Elk County Powdered Metal (ECPM) in Ridgway, PA recently participated in the COVID-19 Recovery Program (CRP). ECPM President, Paul Stilwell, noted that the process was made very simple for busy manufacturers by pulling out details about the company and providing recommendations that are ready to implement. "The SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) was particularly helpful because a SWOT is part of our ISO 9001 certification. It was great to have this updated for the end of the year." He added that the resulting tactical action plan (TAP) gave the ECPM team a very clear direction for moving forward in the future. Stilwell said that prior to the assessment, he typically didn't pay much attention to the services available in the region for companies like his. "Others aren't aware or don't understand the value of working with organizations such as NWIRC, SEWN, and PennTAP. If another manufacturer asks me about CRP, I will tell them to pay attention, there's a lot of help out there and a lot going on. The program was a godsend for ECPM," he said.
(Originally published in IRC Manufacturers Insight)