Glenn Plagens (from Manufacturer's Edge) and Tim Heaton (from the CO Advanced Manufacturing Association) will provide an overview of manufacturing in CO, touch on its history, and then discuss how the state is working to position itself for the future of manufacturing. They plan to also address the issue of automation in manufacturing and probably touch on the supply chain disruptions arising during the pandemic.
EVENT LOCATION: This meeting will be held in Room 400 of the Jordan Student Success Building, Metropolitan State University.
Glenn Plagens is the CEO of Manufacturer’s EDGE, Colorado’s official Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) Center. Manufacturer’s EDGE provides onsite support, planning, training, and technical assistance to Colorado’s manufacturing community.
Plagens has a broad background in business and government support and, prior to Manufacturer’s EDGE, Plagens was the Business Support and Rural Prosperity Director at the Colorado Office of Economic development and International Trade (OEDIT). During his time with OEDIT, Plagens served on the OEDIT Leadership Team and was responsible for strategic planning, direction, management, implementation, and evaluation of five major programs within OEDIT: the Employee Ownership Office, Minority Business Office, Rural Opportunity Office, Marijuana Entrepreneurship Program, and the Colorado Small Business Development
Center Network.
Prior to OEDIT, Plagens was the Senior Director at the Front Range Community College (FRCC) North Metro Denver SBDC and the Larimer SBDC, where he managed their strategic direction, budget, and performance. During his time with FRCC, Plagens increased the overall operational metrics for the center by 600% and funding of the FRCC SBDC by 400%. Plagens also launched the Small Manufacturer’s AdvantEdge (SMA), a first-of-its-kind statewide small manufacturing program alongside Manufacturer’s Edge. The program has been hailed as a national best practice by the national Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) Network.
Prior to leading the FRCC SBDC, Plagens was a successful small business owner for over 23 years, offering valuable insight to go on to work with the small business owner community. Hailing from Michigan and working in rural communities, Plagens also understands the unique needs and challenges among the rural community. This perspective plays a vital role in Plagens’ leadership and serves as an asset for the Manufacturer’s Edge team.
Tim Heaton is the President of the Colorado Advanced Manufacturing Association (CAMA). As the President of the Association, Tim has been responsible for working with the Board of Directors to develop the organization’s strategic vision as well as implement the plan of programs, events, and services to meet the needs of the CAMA’s manufacturing members.
Additionally, he works with the National Association of Manufacturers on national policy issues to make certain Colorado manufacturers’ voices are heard. Tim brings over twenty-five years of manufacturing experience, from proof-of-concept to institutional capital development, turnaround, and product development, along with his
economic development and governmental affairs experience.
Mr. Heaton began his professional career in Washington, D.C., working for the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. Tim has served as a Sub-Center Director for the Small Business Administration’s Small Business Development Center and as the Manager of the Small Business group for the Denver Chamber of Commerce. He has also received the Federal Laboratory to Industry Technology Transfer Award from the Colorado Technology Transfer Society.
A copy of this webinar is available for viewing online here:
https://youtu.be/Y1wkSQTXFPE