By Bradford Sherman
South Centers/CFAES
It was an impressive third quarter in client metrics for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership at The Ohio State University South Centers, says Director Aaron Patrick of Ohio MEP.
“I’m happy to report that South Centers showed marked improvement in the area of client metrics for the third quarter of 2021. OSU South Centers was able to score an impressive 7 out of 10 on our latest scorecard, which positively impacts the overall Ohio MEP network,” said Patrick.
The Ohio Department of Development administers the Manufacturing Extension Partnership program on behalf of the National Institute of Standards and Technologies (NIST). Patrick explained that, as part of that cooperative agreement with NIST, MEP programs are graded on 10 metrics each quarter ranging from: Jobs created and retained, New Investments and Cost Savings, as well as New and Retained Sales provided to clients through the delivery of projects.
These metrics are collected by a third-party company through survey results from clients served across the state by the Ohio MEP network. Among the South Centers MEP clients reporting in the quarter included Pittsburgh Glass Works (PGW) and OSCO Industries, which received leadership and sales training, respectively, and Schilling Truss, which benefitted from a financial analysis.
“I would like to thank Ryan Mapes and his MEP team of Mick Whitt and Dawn Coleman for their continued improvement in this area,” Patrick continued. He particularly praised the performance of Coleman, who was responsible for some staggering growth numbers in Southeastern Ohio.
“I would like to single out Dawn Coleman for her high-level performance with client outputs of over $76 million in retained sales, over $14 million in increased sales, and over 750 jobs created or retained. Thank you for your efforts and continued support of the Ohio MEP program.”
The South Centers MEP program is looking ahead to a successful 2022, as the team had added two new members recently in new Growth Advisor Charissa Gardner and Program Coordinator Reid Pope.