Below are select stories from Montana companies that have partnered with the Montana Manufacturing Center on the road to success.   Let MMEC help you on your journey into continuous improvement. 
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About this photo: President Barack Obama shares the stage with two robotic vehicles, one manufactured in Montana, during his remarks in late June at Carnegie Mellon University's National Robotics Engineering Center in Pittsburgh. The Land Tamer 6x6 platform shown on the right was roboticized at the lab several years ago to test its possibilities as a radio-controlled, unmanned unit. AP/Gene J. Puskar photo
More on PFM and the Land Tamer below:

Montana's PFM & Land Tamer to New Pinnacle of Growth
www.landtamer.com
PFM Manufacturing Inc. climbed to a new pinnacle of growth and innovation in April with the opening of a new 11,600 sq. ft. production facility and offices five miles north of Townsend. The Montana Manufacturing Extension Center (MMEC) is working with PFM on refinements to the plant layout before final walls go up in the production area... MORE

Innovation Meets Standardization: Neuralynx Pursuing the Medical Device Market
www.neuralynx.com
3-2011--Neuralynx, a high tech firm in Bozeman, is on a journey to becoming a medical device manufacturer where its signature products may provide information that will lead to effective future treatments for debilitating ailments. Assistance from the Montana Manufacturing Extension Center (MMEC) has helped the company achieve the quality system and certification for medical devices needed as the foundation to comply with U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), CE Medical Device Directive Mark and other regulatory requirements for safety. These requirements must be met to sell its products into the medical device market here and abroad. Neuralynx manufactures...MORE

Northwest Factory Finishes Applies Center Expertise for Bold Growth Move
www.NWFF.com

Fall 2010 -- Conveyors are moving product once again inside the plywood plant at Bonner, Mont. where the historic Stimson Lumber Co. closed one of its millsites more than two years ago. This time, instead of plywood, the products are freshly painted LP Smart Side®, a Louisiana Pacific building product, and Certainteed® fiber cement siding. Conveyors move these products into large drying ovens as they are readied for shipment to customers by the new tenant, Northwest Factory Finishes (NWFF), a division of Missoula-based Northwest Paint, Inc. MORE

Granrud's Lefse Shack
www.lefseshack.com
The Granrud's Lefse Shack has been an important business in the northeastern Montana community of Opheim since its start in 1977. The company manufactures lefse, Norwegian potato bread similar in appearance to a tortilla and a favorite treat when served with butter and sugar. Today, the product is growing in popularity as a wrap as well. It is sold in all 50 states.

The operation is ideal for a rural farm and ranch community. The plant opens at the end of the harvest season, runs four-day, nine-hour shifts and finishes up operations just when spring planting, branding and home gardens need attention starting in mid-April.

A shortage of available workers in Opheim (population est. 85) for the labor-intensive business is the result of a declining population, a phenomenon that is occurring in communities all across the rural West. Granrud's current owners Twyla Anderson and Alice Redfield are trying creative solutions to overcome this shortage and grow the business including seeking assistance from MMEC...MORE