Walt Tarpley joined The Corporation for Manufacturing Excellence (Manex) as Director of Client Services earlier this month. Tarpley, who brings more than 25 years of experience, joins a team of seasoned business professionals who work closely with small and mid-size manufacturing companies throughout Northern California.

Prior to joining Manex, Tarpley was in operational consulting where he was responsible for delivering over $1 billion in profit and loss impact. As interim plant manager with Kraft, he led the lean transformation of the second-worst performing plant in the portfolio, moving operating efficiency from 42% to 82% in a year and doubling operational capacity.

“Walt’s experience in operational leadership for clients of all sizes across multiple industries makes him an ideal addition to our team,” said Manex President & CEO Gene Russell. “He is well-versed in compliance driven environments from ISO to FDA.”

According to Russell, Manex’s goals for the near future include working more closely with clients in San Francisco, East Bay, Silicon Valley, Sonoma, Solano and Sacramento to help them achieve greater growth and productivity. While Manex continues to focus on manufacturers and food producers, they have evolved to include manufacturing 4.0 elements including automation, IoT and data. Among the new services Manex added to its service portfolio are food science and food safety, finance, leadership training and cybersecurity.

According to a national survey* of center clients, Manex clients independently reported the following impacts after the quarter ending in March 2018:

  • $25 million in new sales
  • $124 million in retained sales
  • 1,261 jobs created and retained
  • $75.6 million in new investment
  • $15.5 million in cost savings

What sets Manex apart is its federal association with the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and its long-standing relationship with the Employment Training Panel (ETP) Program. In 2018, Manex signed its 14th contract with ETP to receive $1 million in ETP funding, which can be used by manufacturing companies toward Manex services and programs to strengthen California businesses and provide a competitive edge.

Manex consultants have 20 to 30 years of experience and work with clients to achieve cost efficiencies and increased profits through programs including leadership training, ISO, lean, food safety compliance, cybersecurity, sales and marketing and strategy planning.

“Manex is committed to strengthening California manufacturing and retaining innovative companies that produce materials our society values,” said Russell. “While some businesses may flee to other states, there are resources and expertise available to our local manufacturers.”

Embracing its role as a leader in the Northern California manufacturing industry, Manex is the presenting sponsor for the AMBayArea Summit 2018. The sold-out event, being held at the Oakland Scottish Rite Center on Thursday, May 24, will feature a keynote speech by Carolyn Lee, Executive Director of the Manufacturing Institute in Washington, D.C. C-level executives from manufacturing companies across the bay, as well as local, state and national partners will convene to discuss timely issues including workforce development, supply chain, robotics and more.

About Manex

The Corporation for Manufacturing Excellence (Manex), a private non-profit corporation, was established in 1995 to provide services to small and mid-size manufacturers in Northern California. Manex operates through a cooperative agreement between the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), under the Department of Commerce. In October of 2016, Manex Consulting signed a Subrecipient Agreement with California Manufacturing Technology Corporation (CMTC) to become a partner in its statewide MEP Network for the Bay Area and Sacramento Regions.For more information about Manex, visit manexconsulting.com.

*Since 1996, NIST MEP has used an independent third-party organization to conduct a national survey of center clients. The survey collects client level data on the business impact of the services provided by their local center. These results allow the NIST MEP to gauge the impact of the MEP network on America’s manufacturers and its economic impact on the national, state, and regional economies. Clients are surveyed two quarters after an initial project is completed.