Saturday, January 17, 2004
My favorite business retention and expansion program is the West Side Manufacturing Initiative (WIRE-net) in Cleveland. It's a national model of an effective network to support smaller manufacturing firms.
John Colm, WIRE-Net's director and EDPro reader, passes on this story of a high tech company incubated within a traditional manufacturing company. Read more.
The story demonstrates an important point: mahufacturing firms are sophisticated bundles of technical skills. With the right management and support they can spin-out innovation and new companies.
In another case, WIRE-Net provided the support for a manufacturer who lost one of its major contracts. Read more
In still another, WIRE-Net supported the same Legos robotics competition I recently wrote about that is taking place with Toyota in Northern Kentucky.
EDPros worried about their manufacturing base should be learning more about WIRE-Net. Go.
posted by Ed Morrison |
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Some Background on EDPro Weblog
The purpose of this weblog is to help economic development professionals -- EDPros -- keep up with the changes sweeping our profession. Strap on your goggles. It's a whole new game. There are no experts any more. The only place to learn about economic development is from other EDPros who are doing it.
One other point: the prevaling approach (paradigm, if you like) in economic development is shifting from competition to collaboration. There are a lot of reaasons underlying this shift, but here's the important insight: You, your community, and your region will do better by collaborating and sharing information.
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Speaking and workshops on Open Source Economic Development
As the idea of Open Source Economic Development starts spreading, more people are asking about it. Visit the I-Open web site to learn more. My colleagues and I are happy to explain the basic concepts in a talk or a workshop. E-mail Susan Alshuler if you'd like to learn more about workshops and speaking.
Background on Ed Morrison
Download some background information on me here.
WIRE-Net: Supporting innovation in manufacturing
