , Mike Schwambach (Engineering Manager) and Jeff Burdett (Production Manager) gave us a detailed introduction into the history and current capacity of SPX as a company and also the focus for the Ocala facility.

Here are a few of the highlights:

• SPX was founded in Muskegon, Michigan on December 20^th, 1912 as The Piston Ring Company making piston rings for the automotive industry
• The company, now known as Sealed Power Corporation, went Public in 1955
• In 1968 they acquired Consolidated Die Casting which began their diversification.
• 1982 the company acquired Kent-Moore Corporation which specialized in the Specialty Tools Market
• 1988 Changed the company name to SPX Corporation
• In the 90’s and early 2000’s continued to have numerous acquisitions including General Signal and United Dominion, locally known as Flair Corporation, that further diversified their product offerings and began building a global presence.
• SPX anticipates being a $5.5 Billion company this year!

Today SPX focuses in 4 main Segments

• Test & Measurements (Automotive)
• Industrial (Transformers, Hydraulic Equipment)
• Thermal (Heat Exchange, Cooling Towers)
• Flow Technology (Valves, Pumps, Dehydration Filtration)

We also were given a tour of the Ocala Facility and discovered that they have 207 employees and focus on Fluid Powered Air, Process Air and Light Industrial Air systems. Mike Schwambach was our tour guide and I was struck at how as we walked through the plant he seemed to know everyone we met by first name! This speaks volumes regarding the culture they are instilling at SPX. It also should be noted that the Ocala facility has gone 700 days without a lost time accident!

We would like to thank SPX for their hospitality in hosting our group and allowing us a tour of their Ocala Facility!

Submitted by

Brian Ballard of Express Employment Professionals

Communications Chair – MRMA

Pictures from April 2011 MRMA Meeting

MRMA - March Meeting - QR Codes

MRMA March 2011 Meeting

INTRODUCTION TO QR CODES

In case you didn’t know …this is a QR code!

QR stands for Quick Response. A QR Code is a matrix code (or two-dimensional bar code) created by Japanese corporation Denso-Wave in 1994. The "QR" is derived from "Quick Response", as the creator intended the code to allow its contents to be decoded at high speed.

On Thursday March 10^th at the College of Central Florida’s Teleconference Room, Jody Phillips of Phillips Printing gave us an introduction to the many possibilities that QR codes bring to the manufacturing world. These codes imbed information that can then be instantly transferred by a scan of a smart phone.

Jody explained that you can place these codes in almost any medium including post cards, magazine ads, business cards, posters, websites, brochures, etc, etc, etc! The information you can imbed into these codes is limitless but could include; a link to your website, a video presentation, an online instruction manual, a coupon, a survey, special promotion, save the date info, contact information, and again etc, etc, etc! When someone with a smart phone comes across your QR Code they simply scan it into their phone and are instantly taken to the information you imbedded there. This truly is cutting edge technology and beckons each of us to spend some time thinking on how we need to incorporate this technology into our business.

Mr. Phillips explained that Phillips Printing specializes in helping businesses incorporate these into your business literature and encouraged anyone with questions to reach out to him.

IF YOU HAVE A SMART PHONE YOU CAN SCAN THE ABOVE QR CODE AND IT WILL TAKE YOU STRAIGHT TO THE MRMA WEBSITE!!!

Submitted by Brian Ballard of Express Employment Professionals

Communications Chair - MRMA

2011 MRMA Golf Tournament

MRMA Tours Country Meats

Marion Regional Manufacturers Association Tours Country Meats in Ocala, FL.

We had the unique experience of having February’s MRMA meeting take place at two member locations! First, Pratt Industries graciously hosted all of us for lunch. Lunch was moved inside due to inclement weather which afforded all of us an insider’s view of the workings of Pratt Industries while we dined. The food was terrific, catered by Joe-Bob’s BBQ and included delicious smoked chicken!

The smoked chicken was a great warm up for our tour of Country Meats. As soon as we finished the business portion of the meeting we filed across the street to begin the tour. As we walked, there were many hopeful conversations surrounding the question on whether or not we could expect to receive product samples and Country Meats did not disappoint!

Country Meats was founded by Jerry and Jean Geatches over 32 years ago. Originally looking for a better way to prevent waste of lean pork, their business has grown to now include over 14 different flavors producing around 18,000 sticks per day! Country Meats has 14 employees, six of which are family members. Their product provides fundraising opportunities to student groups all over the USA.

Our group tour was led by Jeremy Geatches. He took us through the different rooms giving us a glimpse of the start to finish process of creating the best smoked snack sticks. The most talked about room (pictured at left) was the oven where the motor powered air through the oven with power equivalent to a fighter jet engine! Once the tour was complete, each visiting MRMA member was given a product sample bag along with a listing of all of their different flavors.

For more information you can visit http://www.countrymeats.com/ or click on the below link to view Country Meats You Tube Promotional Video.

Country Meats You Tube Video (Click Here)

Marion Regional Manufacturers Association Tours Golden Flake in Ocala

MRMA had the opportunity to tour Golden Flake during its monthly meeting in August. This commodity based company’s corporate office is located in Birmingham, Alabama where the company began as Magic City Foods in the basement of Hill’s grocery in 1923. In 1977, Golden Flake Snack Foods became a wholly owned subsidiary of Golden Enterprises, Incorporated. Today, they serve a 12 state market with an extensive product line.

The Ocala plant manufactures potato chips from potatoes grown specifically for chipping and corn tortilla chips from whole corn. The tour began in the potato washing room where over a million pounds of potatoes are washed each week. From there the potatoes are peeled, inspected, sliced, and then produced into chips in a cooker. They are inspected once again by a computer controlled chip sorter for color, salt, blisters, spice coverage and more before being packaged using high speed machines and shipped out the door using their own fleet of trucks. We also viewed their corn tortilla chip line where whole corn is washed and then precooked and soaked for 18 hours to soften the kernels. The corn is then stone ground and rolled out into tortilla chips on a "sheeter." Golden Flake uses lean manufacturing to make a quality product the public enjoys. Jon Wagner, Plant Manager, stated "it takes everyone as a team to make it at Golden Flake."

The public is invited to tour the facility. For more information, please go to their website at www.goldenflake.com.

Executive Director of the Manufacturers Association of Florida (MAF) Updates Members on Legislative Initiatives

Nancy Stephens, Executive Director of MAF spoke to nearly 40 members of the Marion Regional Manufacturers Association (MRMA) at the monthly membership meeting hosted by Cheney Brothers, Inc. (CBI) at their distribution center in Ocala on June 12. MAF is an advocacy organization that serves to improve the business climate for manufacturers in Florida. Ms. Stephens is also a lobbyist in Tallahassee. During the meeting, she advised members regarding several exciting developments in the manufacturing arena including an update on the machinery and equipment sales tax refunds and unemployed tax credit program. Information on the manufacturer of the year award application process, training grants, and the statewide septic tank inspection program were also discussed. Members were encouraged to participate in the 7th Annual Manufacturers Summit and Global Marketplace which will be held in Orlando on November 3 and 4. For more information on these and other developments and programs visit the MAF website at www.mafmfg.com.

Keith Davis, MRMA Board President, also announced that MRMA will be providing a $1500 scholarship to the ARC Marion this year. The scholarship monies will be used to educate someone in the community at the ARC’s Opportunity Center so he/she can achieve work skills needed for the manufacturing industry thus helping him/her to become a more productive member of society.

The general meeting was followed by a tour CBI’s Ocala facility. Cheney Brothers began as a family affair in 1925 and has become one of the largest food service distributors in the South by always treating customers like family. They are a broad line distributor supplying Southern Hospitality 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For more information please visit their website at www.cheneybrothers.com.

Annual MRMA GOLF Tournament a Huge Success!

MRMA held its annual golf tournament on Thursday, May 13, 2010. 112 golfers participated in this highly anticipated event which took place at the Ocala Municipal Golf Course. The weather was absolutely perfect this year and everyone had a phenomenal time. Proceeds from the annual golf tournament benefit the Marion Technical Institute Industrial Engineering Academy. Winners in the tournament include:

1st place gross score: Brown & Brown Insurance team
1st place net score: Phoenix Wood Products team
2nd place net score: Alan Millet & the Eagle Ridge team
3rd place net score: Pratt Industries team

Closet to the pin: Mike Tomasetti, Jeff Tackett, Randy Brummel, Scott Kaylor
Men’s longest drive: Christopher Bullock
Ladies longest drive: Cristen Stengel

MRMA would like to extend a very special thank you to all the event sponsors, donators, golfers, and volunteers for making the tournament such a success.

The event is scheduled for May 2011. Mark your calendars and be on the look out for the event announcement!

Golf Tournament Sponsors

MRMA Tours American Panel Corporation

On April 8, 2010 MRMA toured American Panel Corporation (APC), a leading manufacturer of commercial refrigeration equipment and walk in cold rooms for the food service industry. Established in 1963, and presently housed in a 100,000 square foot facility in Ocala, APC custom manufactures walk-in coolers and freezers, refrigeration systems, and blast chillers which are sold through equipment dealers, consultants and end users through a rep network.

Utilizing state of the art metal fabrication equipment, metal is cut to length, then to width, and then the edges are folded according to specifications. The panels for the walk ins are foamed in place utilizing a 245FA rigid urethane blended system. This ensures that the panels are of the highest degree of quality and reliability. All walk ins are assembled, inspected, and disassembled prior to shipment.

The refrigeration systems are assembled on site using basic compressors and evaporators and then built to customer specifications. The blast chiller, a refrigeration system that takes food from a high temperature to a low temperature in a short period of time preventing growth of bacteria, is a relatively new product line and the large blast chillers are also built on site.

In compliance with green initiatives, all of APC’s product meets or exceeds federal legislation related to insulation factors and energy consumption.

Guests were treated to a stainless steel desktop placard on which the MRMA logo was fabricated and engraved utilizing APC’s 20 ton Trumpf CNC punch press. APC has the capacity to perform metal fabrication work for other entities whether it is a single part or multiple parts. If interested, please contact Chris Fritz, Director of Manufacturing at 352-245-7055.

MRMA Tours Pro Poly® of America, Inc.

MRMA toured Pro Poly® of America on Thursday, March 11, 2010. Established in 1991 Pro Poly® is a leading manufacturer of poly water and foam tanks and truck bodies for the fire service. The tanks are made from a material called Polyprene®, a specially formulated copolymer plastic that will not rust, crack or corrode.

Pro Poly’s® state of the art technology of using plastic fabrication in place of metal fabrication and fiberglass molding is very innovative. Tim Dean, President, explained that they have no impact issues with plastic as one would with fiberglass and metal. Plastic takes the energy at the point of contact and retains it. The damaged part is merely cut out and a new piece is welded in seamlessly. Plastic is lighter than fiberglass and stainless steel in specific applications. It is also odorless and clean for the environment. All manufacturing waste is collected and sent to J R Plastics to be converted back into finished products. Pro Poly® is a leader in zero waste.

The manufacturing group learned that Pro Poly® has a commitment to its customer and to its product. Tim stated we keep our higher calling in mind at all times as these fire trucks are being sent to save someone’s life potentially. Pro Poly® has two state of the art facilities, one in Ocala, Florida, the other in Augusta, Wisconsin and is ISO 9001 certified. For more information, please visit their website at http://www.propolyamerica.com.

MRMA Helps ARC MARION Connect with Local Manufacturers

MRMA toured the Opportunity Center at the ARC Marion on February 11, 2010. ARC stands for Advocacy Resource Center and it provides services for the develop of mentally disabled. The Opportunity Center houses the ARC’s vocational training programs in which the clients are taught how to use computers, tools, assembly and various other tasks. Because of this training, the clients are able to get jobs, which is one of their primary goals. Many do work for several companies in Marion County including Signature Brands, Pratt Industries, USA Scientific, and Class One. The ARC is very proud of their client’s 100% quality work which is done at a very low affordable price. If you are interested in learning how you can help a valuable community partner and enhance your bottom line at the same time, please contact:

Troy Strawder, CEO, at 352-387-2210.