Standing Still Is Falling Behind
Whether you’re manufacturing candles, cup cakes, or car parts, there will always be someone nipping at your heels.
- Are you up to date on your certifications?
- Have you invested in R&D?
- Are you hiring enough?
- Can you afford to hire the best?
- Are you cyber secure?
The questions that keep you up at night are also motivating your competitors to push the envelope.
Polaris MEP can help you take an holistic look at your organization’s position in the market. You may be surprised at where you stand. With objective, outside perspective from our seasoned manufacturing experts, you can position your company for continued success.
The Polaris MEP Manufacturing Innovation Challenge was an exceptional opportunity to look at our business from industry experts. It led to an internal discussion to clarify who our customer is, and to create processes to help end users pull products through the distributor channel—this is creating a lift in business.
Michael Black
President, National Marker
Solutions To Your Challenges
Technology Acceleration
Facility Layout
Lean Manufacturing
How We Help
STRATEGIC ASSESSMENTS
Polaris MEP can match your company with subject matter experts with deep industry knowledge to conduct a strategic review of your business.
Working with your leadership, the process brings greater visibility to strengths, weaknesses and opportunities. Insights and related recommendations empower you to refocus resources strategically.
PROCESS IMPROVEMENT
A staggeringly large percentage of daily job activity does not deliver value to end customers. Polaris MEP will aid you in pursuit of a lean enterprise, increasing value to customers and reducing waste within your internal processes. The results?
- Increased quality,
- Lower costs,
- Imprved delivery times,
- Improved safety,
- Improved customer and worker satisfaction, and
- A more competitive organization.
R&D RESOURCES
No matter what size your company, R&D can make the difference between dominating your industry and getting left behind.
Polaris MEP assists the small- and medium-sized manufacturing companies in our state in creating strategic R&D plans that minimize risk.
We leverage the URI Research Foundation “family” as well as the NIST Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) National Network to connect Rhode Island manufacturers to government equipment, programs, incentives and expertise.
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
You may have the better product, but in order to be successful, you’ll need to compete in the business development arena.
Polaris MEP has you covered!
Whether you need marketing or sales augmentation, Polaris MEP can help. We’ve got a host of resources to upgrade your business and turn it into a business development powerhouse.
Compete & Win
- Get an objective determination of your competitiveness through the Manufacturing Innovation Challenge
- Minimize waste, improve process efficiency, and deliver safer, higher quality products to your clients faster
- Tell your story better with new marketing and sales techniques that close more business
Related
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Building a Practical Path to AI Readiness
AI gets talked about like it’s already running the factory floor. For most small and mid-sized manufacturers, that’s not reality. The promise is big—autonomous systems, seamless digital operations—but the day-to-day still looks a lot like it always has. What’s changed...
Rhode Island Perfectly Positioned’ to Become World Center of Undersea Technology
Rhode Island doesn’t always brag about itself—but in the world of undersea technology, it probably should. At the final session of Innovate Newport’s Blue Tech Talks on June 30, a clear message surfaced: the state, particularly around Narragansett Bay, has all the...
As a small business owner, you can’t do marketing yourself, if you truly want to grow. And you can’t afford a large team in-house. Spend the money on someone who understands it. Working with Polaris MEP and Sidewalk Branding seemed seamless. Now, we are seeing benefits we would never have imagined.
Roger Hultquist
CEO, Co-Owner, Orbetron LLC
Category: Market Competitiveness
The Science Behind Ketchup Pouring Could Lead to Ceramic 3D Printing
In a recent Taking Measure blog post, NIST researcher Will Spencer describes how materials like ketchup or ceramic suspensions change viscosity under different forces, sometimes flowing freely and sometimes acting almost solid.
Building a Practical Path to AI Readiness
Artificial Intelligence (AI) often feels like a buzzword disconnected from the realities of daily manufacturing operations. While industry conversations promise “autonomous factories” and “digital transformation,” the practical application of AI in small to mid-sized job shops and discrete manufacturers can seem unclear.
We Needed Automation to Reshore Our Supply Chain
IndustryWeek’s article “We Needed Automation to Reshore Our Supply Chain” describes how TAC Industries, a Springfield, Ohio-based manufacturer that produces cargo nets for the U.S. Air Force, used automation as the key lever to bring critical hardware sourcing back from Asia to the United States.
A New Class of Welders Is Ready to Step Into Rhode Island’s Manufacturing Workforce
On June 25, something meaningful happened at New England Institute of Technology. A group of graduates walked across the stage—not just to mark the end of a program, but to step into entirely new careers.
New AI Model Shows How to Evacuate for Fires One Safe Step at a Time
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R.I.’s manufacturing sector braces for owner exits
Rhode Island’s manufacturing sector is facing a pivotal moment—one that will shape the future of the industry for decades to come. A recent Providence Business News article highlights a pressing reality: nearly 80% of the state’s manufacturers are approaching ownership transition without a clear succession plan in place.
Why Modern Supply Chains Can’t Rely on Efficiency Alone
The more optimized a supply chain became, the more competitive it would be. However, the past several years have challenged that assumption.
Collaboration in Action: Highlights from North Kingstown’s Manufacturers’ Forum
Attendees raised concerns ranging from day-to-day operational hurdles—like transportation and logistics challenges—to broader systemic issues such as talent pipelines and regulatory navigation.
Rhode Island Manufacturers: Claim Tariff Refunds—But Stay Alert to Scams
For Rhode Island manufacturers—many of whom rely on imported materials, components, or equipment—refunds could translate into thousands (or more) in returned funds, potentially including interest.
Let Polaris MEP Help You with Registered Apprenticeships
Last week was National Apprenticeship Week and in recognition, Polaris MEP is excited to spotlight new opportunities for manufacturers to strengthen their workforce through Registered Apprenticeships.