The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's College of Engineering and Applied Science will unveil its new Institute for Industrial Innovation (I3) at 4 p.m. today.

The I3 is housed in about 2,800 square feet of space in the college's main building at 3200 N. Cramer St., on Milwaukee's east side. It currently houses two rapid prototyping machines.

The center has also ordered a new plastic injection machine that will be installed this fall, said Michael Lovell, dean of the College of Engineering and Applied Science.

The I3 can also draw upon UWM's other facilities inside the engineering building, including an electron microscope, machine shop, electronics lab and structural lab.

The facility is designed to allow manufacturing companies in the Milwaukee area an opportunity to interface with UWM's engineering students, Lovell said. Now that the facility is open, companies can submit projects for:

• An idea, process or topic with which a company is having difficulty.
• Teams of students, with faculty guidance, will examine the matter and create recommendations.
• Faculty consulting, in which a faculty member is asked to look at a company's operations, solve a problem or help create a new process.
• Full research projects, for which graduate and doctorate students are hired.

"Our goal is to be the easiest engineering college in the U.S. to work with for industry," Lovell told BizTimes. "We have the base here. We want to partner with the area's strength (in manufacturing)."

Eight companies are sponsoring research projects that are underway in the I3 facility, Lovell said. They include: GE Healthcare, TAPCO, Badger Meter Inc., Briggs & Stratton, Eaton, and ReGENCo.

The I3 has already created specialized training programs for companies such as GE Healthcare and Johnson Controls.

The I3 facility being unveiled this afternoon is the first phase of the project. Lovell and other UWM officials hope to open a, which will require a multi-level addition to the south side of the engineering building on UWM's campus. The expanded facility, which is expected to cost about $4 million, will feature additional equipment, lab space and classrooms.

A third phase will be constructed when UWM builds its new engineering campus in Wauwatosa on the Milwaukee County Grounds.

Lovell has recently applied for federal stimulus grants, which could allow UWM to construct its I3 facility at the County Grounds.

“I have gotten some positive feedback (from federal officials),” he said. “The master plan is evolving for the (Wauwatosa) campus, and if we receive the grant money, it would have top happen fast.”

For more information about the I3, visit -  http://www4.uwm.edu/ceas/ai3/pressrelease.pdf.

Rockwell CEO leads call for federal investment in manufacturing

Rockwell Automation Inc. chairman and chief executive officer Keith Nosbusch is calling for greater federal resources to help American manufacturers thrive in a post-recession global economy.

"U.S. manufacturers absolutely must have innovative energy-efficient and productivity-enhancing technology to be competitive," Nosbusch told a press briefing at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

The transformation to smarter, safer and more sustainable manufacturing provides an opportunity for the federal government to help develop and make innovations in American plants to keep them competitive and to promote a sustainable U.S. manufacturing employment base, the speakers said.

"We all are pleased that President Obama has named a manufacturing czar to coordinate federal policy and programs to help U.S. manufacturers," Nosbusch said. "Up until 1990, federal support for applied research - which is most critical for manufacturing - was equal to federal funding for basic science. But today it is about 30 percent lower with nearly a $10 billion gap that needs to be remedied. Congress also needs to expand federal tax credits to apply to investments in smart, safe and more sustainable manufacturing technologies."

Rockwell is based in Milwaukee.

U.S. industry is in a battle not just with countries with lower costs, but also with developed countries that are investing in new technology, said Emily DeRocco, president of the Manufacturing Institute and vice president of the National Association of Manufacturers.

"With high-quality, inexpensive products flooding the market from every corner of the globe, competing on cost alone is a losing battle for most U.S.-based manufacturers," DeRocco said.

The cost of manufacturing in the United States is nearly 18 percent higher than in America's nine largest trading partners, she said. That puts the 13.8 million manufacturing jobs in the United States at risk.

The European Union already has allocated about $2 billion to encourage its manufacturers to invest in the next generation of technology for energy efficiency and productivity.

"To stay in the game, American companies must differentiate themselves through innovation," DeRocco said. "Only those countries that invest in innovation and a highly skilled workforce will stay competitive."

Most energy efficiency has come from implementation of new technology, said R. Neal Elliott, associate director of research at the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.

"We estimate that two-thirds of energy efficiency gained in the past 20 years has come from the application sensors and controls," Elliott said. "We can reduce manufacturing energy intensity by more than half in the next 20 years as we begin to integrate smart technology not just into equipment but into entire manufacturing systems, plants and ultimately into the entire supply chains."

Federal policy needs to support three things: research, a level playing field for trade, and a tax and regulatory environment that spurs innovation, said Thomas Duesterberg, president and CEO of the Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI.

"It is high time for Washington to recognize that the policy environment matters to the ability of manufacturers to compete successfully in our globalized economy," Duesterberg said. "'Smart, Safe and Sustainable Manufacturing' is not a slogan. It's a blueprint for success in the world economy and improving our standards of living."

While billions of federal dollars are going toward retooling the auto industry, little has been earmarked to provide a "greenprint" to stimulate the same kind of transformation toward smart, safe and sustainable manufacturing, speakers said.

The speakers recommended the following federal actions:

Ensure legislative priorities are in line with those of manufacturers and the general public.

Double federal funding for manufacturing innovation.

Establish a $2 billion public-private partnership program to research and develop a manufacturing "greenprint" for smart, safe and sustainable manufacturing.

Provide federal assistance for public-private partnerships to create demonstration projects that foster manufacturing innovation.

Expand federal tax credits to apply to investments in advanced technologies that automate and modernize factories.

Harley announces more layoffs and Buell plant shutdown

Harley-Davidson Inc. has announced additional layoffs in southeastern Wisconsin and a two-month holiday shutdown at its Buell Motorcycle Company plant in East Troy.

The newest round of layoffs will result in permanent reductions in force at Harley's distribution center located at 10000 S. Franklin Drive in Franklin. The exact number of positions to be eliminated was not specified by the company in its notice filed with the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development.

Harley previously announced it will cut about 1,000 jobs, including 300 hourly production jobs and 180 salaried positions, mostly at the company's headquarters, its product development center and its Capitol Drive facility.

The Buell plant shutdown at 2799 Buell Drive in East Troy will begin Nov. 2, and the company does not expect to reopen the facility until about Jan. 4, 2010. About 50 employees will be affected by the Buell shutdown.

Ash is new president of Orbis Corp.

Menasha Corp. has promoted William Ash to the position of president of Oconomowoc-based Orbis Corp., the company's second-largest operating division.

Ash, 44, had been vice president of finance at Orbis since 2004.

"Bill is a talented leader with experience in all facets of ORBIS' business, extensive industry knowledge and work in international operations," said Menasha Corp. president and chief executive officer James Kotek. "He has proven himself to be an accomplished and effective manager and was very instrumental in the successful integration of the two largest acquisitions in Menasha Corp.'s history - Linpac Group Limited's material handling business in December 2006 and Norseman Plastic Holdings Ltd. in October 2008."

Orbis is a leading reusable plastic packaging product and service provider in North America. Orbis helps companies analyze their supply systems, design the right reusable packaging solutions and implement cost-effective programs that yield rapid cost savings and support sustainability objectives.

Kotek had been president of Orbis until he was named to the top position at Menasha Corp. in August.

"It's an honor to be named president of Orbis Corp. and accept the challenges of leadership. Orbis is a tremendous company with a great future ahead and I look forward to extending its proud record of market leadership and sales and earnings growth," Ash said.

Downturn takes toll on Brady Corp.'s bottom line

Brady Corp. reported fiscal fourth quarter net income of $19.2 million, or 37 cents per share, which was down from $34.8 million, or 64 cents per share, in the same period a year ago.

The Milwaukee-based company's quarterly sales dipped to $287.2 million from $396.8 million a year earlier.

The company's organic sales declined 23 percent, acquisition growth was flat and foreign currency translation reduced sales by 5 percent. Regionally, organic sales were down 25 percent in Europe, 24 percent in the Americas, and 15 percent in Asia/Pacific.

For the full fiscal year, Brady's 2009 net sales were $1.2 billion, compared with $1.5 billion in fiscal 2008.

"After a strong first quarter, the global economic downturn caused a 27-percent drop in our sales over the balance of the year. Despite this, we earned $90 million in net income excluding restructuring charges and generated $127 million in cash flow from operations," said Brady president and chief executive officer Frank Jaehnert. "Beginning in the second quarter, we took quick and aggressive actions to adjust our cost structure, including a significant workforce reduction. We also continued to invest in our future and position the company for growth going forward by focusing on new product development, acquisition strategy, e-business opportunities and productivity improvement initiatives like the Brady Business Performance System (BBPS). We believe that these strategic investments along with our reduced cost structure position us well for the current economic climate as well as for future economic recovery."

"We expect that the challenges of the global recession will continue into the first half of fiscal 2010. As a result, we expect current fiscal year net income to be between $85 (million) and $95 million and earnings per diluted share of between $1.60 and $1.80. This guidance is based on current exchange rates and a constant tax rate. It also assumes that sales will continue at or near current levels through the first half of our fiscal year, followed by modest growth in the second half of the year," said Brady chief financial officer Thomas Felmer.

Waukesha County Technical College will present "Principles of Lean Manufacturing" on Thursday, Sept. 17 from 8 to 11:55 a.m. and 12:30 to 4:25 p.m. at its campus, 800 Main St., Pewaukee, Room C053. The class will provide a mix of lecture and hands-on demonstrations focusing on standardized work, workplace simulation, visual controls, set-up reduction, batch size reduction, point of use storage, quality at the source, workforce practices and pull systems. Cost is $300. For information, click here.