Companies don’t often have the luxury of forecasting business a decade from now, so it’s no surprise that of the 50 makers and manufacturers we profiled last year, none identified water as a challenge to their operations. Does that mean manufacturers shouldn’t care? No. If goods-producers are focused on today’s pressing issues, like workforce development, […]
Colorado’s economic development landscape is an alphabet-soup mix of acronyms and trade names. Entities that touch the maker and manufacturing sector alone include OEDIT, CAMA, CAMT, CACI, WCMA, CWIDB, CBSA, CCIA, WTC, CBDA and others I’m sure I’ve left out, not to mention city and community chambers and EDC’s. Collectively, it’s an amazing collection of […]
Five months ago we introduced CompanyWeek, digital and events media conceived to take an unprecedented view of the Rocky Mountain maker, manufacturing, and built-environment economy. Since then we’ve profiled nearly 70 companies in ten or so different industry sectors. We’ve learned a lot along the way: · We asked each company to articulate the challenges, […]
History repeats itself and one might easily conclude that the heartbeat of Colorado business is once again energy. Not that oil and gas ever stopped flowing, but the shale boom, headlines of a forthcoming investment gusher and media’s opportunistic content push evoke Denver circa-1980, when the Petroleum Club was hip and Energy the business brand. […]
Reaction to news last week that Magpul was finally pulling up stakes developed along familiar lines. Empathizers blamed overreaching politicians. Supporters of the 2013 legislation charged the company with economic extortion. Both tended to sidestep the unfortunate reality that losing manufacturing jobs, under these circumstances, is a lousy development. We’re left to wonder if more […]
Do university rankings matter? The easy answer it that it depends. For schools, the higher the ranking the more meaningful the list. But with competition for students intensifying, rankings now generate more than passing interest, especially for those without the top-25 pedigree. A higher ranking can translate into more students, more tuition dollars. As reported […]
By any measure, Stephen Jordan’s tenure as president of Metro State University of Denver has been eventful. His mission to raise the profile of Denver’s urban university has generated its fair share of critics, some of them competitors, but even they would acknowledge that Metro State is on the ascent, more influential than before. Jordan’s […]
Behind great brands are often stories of astute decision-making at pivotal times. Osprey, a growing Colorado company and respected global lifestyle brand based in Cortez, was at a crossroads early in life, choosing to stay in business by moving its manufacturing operations offshore. Now a “mature” brand (read Osprey’s profile), the company hopes to build […]
Of the industry categories that comprise the region’s growing manufacturing base, apparel may intrigue me the most. It’s a personal fascination, in part. I’ve spent hours on my bike wondering why I’m forced to wear cycling clothes that often look like hell, all the while formulating plans for new line of loose-fitting performance apparel. But […]
A common theme that runs through most of our weekly business profiles is the challenge of workforce. Regardless of industry Colorado manufacturers can’t find enough qualified employees. It’s the Colorado jobs paradox: unemployment here remains relatively high, but a lack of qualified occupational workers is a drag on economic growth, or at least on the […]