Zawacki noted that even from its earliest days, members of the council shared everything from the best book they read to operating practices and philosophies. In one case, a local manufacturer opened up a proprietary manufacturing process to the rest of the group, Zawacki said. “It’s that philosophy that if you’re ahead of the game, you don’t have to worry about people copying you,” Zawacki said. “The Right Place helped us get ahead of the gameby forming theManufacturersCouncil.”
council was comprised of a small number of like-minded manufacturers in the West Michigan area. While they came from different sectors, each of the members joined the council with the same intent to share best practices. “Joining the Manufacturers Council brought our community together from a manufacturing standpoint,” said Jim Zawacki, the second chairman of the Manufacturers Council and former owner of GR Spring and Stamp. “We had a good cross section of automotive suppliers, medical suppliers, and so forth.”
EYES FORWARD Even with 30 years under its belt, the Manufacturers Council has no plans of slowing down. Since the beginning, the council has always strived to look out and understand upcoming trends that will impact companies for years to come. Specifically, the Manufacturers Council plans to focus its efforts on three key drivers of the manufacturing industry going forward including, Industry 4.0, automation, and talent attraction and development. TheManufacturers Council is also actively involved in theManufacturing Leadership Summit, hosted by The Right Place and The Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center – West. This summit features best in class discussions on future trends and innovations in the manufacturing sector. It also offers manufacturers an opportunity to network and form relationships for future collaboration on a large scale. “The knowledge is gathered but then you have to share it,” Klohs said. “It doesn’t do you any good if 30 companies know about it. You have to have the conversation at a regional level.” A HISTORY OF COLLABORATION The concepts of collaboration and innovation have served as the underpinnings of the Manufacturers Council since its modest beginnings in 1989. In those years, the
INTERESTED IN JOINING THE COUNCIL? HERE ARE SOME FIRST STEPS:
• Check out the website: rightplace.org/manufacturerscouncil • Understand the philosophy: The Manufacturers Council relies on companies that are engaged with the organization and willing to contribute to the overall knowledge of the group. • Email: Justine Burdette, burdettej@rightplace.org
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MANUFACTURERS COUNCIL 30TH ANNIVERSARY
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