“Manufacturing remains strong in Siouxland, while manufacturing has dwindled other places,” said Debi Durham, Siouxland Chamber of Commerce president. “At the request of our industrial leaders, we have formed the Siouxland Industrial Roundtable with the help of Iowa State University Extension. It demonstrates the desire these leaders have to reinvest in their companies.”
The Siouxland Industrial Roundtable is driven by local industry, staffed by the Siouxland Chamber of Commerce and facilitated by ISU Extension personnel who connect the group with valuable resources. Bob Jacobsen, of Missouri Valley Steel-Sioux City, is one of the manufacturers guiding the effort.
“We are bringing industrial leaders together to share non-proprietary ideas and enter into conversations about common needs, issues and ideas through the Industrial Roundtable,” Jacobsen said. “We want to create an atmosphere for networking and provide informative sessions.”
The Roundtable hosted its first major educational event in April 2006, when Jorge Larco introduced Lean Enterprise concepts to the group. Larco, an international Lean consultant working with a local manufacturer, presented the type of information that Jacobsen believes local industry leaders want.
“We discovered threads of common interest by surveying local industry to see what issues the roundtable should cover at meetings,” Jacobsen said. “We have like concerns and issues, whether we are competitors, customers or suppliers, or neighbors. We can learn from each other’s experiences — find out what has worked or not worked for others and how to apply that information to our own businesses.”
Jack Bernstein, of State Steel Supply, attended the first roundtable and plans to remain involved. “This is a great way to enhance and promote Siouxland as the manufacturing center that it is,” Bernstein said.
Siouxland includes Woodbury County, Iowa; Dakota and Dixon counties in Nebraska; and Union County, South Dakota. Over the past 10 years, non-farm employment in the area has grown by more than 40 percent, while the population in this tri-state area grew by 8.9 percent.
“Industry recognizes that being competitive in today’s global business environment means continually learning,” said Merle Pochop, ISU Extension’s Center for Industrial Research and Service (CIRAS) field specialist in Sioux City.
“CIRAS works to enhance the performance of Iowa industry through educational and technology-based services,” Pochop said. “The networking and discussions provided by the roundtable are a venue for Extension to offer those resources to all industry, regardless of individual focus. And it is industry’s tremendous support promoting and encouraging participation that makes this all work.”