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MEP Success Stories from Iowa

Paper Systems Automates In-house Process, Saves $118,000 Annually with CIRAS Guidance

Reported Year
2024
The company aimed to streamline the box-laminating process by bringing it in house and enhancing efficiency through automation. Paper Systems collaborated with two different companies to create two separate machines. However, the process was still less efficient than expected. Five people were required to operate the machines, and two more

Elevating Quality and Supply Chain Resilience

Reported Year
2024
As Puck Custom Enterprises continues to grow, they need to ensure their business practices continue to meet their needs. Recently, this meant upgrading their quality systems and their approaches to managing their supply chain. For help, Puck Custom Enterprises turned to CIRAS, part of the MEP National Network™.

Revolutionizing Custom Quartz Designs with CIRAS Expertise

Reported Year
2024
Their existing process for creating custom inlays, such as company logos or detailed fonts within a quartz slab, was rather laborious. They wanted to find a way to reduce manufacturing time and improve the cost with a level of detail that no other custom quartz supplier has been able to achieve. “We want to further refine and improve a product

CIRAS Partner Provides Industry Access to Premier Packaging Expertise

Reported Year
2024
Multi Packaging and Printing, Inc. was having trouble with bags of cheese bursting after being filled with cheese, sealed and dropped 20 feet into a tote. When the Newton-based company turned to CIRAS, part of the MEP National Network™, they had the perfect resource to address the problem-- a collaboration with the Polymer and Food Protection

Working at the Speed of the Customer Drove Putco’s Million-dollar Deal

Reported Year
2024
Putco needed to evaluate the porosity of an aluminum vehicle part in a matter of days to secure a large contract. Putco had put out inquiries to private contractors to do industrial X-rays of cast aluminum units that it had purchased. They wanted to make sure these items met quality standards. All metal castings have some degree of imperfection

CIRAS Support When You Need It Most

Reported Year
2024
A few days after a June 2021 fire destroyed the Dobson Pipe Organ Builders workshop, Deana Hoeg-Ryan called Derek Thompson, a CIRAS strategic advisor. The Lake City company’s office staff had relocated to a nearby house but didn’t have any equipment. “I knew CIRAS had helped us in the past and called Derek to see if there’s anything he could do,”

Dickson Turns to CIRAS for Automation Support

Reported Year
2024
Dickson had the potential to increase its sales. However, like other Iowa businesses, it grappled with a challenging workforce environment that posed difficulties for its expansion. Dickson turned to CIRAS, part of the MEP National Network™, for help.

Team Effort Yields Big Savings

Reported Year
2023
"Our injection molding partner has had some challenges with the quality of a part they make for us,” said Bruce Beguhn, whoowns the Polk City-based Lakeside Products. “They suggested a design change to improve the quality and reduce scrap and secondarylabor, but we needed to know if it was truly going to be better than what we already have.”

Candymaker Finds Sweet Success through assistance from CIRAS

Reported Year
2023
In 2002, Steve and Meg Shearer bought Chocolate Storybook, a well-established Des Moines candy retailer. The pair collaborated with a vendor that supplied wrapped caramels, one of Chocolate Storybook’s most popular items. When the vendor went out of business, the Shearers bought all the assets with plans to open a facility to produce caramels