Later this month in Colorado Springs, over 1000 high-school age kids and 500 or so community college students will visit the Southern Colorado Manufacturing Expo & Conference to view demonstrations and interact with industry, suppliers and service. It’s what manufacturer’s have been asking for – and need: visibility to a next-generation workforce. How many of […]
Denver’s most illustrious Maker defies description. She’s a real-estate developer by trade, though the moniker understates the outcomes of her work. After all, how many developers have a hotel named after them? No, Dana Crawford is a placemaker. Crawford’s projects – her places – are often a brick-and-mortar continuum: they remind us of who lived […]
Last week, with a push from the Colorado Association of Commerce and Industry, Governor John Hickenlooper proclaimed this workweek ‘Manufacturing Week’ in Colorado, adding a regional flavor to Friday’s national Manufacturing Day. It’s music to our ears, so we thought we’d join the festivities with a pop quiz celebrating Colorado’s broad, dynamic manufacturing community. Go […]
Walmart is a study in contrast. For shareholders and Wall St. the company’s a rock star. For consumers, Walmart’s high-volume low-margin model has helped family budgets go further, at a time when wages are stagnant for a big majority of Americans. But Walmart stores have also changed America’s economic fabric by forcing smaller retailers out […]
The worst kept secret in Colorado economic circles is the impending leadership shake-up at the Governor’s Office of Economic Development and International Trade, or OEDIT. Ken Lund, Executive Director of OEDIT and Karla Tartz, Deputy Director, Strategy & Operations, are leaving as early as September. The change shouldn’t come as a surprise. Lund’s made it […]
CompanyWeek is a year old this week. Last September we set out to do something different, to report on the manufacturing economy through the people and companies that comprise it. We profiled nearly 150 businesses and what a sector it is. Looking back, the companies are the story. We’ve been inspired by Springs Fabrication’s role […]
Front Range skiers fortunate enough to experience Utah’s terrific resorts just east of Salt Lake City return to Colorado with varying degrees of envy, often of the terrain, as great as it is, but also of the commute. Residents of greater Salt Lake City have a 30 to 40 minute drive up I-80 or Little […]
Economic development in the West is big business. In Colorado, at the state level, the investment in programs and people has almost doubled since 2012. Today about 60 full time employees staff the Governor’s Office of Economic Development and International Trade. It’s become a state-by-state competition, and success is measured in jobs, in spending and […]
If you’ve wondered about the mission of CompanyWeek, two events we’re supporting align perfectly with one aspiration, to connect companies in a community that wants to know each other. But largely doesn’t. In most every goods-producing sector the plan is to make more stuff here, in the U.S. And this time, manufacturing growth means more […]
As we celebrate this most American of holidays it’s appropriate to consider a manufacturing sector that’s largely been written off by business and consumers, shipped offshore, primarily to Asia. It’s been decades since we collectively valued a thriving apparel manufacturing sector. Today we like our shoes and suits from Italy and everything else from We […]