2017 Manufacturers Appreciation: Lakeville, MN

The 2017 Manufacturers Appreciation event, hosted by the City of Lakeville, on October 5, 2017, included a panel discussion addressing employment issues, followed by an after-hours style reception, including sponsors and vendors. This event was held in correlation with Manufacturing Week, typically during the first week of October, across the state of Minnesota.

Learn more about this annual event, including:

  • Link to presentations on the topic of workforce and staffing in the manufacturing sector
  • Link to past blogs about this event

State of MN.jpgThis year’s event was very well attended and was the first year that a panel discussion was included. Presenters from three diverse backgrounds spoke on the topic of workforce issues in our state. The three speakers included: Traci Tapani of Wyoming Machine, Miles Seppelt, of the City of Hutchinson, and Michael Slezak of Minnesota DEED. The event was organized by the City of Lakeville and Dave Olson, Lakeville’s Community and Economic Development, emceed the event.

Ms. Tapani is the co-President of Wyoming Machine and gave an excellent presentation on ways in which her company has successfully addressed staffing by thinking outside of the box. By sharing the stories of three of her employees, she illustrated unique staffing solutions for her manufacturing company which was an inspiration to other Minnesota manufacturing companies.

Students in Manufacturing.jpgMr. Seppelt, the Economic Development Director for the City of Hutchinson, presented an exciting program to encourage middle and high school students to explore manufacturing. By dispelling many myths about manufacturing, just as much for parents as students, Hutchinson schools have found a way to encourage students to consider the field of manufacturing as a great (and lucrative) career option through their “TigerPath Academy” initiative. This is truly inspiring and we strongly encourage you to take a look at this program which involves sponsorship opportunities by local manufacturers. This is an excellent model by a Minnesota community creating workforce solutions benefiting both employers and future employees.

The panel discussion concluded with a presentation by Mr. Slezak, who shared information with area manufacturers about the supports available from the Minnesota DEED office. There are many options available at this link to consider for your business, and Mr. Slezak encouraged the audience to reach out to their office for any help that might be needed.

In the event that you missed the presentation, the City of Lakeville has posted the slide decks from each of the manufacturing panel presentations on their website. By following this link, you will find an individual link to each of these presentations. 

It is with gratitude that we attend this event each year. Having helped many of the attendees over our 30 years of service to our local community, this event allows us to connect with many of those businesses, as well as to meet our newest neighbors in Lakeville. 

If there is anything our team can do in the next year to help you with your business, as your space needs change, please consider reaching out to our property solutions team. There is no project too small or too large – we are here to help in any way we can!

Wishing you & your team continued success,

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The APPRO and CERRON Team

Celebrating 30 Years of Service to Lakeville Manufacturers

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Additional Links you may enjoy:

  • 2016 Manufacturers Appreciation Reception
  • 2015 Manufacturers Appreciation Reception

Image Source: Manufacturing electronics image and students at table image, both via Freepik.com. Image of MN map via Wikimedia Commons.

MN Manufacturing Online Resource Available: Made in Minnesota

MN Manufacturing Industry – An Online Resource is Available!

MN Manufacturing Made in MN LogoMN Manufacturing Industry…there is an online resource available to you, and you may not be aware of this opportunity! APPRO Development and CERRON Commercial Properties are fortunate to work a lot with the manufacturing industry. So, when we come across relevant topics, we are eager to share.

Last Fall 2013, the Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) for the State of Minnesota created and released a database specific to the manufacturing industry: Made in Minnesota. There is no cost for participation in this database. It is simple, easy to use, and only takes a couple of minutes to enter your information – HERE. When you sign up, you will be joining 823 other companies (and growing) already registered in the database, according to the Small Business 101 blog post, “A Holiday Gift for Manufacturers that’s Made in Minnesota”. We were impressed by the information found here and the possible opportunities which could result from MN manufacturers working together.

On a local level, we attend the Manufacturers Appreciation Event, hosted by the City of Lakeville every fall, in our own backyard, occurring during our Minnesota statewide Manufacturers Week. Over the years, we have found that neighboring businesses had no idea what the other manufactured until being introduced to one another at this event. As a result, neighboring businesses were able to work with one another, resulting in benefits for each company.

By having this same information available on a large scale, and with the ease of an electronic database, Minnesota companies have a fantastic opportunity to work with one another, and to keep our manufacturing dollars close to home.

Just thought our friends in the manufacturing industry might want to know!

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