Society of Manufacturing Engineers Chapter 164 Newsletter

http://chapters.sme.org/164/

In this issue:

:: Sponsors ::

:: This Month's Meetings ::

:: F.Y.I. ::

Sponsors

Please support our sponsors; they make our chapter events possible by underwriting the cost.

DoALL
Industrial Supplies and Equipment
Griffin Gear, Inc.
Quality Replacement Gears
Kidder Group Professional Recruiters
Specializing in recruiting professionals with expertise in Manufacturing disciplines
Synesis International, Inc
Bringing together people, business and technology
Nomad Metallurgy, Inc.
"We will travel to the ends of the earth to meet your material engineering needs!"
Alfe
Commerical Heat Treating
Asset Point
The proven pioneer in Asset Management Software and solutions for process and manufacturing industries
South Carolina Manufacturing Extension Partnership
A not-for-profit organization helping manufacturers throughout South Carolina solve business and supply chain problems
Greenville Tech
130-plus programs, four campuses, one valuable college education Greenville Tech’s Buck Mickel Center
Training that works! Training and consulting in areas of quality, Lean Six Sigma, leadership, computer, environmental and safety and many others    

January 2006 Chapter News

Hey folks, we have continued the great meetings this fall and winter with an outstanding tour of T&S Brass and Bronze Works.  Many of the folks attending the tour where downright impressed with the management team at T&S.  They are humble and down to earth in every respect. They outlined their Lean Journey over the past four years and showed how ordinary people can do extraordinary accomplishments. We wish that we could quote some of their world class metrics but we will leave it to say that T&S is one of the best managed companies in the state.  Our chapter awarded T&S a plaque recognizing their willingness to benchmark their successes with other companies in the Upstate.  We would like to thank T&S for hosting this great event.  If you missed the tour, our APICS Chapter will be touring T&S on April 18th, 2006.  As we move forward into the future, we will strive to add value to YOUR CHAPTER.  If you would like to help, we are always looking for people with energy and ideas.   

We are proud to announce two new sponsors of Chapter 164.  Please take a minute to look at their websites.  We always encourage using local businesses and services because of our philosophy of enabling the Upstate to become more competitive on a global basis. 

Synesis International, Inc  Bringing together people, business and technology

Nomad Metallurgy, Inc. "We will travel to the ends of the earth to meet your material engineering needs!"

This Month's Meetings

SME Lunch & Learn

Here's your chance for a great FREE lunch! 

Date: January 17th, 11:30a.m.-1:00 p.m.
Location: Commerce Club; Greenville, SC
Program: "Patents, Trademarks, and Copyrights in the Real World"

Our friends at Dority & Manning, One Of The Largest Law Firms In The Southeast Dedicated Exclusively To Intellectual Property Law, have graciously offered to host January's Lunch and Learn.  As Engineers and Managers, most of us are focused on designing and building state-of-the-art products.  We are so focused on the manufacturing process and everything associated with the process that sometimes we forget to protect our investments.  This is a perfect opportunity for you to come and meet some of the best minds in the country with respect to intellectual property.  This lunch is open to everyone, and you are welcome to bring a guest (or guests.)  We do ask, however, that you register so that we can have the Commerce Club plan accordingly.  Jim Way and his team promised that this will be an interesting lunch with some really really humorous aspects as well. This should be a fun and informative lunch.  Dority & Manning are active members of our chapter, and we are honored to have them organize this Lunch & Learn.  Please feel free to visit their website at: www.dority-manning.com

Dority & Manning, P.A.'s intellectual property practice spans many different practice areas, such as

Electro-Mechanical Arts: U.S. and International companies. Clients in this area include Alfmeier Corporation, Rieter Corporation, Corning Cable Systems, and Rockwell Automation, to name but a few. Some technologies with which the firm has had experience include bottling and packaging machinery, fiber optic cables and connectors, mechanical drive systems, textile machinery, and industrial casters.  The firm also has many years of  experience in working with Tier One and Tier Two suppliers in the automotive and commercial vehicle fields, including vehicle fuel and valve systems, vehicle seat components, vehicle tires and related electro-mechanical systems, variable valve timing systems, vehicle mirror systems, vehicle handles, locks, and other hardware for commercial vehicles.

Chemical and Biological Art:  Many national and international companies. Representative clients include Kimberly-Clark Corporation, Schweitzer-Mauduit International, Westinghouse Savannah River Corporation, Ballard Medical Products, Safeskin Corporation, and Clemson University.   Areas of technical expertise include antimicrobials, biomedical devices and products, cancer treatment, textile woven and nonwoven chemistry, processing, and products, polymer compositions, surgical face masks and shields, paper products, and water treatment chemistry.

Electrical Arts, Internet, and E-Commerce: The firm also has experience in protecting rights and resolving disputes related to internet issues such as web address ownership, linking and content. Representative clients include such as AVX Corporation (Kyocera Corporation), Schlumberger, STEAG RTP Systems, Inc. and Datastream Systems. We also work with electrical components, capacitors and connectors, metering devices, smart card technology, computer chip manufacturing systems, and electronic data systems.

Trademark and Copyright Practice: Dority & Manning, P.A. has been ranked in the top twenty-five of U.S. firms in obtaining trademark registrations.

Directions: The Commerce Club is located at 55 Beattie Place, 17th Floor, One Liberty Square in downtown Greenville. This is the large 17 story building located directly across from the Hyatt. If you are coming in on 385 toward downtown, just cross over Church street and turn right into the parking garage. http://www.commerce-club.com/about/

Contact: RSVP to Andrew Wyse at rsvp.sme164@gmail.com 
Cost: FREE
Web Site: http://chapters.sme.org/164/homepage.htm

SME Evening Meeting

No Evening Meeting this month.
Contact: RSVP to Andrew Wyse at rsvp.sme164@gmail.com 
Cost: FREE
Web Site: http://chapters.sme.org/164/homepage.htm

SME Calendar for 2005

SME Chapter Officer Scott Culberson spearheads
Lean Alliance of Florence

The Alliance will provide a forum for plant executives, operations/mfg. managers, and continuous improvement coordinators to share best practices on Lean/TPS in the area. Todd Taylor, (Quality Manager at Honda), Joe Jacobs of SCMEP, and Scott have a vision for how the Alliance could work for manufacturers in the area. They would like to share that vision with a good core group and move forward with it. To that end, next Friday they are holding a luncheon to present this to a small group of interested companies, take input from the group, and formally kick off the Alliance. Chris Klasing (Upstate Lean Alliance) will facilitate this discussion and share advice on how these alliances have served so well in other parts of the state. Here are the meeting details:

Who: Lean Alliance of Florence
What: Explain the Alliance and how it could work to a core group of key manufacturers in the area
Where: Call Scott Culberson for details.
When: Call Scott Culberson for details.
If you know operations, manufacturing, or continuous improvement leaders who are serious about Lean, they are invited to RSVP for this kickoff meeting. They should RSVP to one of the following: Joe Jacobs (SCMEP) at 843.729.3442, Todd Taylor (Honda of SC) at 843.250.1429 or Scott Culberson (North American Assemblies) at 843.413.7041.