The Greater Lehigh Valley Manufacturing Executives Networking Association (GLV-MENA) is a group of manufacturing business owners, general managers and top manufacturing executives from small to medium manufacturing operations. We are spreading the word about the first meeting, which will be held on September 14 at 7:30 AM at the Bridgeworks Enterprise Center, 905 Harrison Street.
 
***Please keep in mind this event is for manufacturers, if you are not a manufacturer, please pass this along to any manufacturing contacts that you have.
 
This is a volunteer organization with the objective of providing a high value forum for members to meet on a regular basis to:
Develop strong professional network relations with people who have similar interest and concerns and who have expressed a willingness to help and support one another
Provide contacts to significant support resources in the region including universities, non-profits and public economic support entities
Learn about topics germane to their lives, professions and business needs from subject matter experts
 
·      The objectives of GLV-MENA are to:
·         Strengthen regional manufacturing by supporting the individuals leading manufacturing operations
·         Provide a comfortable forum for exchange of ideas
·         Bring in subject matter experts to conduct seminars on tools and knowledge germane to this group
·         Learn from one another
·         Provide support
·         Encourage collaborative business activities
·         Encourage visitation of each other's factories
 
Executive Membership:
·         Initially no dues
·         Must be the owner, general manager or C-Level Executive at a manufacturing companies
·         GLV-MENA will focus on topics of interest to Manufacturing operations with 300 people or less.
·         Executives from larger companies are welcome but should be aware that some topics will not be germane to their experience in large companies.
·         At least some operations are located in the Greater Lehigh Valley region
 
Support:
·         A number of organizations have pledged expertise, time and resources in support of GLV-MENA. This community backing provides a tremendous resource to the manufacturing community. The current (and growing) list of these organizations includes:
o   Allentown Economic Development Corporation (AEDC)
o   Manufacturers Resource Center
o   Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern PA
o   DeSales University, MBA Program
o   Lehigh Carbon Community College
o   Lehigh University Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering
o   Muhlenberg College, Entrepreneurship Program
o   Cedar Crest College
o   Penn State University - Lehigh Valley
o   Q-Leadership
o   Morgan Stanley Smith Barney
 
Planned Meeting Structure - Breakfast Meetings
·         One meeting per month on the second Tuesday @7:30 AM
o   First 4 meetings (Sept 14, October 12, November 9, December 14) at Bridgeworks Enterprise Center located at 905 Harrison St)
o   ½ hour networking and breakfast
o   45 min structured networking (Manufacturers)
§  Who are you?
§  What does your company make?
§  What makes your company unique?
§  What expertise can you offer to the group?
§  What contacts would you like to make?
§  Check on who might have helpful leads
o   45 min to 1 hour seminar/workshop
o   Optional networking time
 
Some Potential Topics
Green Manufacturing
Energy procurement and management
Prototyping - how to do and utilize
Non-profit sponsoring and support - best ways to handle
Human Resource Challenges
Hiring the best
Retention
Benefits
Dealing with OEM or Tier 1 purchasing systems
In-sourcing/Out-sourcing Decisions
Succession planning
Finding/Selecting the right people
Business Valuation
Talent acquisition & retention
Plant maintenance and security
Material Acquisition
Project communications with customers
Market Growth
International Supply
International Expansion
Raising Capital and Banking
Health Care and Insurance
GLV Resources
Key people compensation - benchmarking
Exporting
Getting started
Supporting resources
Utilizing the University-private enterprise connection
Forecasting
Organization Structure
Methods and success rates
The legal connection - what have we all learned?
Logistics
Industry specific: Automotive, Aerospace, Medical Device, Consumer Goods, etc.

In note there is no RSVP to the first meeting please feel free to stop by