Lottery Helps MAMTC Help Kansas Manufacturers

The Mid-America Manufacturing Technology Center (MAMTC) has been helping small- to mid-size Kansas manufacturers since 1991. MAMTC has initiated over 4,900 projects since it began.

MAMTC Marketing Manager Susan Estes said that MAMTC’s main goal is to help small to mid-size manufacturers improve their competitiveness and profitability.

“When we can help manufacturers, we improve the state’s economy. Manufacturers provide good, high paying jobs that pay significantly more than those in the service industry,” Estes said.

One manufacturer that MAMTC has helped is ACME Foundry Inc. in Coffeyville. MAMTC helped ACME become ISO 9001:2000 certified through the ISO Quality Management System. The ISO Quality Management System is a documented quality management system that includes policy and procedures, work instructions and records. It certifies a standardized level of quality throughout a company’s processes.

Jeff Scotts, Pittsburg State University environmental officer and former field engineer for MAMTC, helped ACME prepare for and attain ISO 9001:2000 certification.

“The ISO Quality Management System takes the guesswork out of daily operations,” Scotts said. “After employees are trained they can always refer to their documented quality management system if they have questions about their jobs.”

Roger Daniels, ISO Management Representative for ACME, said that there was a great need for ACME to become ISO certified.

“ISO certification was being required by most of our customers,” Daniels said. “We needed to become ISO certified, and without MAMTC’s help we would not have been able to afford the process.”

According to Estes, ACME really benefited after it became ISO certified.

“Because they were ISO certified they were able to win additional contracts and create more jobs,” Estes said. “They hired 100 more employees once they were ISO certified and retained 60 positions that would have otherwise been lost.”

Estes said that ACME was also able to create a Spanish training brochure through the ISO certification process.

“ACME adapted their ISO training to include their Spanish-speaking employees, which changed the culture of the facility and will benefit ACME in the long run,” Estes said.

MAMTC receives funds from the Kansas Technology Enterprise Corporation (KTEC) every year. KTEC is a private/public partnership established by the state of Kansas to promote technology based economic development. This year MAMTC received approximately $1.5 million from KTEC. The funds are derived from the Kansas Lottery through the Economic Development Initiatives Fund.

MAMTC has offices throughout Kansas. For more information, visit www.mamtc.com.