Business and Industry Services

Northwest Technology Center developed its Business and Industry Services program to assist local business and industry owners, managers and new entrepreneurs find an affordable resource for training, marketing, increasing productivity and for developing new business strategies. Northwest Technology Center has an uncompromising commitment to providing a broad range of resources needed to promote business and industry growth.

Leadership Program Outlined for Area Businesses

Area business owners gathered at Northwest Technology Center (NWTC) for a Business and Industry Breakfast. Garen Martens, owner of Martens Manufacturing in Fairview, started the program by giving those in attendance a testimonial about the LEAN Manufacturing and Leadership training that his company has participated in at NWTC. He supplied information about the training and listed some tangible results that his company has experienced as a result of its involvement in the programs. 

The keynote speaker for the event was Lorinda Schrammel (shown in photo above) who instructs supervisory and leadership training at the Tech Center using curriculum from Management You!   Schrammel’s comments included leadership information from leadership expert and author, John Maxwell.  This semester Schrammel is teaching two courses: Developing Lead Workers which is being offered at no cost and begins on February 2 and Leadership Dynamics for Creating Value which begins on March 23 at a cost of $389 per participant.

Breakfast participants were also given a short presentation of the training available through Northwest Technology Center’s Business and Industry Services department by Steve Kliewer.  Kliewer is the Business and Industry Services Director and NWTC’s Fairview campus.  

Attendees were treated to a “country-style” breakfast prepared by the Service Technology program at Northwest Technology Center.  Jon Buller is the instructor.

For more information on training available through Northwest Technology Center’s Business and Industry Services Department, contact Kliewer at 580.227.3708 or via e-mail at stevek@nwtechonline.com.  

Local Firefighters Train for Rural Fires

Firefighters from three area fire departments spent the weekend participating in Tanker Shuttle Training. This process is used when fire hydrants are not available and water must be shuttled into a fire from a remote hydrant or a local water source, such as a farm pond.  

In the photo above, Bryan Miller, Alva Firefighter, Tony Reed Alva Assistant Chief, Rick Rhodes, Alva Firefighter, John Smiley, Waynoka Fire Chief and Blake Trekell, Alva Volunteer Firefighterprepare for the Tanker Shuttle Training exercise during the firefighter training held north of Hatfield Park.

The fire fighters representing three area fire departments went through the process of shuttling water from a hydrant at 9th and Mill streets to the fire training site located north of the ball fields at Hatfield Park. The shuttle training involved filling the tanker truck, waiting five minutes (to simulate a five mile drive) and then proceeding to the dump site and emptying the tanker into a drop tank.  Steve Dunham of the OSU Fire Safety Training program was the instructor for the event.  The training was coordinated through the Business and Industry Services Department at Northwest Technology Center.   

In the photo above, Alva Fire Chief, Kirk Trekell, John Smiley, Waynoka Fire Chief and Tony Reed, Alva Assistant Fire Chief unload water for the Tanker Shuttle.  

“Our goal is to maintain a consistent flow of water adequate to extinguish a fire in rural areas where hydrants are not available and improve fire protection for those residents,” stated Kirk Trekell, Alva Fire Chief.  “We need to demonstrate this ability in order to improve the FD ISO rating and possibly help homeowners insurance rates in rural parts of our area.  Another benefit is training with other fire departments that will actually be working together during a fire utilizing a tanker shuttle .”   

In the photo above, Alva Firefighter, Bryan Miller mans the pump as the water is pumped from the drop tanks.   This type of training is used by firefighters in rural settings where fire hydrants are not available.   Water can be transported by tanker to the scene or local water sources, such as ponds can be used to fight the fire.

Eleven fire fighters from Alva, Waynoka, Hawley, And Nescatunga Fire Departments in Northwest Oklahoma participated in the exercise. For more information on Fire Fighter training available through Northwest Technology Center, please contact Charlotte Hadwiger at 580-327-0344 or via e-mail at charlotteh@nwtechonline.com.

Entrepreneurs Participate in Small Business Seminar

Entrepreneurs from seventeen small businesses in Northwest Oklahoma participated in the first installment of Small Business 101 at Northwest Technology Center. Businesses from Woods, Alfalfa, Major, Harper and Beaver Counties participated in the training.
Topics covered included:  Financing, How To Get Started, SBA and Small Business Loans, Marketing Your Small Business and Small Business Ideas for Small Towns.  Those presenting included Jeanne Cole-OSBDC, Laura Girty-REI, Kari Roberts-ACB Bank of Cherokee, Dr. Patty Wilbur-Walch Center for Business Development and Becky McCray-McCray and Associates.

Participants were also able to visit Resource Booths to gather information and ideas to increase their success as small businesses. Resource Booth participants included Woods Country Economic Development, Oklahoma Department of Commerce, Oklahoma Health Department, Rural Enterprises of Oklahoma, Inc., City of Alva, Woods County Extension, NWOSU Walch Center for Business Development, Northwest Technology Center, ACB Bank of Cherokee, Central National Bank of Alva and the Oklahoma Small Business Development Center.  

Jeanne Cole with the OSBDC talks with Vicki Woods, From the Woods BarBQ Sauce during the Small Business 101 seminar. 

The Small Business 101 Series, organized by Northwest Oklahoma Partners in Progress, will continued on October 20 with Dr. Brian Whitacre presenting a free workshop on Small Business Websites.  For more information on the Small Business 101 Series or to register for the workshop, please contact Northwest Technology Center at 580-327-0344.

USG Employees Participate in Training

Nine employees of United States Gypsum (USG) in Southard recently participated in an 8 Hour Hazwoper Refresher training.   The employees came from all departments in the plant.  Hazwoper is an acronym for Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response.  

"The training gets us in compliance with state and federal regulations.  We need to do this type of refresher annually." stated Kent Schlotthauer, USG Hazwoper Coordinator. "We staged a diesel spill incident as a drill.  Our instructor critiqued it to see what we needed to improve upon in the case of an actual incident."

Ralph Pierce was the instructor for the training and the training was set up by Steve Kliewer from Northwest Technology Center. 

Marten’s Manufacturing Is Looking “LEAN”

The staff and management of Garen Martens Manufacturing located in Fairview have been participating in the Lean 101 Manufacturing Seminar.  The seminar was coordinated by Steve Kliewer, Director of Business and Industry Services at Northwest Technology Center and presented by Laurence Beliel and Steve Marquardt from Pioneer Technology Center in Ponca City.   

The hands on simulation trained twelve Martens Manufacturing employees in the “LEAN” concepts. “This all started out with the 5S Training that we participated in several months ago,” stated Garen Martens, Owner and Operator of Marten’s Manufacturing. “We were able to get organized and place tools where they are used as opposed to spending time looking for things everyday.  This training coincided with the move into our new shop, so we have used it since the beginning in that facility.”  

According to Martens, “Several guys really took hold of the training and worked on the process flow within our plant.   We now bring steel in the back and finished harrows go out the front.  After the training, two guys came to me with some ideas on process improvement.   Usually, we produce 14-16 units per month.  After implementing the “LEAN” concepts, we produced 24 during the first month and we are doing it with fewer people.”

Above, Garen Martens, Lance Sessions and Chris Jackson are working to build a harrow frame.  Jackson and Sessions were instrumental in implementing the LEAN Concepts in the Martens Manufacturing facility.

“Lean 101” is a simulation class which exposes participants to modules including:  Value Stream Mapping, Cellular Flow Manufacturing, Total Productive Maintenance, Quick Changeover/Setup Reduction, Pull/Kanban and the visual workplace. These techniques are all a part of flow manufacturing.   “I think our staff would say it was helpful,” stated Martens.    

Above, Drew Hanson and Josh Motley work on a small assembly which will eventually be incorporated into a completed harrow.   

Martens Manufacturing has been in business since 1989.  The company is one of only two companies in the United States who build harrows.   A harrow is a farm implement that plows at a shallow depth and is used in farming for wheat, rice, alfalfa, corn, soybeans and pasture land.  The company has 17 employees.  Martens Manufacturing was recognized as a Partner for Progress at the recent Oklahoma Association of Career and Technical Educators (OkACTE)  Summer Conference held in Oklahoma City. 

Northwest Technology Center developed its Business and Industry Services program to assist local business and industry owners, managers and new entrepreneurs find an affordable resource for training, marketing, increasing productivity and for developing new business strategies. Northwest Technology Center has an uncompromising commitment to provide a broad range of resources needed to promote business and industry growth. 

Customized training programs are developed to address particular training needs identified jointly by the business entity and Northwest Technology Center.  Specific needs are addressed through packaged or customized training programs designed to fit specified criteria unique to a particular business or industry.   

United States Gypsum

Imagine that you have a co-worker who has an accident and you are two hours from anyone who can properly rescue them.   This is a situation that would cause anyone sleepless nights.  The management at United States Gypsum in Southard saw this as an issue and has put 21 employees through three days of intensive rescue training.  Now rescues in their production facility can be performed with confidence.   

R.B. Ellis with Tech Resq worked with the USG employees to help them perform safe rescues which might involve repelling and using a basket to rescue co-workers who might fall from or be injured on the numerous catwalks in their plant.   Each person who participated in the training learned how to repel and how to use the basket to move an injured person.  

According to Rex Hiebert, Service Manager at USG, "This is the best training that we could have done.   If we had to call someone for this type of rescue, the closest firefighters with this equipment would be in Enid or Weatherford and it might take them up to two hours to get to us.   I believe that our team now has the confidence to perform this type of rescue.  They also have a great understanding of how to use the equipment and it gives us all peace of mind." 

The training from Tech Resq involved both classroom and "hands-on" activities.   It was coordinated through Northwest Technology Center?s Business and Industry Services division.  According to Steve Kliewer, NWTC?s Business and Industry Services Director, "This training was part of an existing industry grant totaling about $7000.  However, if this gives the employees at USG peace of mind or saves a life or minimizes an injury, the training is priceless."

	USG Employee Darrel Baldwin, puts on his gear to learn the rescue techniques for someone who falls or is injured on the catwalks in the USG plant.
	USG employees work to get a mock victim secured in the rescue basket.
	Mitch Greene, of USG's Quarry Operation repels down to help a victim during the mock incident training held recently at the Southard facility.

Seven Participate in Solidworks Training

Seven local individuals recently completed training on Solidworks software coordinated through an existing industry contract with Northwest Technology Center in Fairview.  Solidworks is a three dimensional drawing program with high definition detail and enhanced drawing capabilities.    The training was conducted by Brian Jacobson with Texas Engineering Systems (TES) Design, Analysis and Solutions. 

Those participating included Gary Austin with Bramco; Jon Buller with Northwest Technology Center; Jeremy Buller with Waldon; Jess Davis, Chris Bartel, Ricky Heflin and Todd Woods with Davis Precision Design.

"SolidWorks is the state-of-the-art engineering software, and several of our customers are switching to it from older systems like AutoCad, Microstation, and ProEngineer, so it is essential that we become proficient with it as quickly as possible.  Steve Kliewer with Northwest Technology Center worked with the company that supplies the software and does training, and put together a great 4-day training session for us." stated Jess Davis with Davis Precision Design.  

Existing Industry Contacts are coordinated through local technology centers, such as Northwest Technology Center and the Oklahoma Department  of Career and Technology Education.    These contracts are designed to assist existing businesses with customized training options.

Jon Buller, NWTC's Service Technology Instructor, works through a unit during the Solidworks training held recently at NWTC.

Brian Jacobson works with Todd Woods and Jess Davis during the Solidworks training held at NWTC in Fairview.

For More Information

For further information on Business and Industry Services, contact the following Charlotte Hadwiger, Alva Campus, at 580.327.0344 or Steve Kliewer, Fairview Campus, at 580.227.3708. You may also download a brochure which is available in PDF format (Adobe Acrobat Reader required for viewing).

Northwest Technology Center now offers on-line classes through Ed2go. For information about the online classes, please visit http://www.ed2go.com/nwtech.