MMEC Staff Earn Top Awards for Service & Outreach

Two Montana Manufacturing Extension Center Field Engineers recently received awards for excellence in service and outreach for their commitment to Montana manufacturers and manufacturing across the U.S.

Mark Shyne, MMEC Field Engineer from Bozeman, received an Excellence in Service and Outreach Award from the Montana State University College of Engineering (COE) during the annual COE awards ceremony and luncheon in May.

He was recognized for his contributions to a National Institute of Health (NIH) pilot project with a Gallatin Valley pharmaceutical research company to better understand the manufacturing issues small companies face as they commercialize products. The project findings are being used to help NIH better leverage its efforts with its Small Business Innovative Research, Phase II, recipients across the U.S.

The award also recognized Shyne's mentoring efforts with industrial engineering graduate students and interns in the University Technical Assistance Program in the COE as well as positive impacts that make a tangible difference to the manufacturing community and economy.

Todd Daniels, MMEC Field Engineer from Helena, was honored at the recent NIST Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) annual conference in Orlando as one of three MEP Practitioners of the Year.

Daniels earned the award for his unrelenting commitment to rolling out and improving MEP business growth services that stimulate the economy while sticking to the mission of simple and effective technologies, techniques and practices for small to mid-sized manufacturers.

The MEP has nearly 1,600 practitioners in business and manufacturing that provide direct assistance to customers throughout the U.S. with an array of services that focus on growth, productivity, and efficiency. Montana is one of 59 MEP affiliate centers in 393 locations in every state and in Puerto Rico.

Daniels was also recognized in a recent Business Week article entitled "How to Build Trust in Your Business" in which business growth expert Doug Hall discusses a video clip put together by the MMEC Field Engineer. Hall said the video is an excellent example of how companies can sell customers on the dramatic difference of their products and services using testimonials.

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