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MEP Success Stories from Rhode Island

Rhode Island Job Shop Pursues ISO to Open Doors

Reported Year
2024
Curran says R&R’s quality system always followed the international quality standards published by ISO. However, “Even though you follow the standards of ISO, not having that certificate can close doors. They won’t even recognize you.” Wanting to expand the business, the team set its sights on ISO 9001:2015 certification. Curran and sister/teammate

Lean Training Helps Dairy Make Transformational Cost-Saving “Moooooves”

Reported Year
2024
Cathryn “Cate” Kennedy joined the family business in 2015 as dairy manager. As Kennedy began leveling up as a manager and focusing on innovations, she needed her team to also level up. Wright’s needed to develop a culture of problem-solving, efficiency and continuous improvement. High praise for Polaris MEP, part of the MEP National Network™, from

Lean Is A “Game-Changer,” Shortening Furniture Production Time From Days to Hours

Reported Year
2024
Dana was enrolled in the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Program at the Community College of Rhode Island. The “10KSB” team and several alumni referred Hideaway Solutions to the Rhode Island Manufacturing Extension Partnership center, Polaris MEP, part of the MEP National Network™. Hideaway Solutions needed expert assistance to meet their

Lean Inventory Training Helps Glassworks Studio Reduce Mess and Stress, Increase Success

Reported Year
2024
By 2021 the business was growing fast – almost 75% quarter-over-quarter – but the team was inefficient. The designer didn’t feel like she could fix it on her own. “I knew there was a lot I didn’t know. We all had ideas [on how to improve efficiency] but had to have an outside person facilitate it, help us pick the right approach and implement it

Lean Principles Help Ceramic Lighting Maker Design a Brighter Future

Reported Year
2023
“I didn’t get into this business to learn about manufacturing efficiencies,” said Hwang, a talented, self-taught designer who studied at Dartmouth College. But in 2019 she recognized that was what the business needed in order to scale up. “We had been operating as a small artisan studio and needed to bring manufacturing efficiencies to our

American Tool Company Is “Stronger and Flows a Lot Smoother” with Help from Polaris MEP

Reported Year
2023
Like many who grew up in a manufacturing family, McCally was exposed to the business early on, sweeping the floor at 10 and working in production as a young adult. He secured a mechanical engineering degree and later left ATC for a few years to work at Rolls Royce Naval Marine. Working for this larger company at a higher tier in the Department of

Entrepreneur Successfully Launches With Help From MEP Supplier Scouting

Reported Year
2023
While the engineer had interned at manufacturing companies, she had worked with woods and metals. “I was used to making something exactly like it was in the drawing and that’s not how soft goods manufacturing works,” said Kamada. “There’s a lot of back-and-forth in soft goods as you come up with a true spec.” Her ultimate specs addressed not just