Enterprise Minnesota and Syngenta Seeds, Inc. recently took action to blend Minnesota's rich history in agribusiness with its growing reputation for innovation in manufacturing, announcing a collaboration to develop a Lean Product Design and Development training program for the Syngenta Research and Molecular Marker Laboratory located in Stanton, Minn.

 

"This is the type of program that is ideally suited to propel Minnesota's bioscience and agribusiness prominence," said Robert H. Kill, president and CEO of Enterprise Minnesota. "It is a commitment to research and development in a dynamic sector of our state's economy."

 

The two organizations announced the collaboration at a kick-off event to celebrate a $43,000 grant from the Minnesota Job Skills Partnership (MJSP). The grant is administered through Enterprise Minnesota to provide training for up to 70 Syngenta employees. The training will incorporate curriculum development, classroom training, and train-the-trainer sessions exemplifying the company's strong commitment to the professional development of its employees.

 

Lean Product Design and Development addresses practical, easily applied techniques for reducing design and development costs. Firms that have adopted similar Lean techniques report nearly a 50 percent reduction in launch schedules, dramatic improvements in gross margin, and enhanced customer satisfaction.

 

"Most companies think of Lean as taking place on the manufacturing floor," said John Connelly, director of product management at Enterprise Minnesota. "We work to broaden that definition."

 

Syngenta strives to be a leader in continuously improving their business, which attracted them to collaborating on the Lean Design and Product Development training.

 

"As an agriculture company committed to sustainable business practices, Syngenta is continuously looking for ways to improve efficiencies, maximize performance and eliminate waste," said Ray Riley, vice president, Corn & Soybean Research and Development, Syngenta Seeds. "We're proud to support the continued skill development of our research staff. Embracing Lean Product Development and Design techniques will allow us to streamline processes and deliver better products faster."

 

Syngenta Seeds has adopted Lean techniques at six locations already, delivering significant gains in efficiency by providing employees an opportunity to innovate and challenge existing practices. The Syngenta Seeds Lean Design and Product Development training program will launch in October 2008 at the Stanton facility with implementation through June 2009.

 

Click Here to see photos from the Enterprise Minnesota/Syngenta Kick-Off

 

Mankato-based Dennis Dotson has joined the Enterprise Minnesota Board of Directors. Dotson is president of Dotson Iron Castings, a supplier of gray and ductile castings, that employs 130 workers and supplies 3,000 different castings to a wide range of clients.

 

Dotson Iron Castings was named Foundry of the Year by the American Foundry Society's Modern Casting magazine in 2006 and to Enterprise Minnesota (formerly Minnesota Technology) magazine's "Ones to Watch" in 2007.

 

Dotson's focus on pursuing innovation fits well with Enterprise Minnesota's goals said Robert H. Kill.

 

"Denny's industry knowledge will contribute to our continued success," Kill said. "Dotson Iron Castings has always been in the forefront of implementing innovative practices. They are a leader in Minnesota's manufacturing community."

 

As a business owner, past Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) trustee, and active member in the Mankato community, Mr. Dotson brings a well-rounded perspective to continue Enterprise Minnesota's success.

 

"You have to be world-class to survive in the U.S.," said Dotson. "Enterprise Minnesota is one of the great tools that our state has to meet this challenge."

 

Has your business thought about the next stage of growth and how you are going to get there? Every business looks to expand, but they need to generate new ideas to continue to succeed and thrive.

 

"Companies need new ideas to grow, and not just new ideas - they need good ideas," said John Connelly, director of product management at Enterprise Minnesota. "It sounds easy but leaves leaders asking themselves the same questions: What constitutes a good idea? Where do good ideas come from? How can we create good ideas?"

 

Enterprise Minnesota's August 2008 in business event addressed these exact questions, and how to use Eureka! Winning Ways, a guaranteed process to grow business. Eureka! Winning Ways is a systematic, customer-focused approach to sales, marketing, and business development.

 

"This is a scientifically based process to grow business," said Roger Hurd, a business growth specialist at Enterprise Minnesota. "It isn't just a one-time shot, it's a repeatable process for managing continuous growth."

 

Enterprise Minnesota is the only organization in the state authorized to deliver Eureka! Winning Ways, and has done so successfully with a number of different clients.

 

"We've never had a problem coming up with ideas," said Dirk Kvale, vice president and general manager of IRD Glass in Litchfield, Minn. "The problem was that we had this bin of ideas and were trying to figure out which ones to use."

 

Eureka! Winning Ways provides a process for generating and selecting ideas to grow business. A typical cycle produces more than 50 ideas for growth, which are narrowed to 12 concepts that are defined and structured. From there, a company selects four ideas to move on, implement, and grow.

 

Joe Farrier, vice president of sales for Precision Press, Inc. in Mankato, Minn. said that they've already started to see the benefits. When deciding to start Eureka! Winning ways, it seemed natural that new ideas would help them grow and succeed.

 

"It just made sense that we did this," said Farrier.

 

For more information about Eureka! Winning Ways. event presentation materials, and photos, visit www.enterpriseminnesota.org

 

• State Manufacturing: Increased sales from transportation equipment, processed foods and computer and electronics goods helped Minnesota's manufactured exports grow more than eight percent in the first quarter of 2008 compared to the same period last year, according to figures from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED).

 

• State Economy: DEED also announced that Minnesota employers cut 8,600 jobs in July. The state has lost about 900 jobs (down .03 percent) over the past year, compared with a U.S. loss of 174,000 jobs (down 0.13 percent). Job losses in July were posted by Government (down 4,200), Construction (down 3,400), Manufacturing (down 2,600), Leisure and Hospitality (down 1,700), Professional and Business Services (down 1,100), and Other Services (down 400).

 

• National Economy: The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) says that rising exports continued to help offset the damage to the American economy caused by the declines in the housing sector. The 1.9 percent rise in the Gross Domestic Product in the second quarter reported recently by the Commerce Department was largely driven by rising exports of manufactured goods, according to David Huether, chief economist of the National Association of Manufacturers.

 

• New Hire: As part of its business growth, Enterprise Minnesota recently announced that it has re-appointed Craig Berdie to its Business Services Staff. Berdie will work with Enterprise Minnesota clients primarily on business growth strategy and related services. Prior to joining Enterprise Minnesota Berdie served as president of Trainifik, LLC. He began his career as an electronic technician at the University of Minnesota before moving on to work as an instructor supervisor at NCR Comten, project manager at NCR Europe, and director of online learning at Wilson Learning Corp. Berdie holds his bachelor's degree in industrial/vocational education from the University of Minnesota.

 

• New Hire: The University of Minnesota Center for the Development of Technological Leadership recently announced the hiring of Jenna Egan to the External Relations and Educational Services unit. Before joining CDTL, Ms. Egan held positions of Senior Admissions Representative at the Brown College and Le Cordon Bleu since 2005, and prior to that was an Admissions Representative at the Minneapolis Community and Technical College.

 

• Expansion: RJF Agencies recently appointed Todd Ellingson as med-tech and bio-sciences manager within its manufacturing practice group. Ellingson will help med-tech and life science companies-start-ups, private, and publicly-held-strategically assess, mitigate and manage their corporate risk. Prior to joining RJF, Ellingson spent 18 years in the pharmaceutical and medical device industries, including extended time with Eli Lilly and Company and Medtronic. His experience includes domestic and international operations.

 

• Seeking Evaluators: The Minnesota Council for Quality is looking for candidates for the 2008 Minnesota Quality Award board of evaluators. Evaluators can earn college (undergrad and post-grad) credit for participating in training. The University of Minnesota and the University of Wisconsin-Stout both offer three (3) hours of credit in partnership with the Minnesota Council for Quality. For more information, click here.

 

• Job Postings: Enterprise Minnesota currently has an opening for a receptionist/marketing assistant, a half-time position. For more information and to apply, visit www.enterpriseminnesota.org

 

Upcoming Events:

 

Strengthening Your Supply-Chain Relationships: An event presented jointly by Enterprise Minnesota and LifeScience Alley
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
3:00pm - 4:00pm
Grey Plant Mooty Law Offices St. Cloud, MN
Cost: $59 Early Bird; $79 Standard (Registrations received after September 3rd)
As pressures continue to mount on OEMs and suppliers, both are recognizing that speed and flexibility are the keys to reducing supply chain risk. Come learn from John Connelly, director of product management for Enterprise Minnesota, about Accelerate! It is a new supplier development initiative designed to build on continuous improvement processes. After the presentation, participants have an opportunity to meet and discuss with their peers at the quarterly Alley Chats Networking Event.
Register online at either www.lifesciencealley.org or www.enterpriseminne sota.org

 

Revenue Generating Business Ideas Wednesday October 15, 2008 Greater Mankato Growth - Technology Plus Building, Mankato www.enterpriseminnesota.org

 

19th Annual LifeScience Alley - Alley Institute Scholarship Golf Tournament
September 8, 2008
Golden Valley Golf and Country Club
www.lifesciencealley.org

 

Innovation in Business and Healthcare Conference October 7th - 8th, 2008 Embassy Suites Hotel, St. Paul For more information or to register, click here.

 

Strengthening Your Supplier Quality Toolkit! September 22 - 26th, 2008 Presented in Four Locations: Minneapolis, Rochester, Appleton (WI), and Madison (WI) Click Here to register

Quality in Action: Delighting the Customer ASQ's Minnesota Quality Conference October 27th - 28th, 2008 Earle Brown Heritage Center, Brooklyn Center For more information, check the MNASQ website

13th Annual Minnesota Development Conference September 24-25 Northland Inn, Brooklyn Park For more information click here

 

Do you have news or events to submit? Email them to nate.duoss@enterpriseminnesota.org or call 612.455.4213