Manufacturing Issues

Illinois’ premier multi-national corporation—Caterpillar—has set out on a course to achieve some very aggressive business growth targets over the next decade. Achieving these goals will require the company to draw on the capabilities of a flexible, world-class supply base with the demonstrated capacity to deliver impeccable quality at competitive costs, on-time. To help the supplier companies make the improvements necessary to meet the needs of their key customer, IMEC has joined forces with Caterpillar to facilitate access to industry-leading training at an affordable cost.

“IMEC’s expert capabilities have enabled many of our key suppliers to be more productive and competitive,” said Fred Dawson, Supplier and IT Training Manager for Caterpillar. “We’re pleased to collaborate with them to help our suppliers to leverage these resources and become a more effective part of our extended supply chain.”

A grant administered by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) will pay up to 50 percent of the costs of training in areas such as information technology, lean manufacturing, quality systems, ISO registration, or safety.

Here are the benefits of collaborating with IMEC and Caterpillar for training support:

• It’s Flexible. Unlike other pre-scheduled courses, the state program can be built around the availability of your employees. IMEC or a qualified resource can conduct the training at your facility or off-site, or your employees can attend a public training event at a convenient location.

• It’s Relevant. Many of today’s leading process optimization training courses are covered under the program. Lean Simulation, Value Stream Mapping, Set-up Reduction, PPAP, Six-Sigma, Quality Management, FMEA, and Process Mapping are just a few of the hundreds of training courses available.

• It’s Affordable. Funding from the State of Illinois covers up to 50% of the cost of training provided to your company.

• It’s Customizable. IMEC can tailor the existing program to meet the specific needs of your business, and can even add a course if it will help improve your performance as an OEM supplier. You tell us your needs, and we’ll deliver.

• It’s Hassle-free. With some grant programs, you deal with an avalanche of paperwork in order to get your costs reimbursed. With Employee Training Investment Program, Caterpillar and IMEC have taken care of the hard part. Your employees simply fill out a few short forms at the training sessions and the 50% discount is already built in to the cost of the training.

If you’re in the supply chain for Caterpillar and planning an investment in workforce training or process improvement, contact your IMEC manufacturing specialist to see if you qualify for training grant support available through these companies. IBI