Retaining Hoosier-trained employees, unique ways to grow the next generation of manufacturers and more.

Real-world experiences feed Indiana's worker pipeline

“When they graduate, I don’t want my students to be surprised by what it takes to succeed.”

Butler University operations management lecturer Matthew Caito exposes students to real-world experiences in the advanced manufacturing and logistics world through meaningful internships. Caito knows that when students discover what Indiana manufacturing and logistics is about, they feel connected to the industries. From that experience, there’s a good chance that they follow that connection and turn it into a career, ideally in Indiana.

Read the full blog here .

Writing the book on manufacturing careers

A marketing internship at the manufacturing facility where her dad worked as a product manager pointed Mary Jutzi in a new direction, and subsequent internships sealed the deal: Her future would be in manufacturing and Batesville Products (BPI).

In a unique way to inspire the next generation of advanced manufacturing professionals, Mary and the BPI team wrote a children's book on the industry,?host book readings and even have a “Kids” section on their website.

Read the blog here .

Conexus Indiana adds three new members to its board

Conexus Indiana is pleased to announce the addition of Bryan Boudouris, Scott Meiner and Justin Weber to its board of directors.

President and CEO Frederick Cartwright says, “With varied backgrounds and networks in advanced manufacturing and logistics, Bryan, Scott and Justin are helping us better champion the many sub-sectors of Indiana AML—like national defense and transportation—and are helping contribute to our board’s geographic range.”

The Conexus board now includes 21 individuals representing industry, academia and the public sector.

Meet the new board members here .

Infrastructure studies reveal new tools for efficient freight movement through Indiana

In partnership with the Indiana Department of Transportation and engineering firm HNTB, the Conexus team recently published two new research projects to help equip INDOT with the data, tools and insights necessary to ensure Indiana’s transportation infrastructure continues to drive economic growth.

Read the reports here .

Six months of industry work: A recap of Conexus Indiana's 2023 so far

The Conexus team has been hard at work to advance Indiana’s manufacturing and logistics industries. View our 2023 mid-year recap to see how we have strengthened the industries through workforce development, public education, technology investments and other programs

View the recap here .

Manufacturing Readiness Grants information sessions and more

The Conexus team has been working with local economic development organizations across the state to host Manufacturing Readiness Grants informational sessions in your communities. In addition to these sessions – open to any advanced manufacturing company – companies may reach out directly to the Conexus team to schedule a virtual, one-on-one information session.

Rally 2023, the largest cross-sector conference in the country, will also be taking place in Indianapolis this upcoming month. And we are excited to have our CEO Frederick Cartwright as a moderator on one of the panels focused on hardtech innovation.

Events scheduled for the month of August are:

8/24:?Adams County MRG info session

8/29-8/31:?Rally 2023

Digital Wood Carver implements a collaborative welding system with the support of Manufacturing Readiness Grants

“One of the things we often think about is whether the cobot welding system was worth it. If you think in the short term, it can be hard to justify, but over the next 5 to 10 years that’s where it really pays off.”

Martin County’s Digital Wood Carver has found that adding smart technology into their repertoire hasn’t eliminated jobs for people, rather, it removes the repetitive tasks from jobs, making them less monotonous and allowing employees to focus on more fulfilling tasks. It also improved manufacturing flexibility for low-volume, high-mix products.

View the full case study here .