Nailed It! - Enterprise Minnesota

As I explain in my next Enterprise Minnesota magazine column, we launched the State of Manufacturing® survey in 2008 to provide quality data AND an unparalleled opportunity to connect manufacturers to each other and their supporters across the state. Our rollout events achieve both goals, allowing us to share the survey results while convening manufacturers and their supporters.

While hundreds attended this year’s SOM events, I was particularly struck by a trio who joined us at the Duluth data rollout in January. Drawn by the promise of Minnesota manufacturing, a restaurateur, a school superintendent, and the president of a once-Ukrainian, now-Minnesota-based robotic company were among the 50+ participants that day.

I would bet that before Enterprise Minnesota launched the survey, these three would not have connected. That they all attended the Duluth rollout demonstrates how the survey satisfies the two objectives we established at its inception.

Every year the survey brings the manufacturing community together through both the regional focus groups we conduct to supplement the poll’s findings, and the rollout events like the one in Duluth. Before these events became a permanent fixture on the manufacturing calendar, manufacturers tended to operate independently in their facilities across the state, quietly working to improve and expand their businesses.

We certainly understand that manufacturers’ primary objective is to strive for growth, and our team of Enterprise Minnesota consultants supports them as they do. But we also suspected our SOM-related events could help manufacturers build valuable connections with each other and increase visibility with the public at large.

That opportunity for connection was on display in Duluth, where the three above-mentioned participants crossed paths. Though each had different motivations for attending the event, they all took advantage of the rich networking opportunities they found there:

Eduardo Sandoval-Luna, owner of Oasis Del Norte, has expanded his food truck and catering business into a brick-and-mortar restaurant and is interested in learning about how he can manufacture and distribute his food for broader consumer sale.

John Magas, superintendent of Duluth Schools, has support from key area companies, economic developers, and the city, to expand his district’s curriculum to include advanced manufacturing, and he enjoyed sharing his plans with our audience.

Al Johnson, president of BotCrew, was eager to discuss how the company is faring in the wake of recently enacted paid leave requirements. We were not familiar with his company before the Duluth event, but three members of our team, including CEO Bob Kill, toured BotCrew’s manufacturing facility after the event.

The variety of participants demonstrates the critical role of the State of Manufacturing® survey. It gives us an opportunity to showcase invaluable data, but more importantly, its related events give diverse individuals in the manufacturing ecosystem opportunities to connect with us and each other.

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