Polaris to focus on small biz

Polaris MEP, a nonprofit division of the University of Rhode Island Research Foundation that supports the manufacturing sector, plans to focus on small manufacturers this year, and is seeking more funding resources to do so.
Christian Cowan, the Polaris center director, says that his agency’s goals of sustainability, technological innovation and cost-efficiency will be pursued more intensely for manufacturers with fewer than 100 employees in an effort to increase jobs, revenue and profitability by helping smaller companies grow to medium-sized firms.
The agency, which is funded in part by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, gets involved with manufacturers of all sizes as a consultant and for larger projects, he said.
The vast majority of the 1,600 manufacturers in Rhode Island – about 95 percent – are small, according to Cowan and Bill McCourt, executive director of the Rhode Island Manufacturers Association.
Polaris intends to expand on existing assistance, Cowan said, by providing more-affordable consulting services and workshops; more value-stream mapping, which helps eliminate waste and inefficiencies; and more support for ISO certification, a set of international standards that demonstrate products and services meet client expectations.
“It’s a population that sometimes can’t afford consulting services,” Cowan said of small manufacturers as a group. “And they can’t afford it because they’re small and scrambling to make payroll and ship products. Generally, those are the companies that most need efficiency improvements, which is what Polaris focuses on. [Reducing fees may] help them grow to the next step of a manufacturing company evolution.”
McCourt said he is working with Cowan and Polaris to promote the upcoming changes.
One company eager to learn more is Rhode Island Precision of Providence, which uses computer numerical-control operators to make medical-device and electronics components. Owner and President Keith Hartley has 10 employees and has been in business for 40 years. Polaris staff were “phenomenal” in helping Hartley obtain ISO 9001 certification, he said.
The company, which passed its audit in July, had never before obtained the certification because it was more focused on military standards and had its own quality manual. ISO makes sure manuals are up to date and prepares firms for audits, Hartley said. “We chose to do it to stay competitive,” he said. “If you go into a meeting [with a client] that’s the first thing they ask you: if you’re ISO 9,000 qualified.”
The auditor’s fee was $4,000, which the firm paid out of pocket with no assistance, Hartley said. Modifying fees for other types of consulting or obtaining grants for ISO certification assistance would help firms like his, Hartley added.
“I strongly believe there’s a way they can cut the cost with the help of state aid,” he said of Polaris. “If they want to create jobs this is where they’re going to create them: small manufacturing.”
MEP programs are partially federally funded. Polaris has to charge fees to clients, but is trying to modify programs “so we can more cost-effectively go into smaller companies that may not be able to afford our standard fees.”
National Institute of Standards and Technology this year is providing $750,000 but Cowan has to find another $750,000 from other state sources and partners to make reduced fees sustainable, he said.
Workshops Polaris provides will be reduced in price, while a greater variety are offered in 2015, Cowan said. Companies with less than 50 employees may participate in some workshops for free. In addition, Polaris is working on ways to reduce fees on a project basis, he said.
Events featured in the first quarter of 2015 include “Visual Workplace Organization”; “ISO 9001:2015 Lunch & Learn”; “Lean Overview Lunch & Learn”; a newly updated “Value Stream Mapping” and “Compete & Win with Lean” workshop. Rhode Island manufacturers, suppliers and others are able to register for these sessions at www.polarismep.org/events/.
Cowan will quantify the number of small manufacturers eyeing the prospect of growth to medium size, but believes most want that growth, if not now, then in the future.
“Literally, every small company I have engaged with is looking to grow their revenue,” he said. •

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