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Women in Manufacturing

All of the women manufacturers featured below are clients of the NIST Manufacturing Extension Partnership. A nationwide network of centers in all 50 states, the NIST MEP is playing a key role in helping small manufacturers overcome barriers to their productivity and competitiveness.

Ginette DeRive, CEO
BTM Engineering
Rockford, Ill.
21 employees
Like many smaller manufacturers, BTM Engineering is in a highly-competitive industry, often going head-to-head with larger companies. BTM's 21 employees manufacture machined products for the automotive, chemical, environmental, and pharmaceutical industries. Founded in 1995, BTM had relied largely on word-of-mouth and referrals from existing clients for new business. But, DeRive realized they needed more innovative ways to bring in customers.

The Illinois Manufacturing Extension Center, a NIST Manufacturing Extension Partnership affiliate in Peoria, helped DeRive design a web site and develop an e-commerce strategy. The company is reaching new markets, has improved customer relations, hired five new employees and is planning a major expansion.

Karol Ervins, President
The Ervins Group
Detroit, Mich.
20 employees
Karol Ervins has longed dreamed of owning a dress shop. Today, after working for large companies such as IBM and Johnson Controls, Ervins is up to her elbows with patterns, cutting and sewing. But not for garments. Ervins' company makes automotive interior prototypes, such as seats that require fabric covers. The company is growing rapidly and Ervins wants to expand to include design, development, and manufacturing of products, not just prototypes.

Ervins is working with the Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center, an affiliate of the NIST Manufacturing Extension Partnership, to better understand operational costs, implement a more accurate quoting system, and develop a continuous improvement plan.

Diana Hoffman, President and CEO
EnviroSystems, Inc.
San Jose, Calif.
8 employees
EnviroSystems, Inc. is the only company in the United States manufacturing an anti-bacterial disinfectant that is non-toxic to humans, animals, and the environment. After registering her product with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 1998, Hoffman turned to Manex, a NIST Manufacturing Extension Partnership affiliate in northern California, for help in determining markets and applications and developing production and manufacturing facilities. "Manex saved us several hundred thousand dollars in what those market studies would have cost in time and out-of-pocket costs. The results and analysis helped us choose a market focus and saved us a good 12 months," says Hoffman.

Carol Latham, President & CEO
Thermagon
Cleveland, Ohio
55 employees
At age 50, Carol Latham had never run a business, never worked in manufacturing, and never sold a product. But, as a chemist she had an idea for a great product, called T-flex, to remove the heat that builds up in electronic components. When her business started booming and the demand for T-flex outweighed production, Latham went to the Great Lakes Manufacturing Technology Center, a NIST Manufacturing Extension Partnership affiliate in Cleveland, for assistance in developing a new, faster way of producing T-flex.

As a result, quality has improved, product yield has increased by 15 percent, and production time has been cut in half. Today, the company's customers include some of the largest and most well-known electronics firms in the world, such as IBM, Hewlett Packard and Dell, and revenues have zoomed from $2.5 million in 1996 to $8 million last year.

Donna Martinez, President
American Ornamental Iron, Inc.
Milwaukee, Wisc.
20 employees
Business was good at American Ornamental Iron, but company president Donna Martinez knew that the size of her facility was hindering growth. American Ornamental Iron designs, fabricates and installs a wide range of architectural metal and glass rail systems primarily for the commercial construction market. The company recently manufactured and installed the spires, orbs and steel framing adorning the top of the new Milwaukee Midwest Express Convention Center as well as the handrails and glass railing system inside the center.

The Wisconsin Manufacturing Extension Partnership, an affiliate of the NIST Manufacturing Extension Partnership, helped Martinez develop a long-term business plan and secure a loan to purchase a larger manufacturing plant. Since moving, the company has been growing at a rate of 15 to 20 percent a year, has hired 13 more people (for a total of 20 workers), and has been able to secure larger contracts.


Peggy Piontkowski, President and CEO
Sassy Scrubs
North Syracuse, New York
2 full time and 3 part time employees
Peggy Piontkowski and her daughter, Christie White, create and manufacture
designer "scrubs" worn by medical personnel, both in real-life and in make-believe in shows such as "ER." This exposure had boosted sales and Piontkowski needed assistance in keeping up with demand.

She turned to business experts from the Central New York Technology Development Organization, an affiliate of the NIST Manufacturing Extension Partnership in Syracuse, to help her develop manufacturing and marketing strategies, as well as a web site. Now, 50 percent of Sassy Scrubs sales come from the web site and Piontkowski is just beginning to unlock her company's global potential.

Loleta Thomas, President
Biostrand Inc.
Oak Park, Illinois
5 employees
Biostrand Inc. creates and manufactures a salon-exclusive line of hair care products formulated especially for chemically-damaged hair. Thomas wanted to increase orders and expand sales to "high-end" salons. The Chicago Manufacturing Center, an affiliate of the NIST Manufacturing Extension Partnership, helped the company create a web site, upgrade its presentation and marketing materials, create an information and training manual for its salon clients, and create a radio commercial. The Chicago Manufacturing Center brings "new, innovative solutions and ideas to Biostrand. They … help us solve our challenges at a cost that is comfortable for our business," said Thomas.

Carol Wedding, President and CEO
Imaging Systems Technology
Toledo, Ohio
15 employees
Founded in 1997, IST designs and manufactures touch screen control systems for large high-resolution flat panel displays. Like many other start-ups, to grow IST needed a business plan, affordable office and lab space, business links, and, of course, sales. Wedding turned to the Lake Erie Manufacturing Extension Partnership, a NIST Manufacturing Extension Partnership affiliate in Toledo, for assistance. "By working with the Lake Erie MEP program, we have been able to expand our technology focus, pursue new markets, and thrive as an engineering design firm," says Wedding.

Della Williams, President and CEO
Williams-Pyro, Inc.
Fort Worth, Texas
30 employees
After the death of her husband in 1996, Della Williams took over as president and CEO of Williams-Pyro, Inc., a manufacturer of residential stove-top fire extinguishers. In the years prior to 1996 orders had declined, and Williams knew some drastic changes were needed to restore the company's profitability. She contacted the Texas Manufacturing Assistance Center, an affiliate of the NIST Manufacturing Extension Partnership, for help in updating and improving manufacturing capability and developing a strategic plan. As a result, unit costs dropped by 50 percent, productivity increased by 75 percent, scrap and rework declined, and customer satisfaction grew by 80 percent. The company has doubled sales and more than doubled its profits.


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A nationwide network of centers in all 50 states, the NIST MEP is playing a key role in helping small manufacturers overcome barriers to their productivity and competitiveness. Each center works directly with small manufacturers to provide expertise and services tailored to their most critical needs including lean manufacturing, process improvement, and worker training. Many of NIST MEP's client companies are reporting astounding results.

As a non-regulatory agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce's Technology Administration, NIST-the National Institute of Standards and Technology--strengthens the U.S. economy and improves the quality of life by working with industry to develop and apply technology, measurements and standards through four partnerships: the Manufacturing Extension Partnership, the Measurement and Standards Laboratories, the Advanced Technology Program, and the Baldrige National Quality Program.

For further information, contact Jan Kosko, NIST Public & Business Affairs,
(301) 975-2767.


August 2000

Created on 9/25/00
Last updated 9/25/00
Contact: inquiries@nist.gov