Featured Projects

Goulds Pumps is a manufacturer of large commercial pumps located in Seneca Falls.  The company is a significant employer in the area, with 700 employees including 120 production machinists. The company is also represented by the Steelworkers Local 3298. 

Last spring company management reached out to the WDI Rochester/Genesee Valley Regional Director about a workforce issue. The company was anticipating that a number of machinists would retire within the next few years and that it would be challenging to find candidates with machining skills to replace these individuals. 
 
The WDI Regional Director had been working with Finger Lakes Community College (FLCC) and GW Lisk, a large manufacturer located 20 miles away in Clifton Springs, on a pre-employment machining program. This program has proven to be very successful for both Lisk and other area employers. It took only a matter of months for WDI and FLCC to help move the Lisk program to Goulds Pumps. 

This past September, Goulds Pumps and FLCC held a graduation ceremony on-site at Goulds Pumps for 12 trainees who had successfully completed the 6-month, 500-hour Advanced Manufacturing Machining training program. All 12 trainees who started the program in March completed the program. Since September, eleven of the twelve graduates have found employment with area employers. One graduate moved out of the area. Similar to the GW Lisk program, Goulds Pumps opened its’ doors to the trainees to gain hands-on machining experience on their machines. This model – where employers open their doors to potential employees for pre-employment training – is one that works and could help employers fill vacancies in rural areas (where there may not be easy access to machining training programs) and also in situations where existing machining training programs do not fit all of the needs of area employer(s).

This past August, while the sun was heating things up outside, 32 trainers from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) were learning the skills needed to maintain solar photovoltaic (PV) systems post installation. While solar installation has been a part of the IBEW apprentice curriculum since 1993, this program, funded by WDI, filled a gap in the distributed solar market -- the need for after installation service and maintenance to ensure that PV systems continue to operate at optimal levels.

The solar installation market in New York is growing by leaps and bounds.  In 2014 installations grew by 33% above the previous year. This growth is expected to continue both because the costs of installing PV have decreased (as with any new technology, eventually costs decrease), and because of New York’s commitment to solar PV. Governor Cuomo’ s NY-Sun initiative will invest $1 billion over 10 years in solar PV with a goal of increasing New York’s solar capacity from the current level of roughly 519 Megawatts (enough electricity for approximately 85,000 homes) to 3,000 Megawatts (enough electricity for 492,000 homes).

The increase in demand for new PV systems has, in turn, resulted in the need for more qualified solar maintenance workers. While programs have sprung up across the state to address solar installation training, the IBEW noticed that attention directed to maximizing the operation of the systems after installation was a gap in service not being addressed. The issue came to light after a Hudson Valley-based solar company, American Solar Partners, began receiving phone calls from homeowners and businesses who were having problems with their already installed PV systems. For various reasons, the homeowners and businesses were no longer dealing with their installers, and needed someone to maintain their systems.  American Solar Partners contacted the IBEW Local in Harriman. After querying IBEW Locals across the state, the Harriman IBEW staff found that the lack of providers offering ongoing service to ensure continued optimization of PV systems was a statewide problem. In response, the New York State IBEW Training Directors collaborated and developed the concept for a “train the trainer” program that could be rolled out across the state, to all of the IBEW Locals. 

The program, which began in January and was completed in September, exceeded its goals and received positive feedback from all 32 participants. The WDI funding allowed IBEW to develop the curriculum around solar maintenance, purchase the latest solar maintenance equipment for the regional training facilities, and then train the 32 trainers on the use of PV analyzers, Sun Eyes and solar link testers. The PV analyzers measure solar panel output; the Sun Eyes analyze any shading issues that have arisen since installation; and the solar link test is a kit that measures the system’s ability to convert Direct Current to Alternating Current. The 32 IBEW trainers are now in a position to incorporate their new skills and tools into their own localized training programs at the 15 IBEW training facilities to benefit the 18,000+ members of their locals.  

Thanks to the foresight of IBEW, as demand for solar maintenance grows, New York will have the skilled workforce required to ensure consumers receive the optimum electrical generation from their investment in solar PV. 

Water Street Brass, located in Lakewood, NY is a manufacturer of high end machined brass hardware for furniture, cabinets, and doors. The company was formed in 2014 and took off immediately, more than doubling revenues in its first year of operation.  Growing demand for the company’s products – which are typically sold through showrooms located in all major metropolitan areas – is being driven by two factors: 1) the high quality of the products, which are both designed and manufactured on-site, and 2) the fact that they are American-made, an attribute that has become increasingly important for American consumers. 

With additional demand for the company’s products continuing to grow, Matthew Churchill, President of Water Street Brass, realized last winter that this growth might be difficult to accommodate without some improvements to the company’s processes and procedures. The importance of being able to deliver the products on time and at price points that were acceptable to the buyers was key to Churchill’s interest in looking at the operations closely. Water Street Brass had also just moved to a new, expanded location, so looking at these processes and procedures in the context of a new plant layout plan was also critical. 

Through a WDI grant that funded a portion of the project, Insyte – the Western NY Manufacturing Extension Partner – was brought in to work with Mr. Churchill and his staff on an overall review of operations.  Areas that were examined included (among others) floor layout and flow of materials throughout the plant, receiving and shipping, the current Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, expectations of internal and external customers, desired functionality, and waste reduction improvements. 

The program ran over a period of five months, and paid off significantly from the company’s perspective. Improved management of inventory had the effect of reducing lead time (time between order and shipping) as well as improved use of resources within the plant (moving from multiple smaller production runs to larger batches). The company also found that efficiency training for the staff resulted in less “rework”, which also had the effect of improving employee morale/satisfaction. From a workforce perspective – the company has grown from 14 employees to roughly 30, adding mostly shop workers (assemblers and finishers) and some additional office staff. In addition, the growth has provided opportunities for at least four promotions. 

Mr. Churchill noted that it was incredibly helpful to have a third party expert evaluate their processes and procedures from an independent viewpoint.  In addition, he noted that given the company’s expansion, the cost of the project would likely have been too significant to take on without the financial support from WDI. The end result was a good collaboration with very positive results for the company and for the workforce.

Last spring the WDI worked with the Stony Brook University (SBU) Incubator at Calverton to survey incubator tenants/users around programs that could help boost growth.  As a result of the survey, WDI then partnered with the SBU Incubator to offer a “Take Your Product to Market” program for small and early stage food product entrepreneurs.  The two day event included a full day of intense training provided by professionals experienced in food sales, marketing, and distribution, followed by a food expo where buyers from key stores were on hand to meet with the entrepreneurs.  The format was unique in that it allowed the entrepreneurs an opportunity to execute lessons learned from the training program while also getting products placed in front of potential customers. 

Although several small companies negotiated deals and contracts as a result of the program, one “success story” that has ripple effects is Backyard Brine.  Backyard Brine is a Long Island- based pickle company run by husband and wife team Randy and Cori Kopke.  The pickles are hand-picked in small batches using fresh, all natural and local ingredients.   The training/trade show offered at SBU Calverton helped the company secure a contract with Whole Foods which, in turn, has pushed the company to “graduate” from the Calverton Incubator to its own production facility.   Once in the new facility, the Kopke’s have plans to grow from 5 employees to 12.  In addition, Backyard Brine plans to allow at least three other small producers (of jam, tea, and salad dressing) to use the facility to scale-up their own operations.  The companies will be able to use the Backyard Brine site for product proto-typing, production, and co-packing.  Plans also include a retail/tasting shop where customers can sample and purchase the local products. 

The Kopke’s note that while they had taken specialty food courses before, the workshop at SBU Calverton came at just the right moment for them to understand and use the marketing concepts that were taught.  In addition, while they had tried to reach Whole Foods before, the credibility of meeting them through this program forged the relationship they needed to get their products onto the store’s shelves.