from DelDOT

DelDOT would like to invite you to participate in the upcoming Phase 2 Mileage-Based User Fee (MBUF) pilot.

Delaware is the lead state for a pilot project through the I-95 Corridor Coalition to determine the feasibility of replacing the state fuel tax with a mileage-based user fee. The main purpose of the pilot is to provide a better understanding of how a MBUF might work in our region given the potential for out-of-state mileage and toll interoperability challenges. Delaware is recruiting 450 participants.

Participation will include having a plug-in device – with or without location – installed in your vehicle’s on board diagnostic (OBD) port to track mileage (you will be able to choose the method). Mileage and fuel usage will be based on vehicle data obtained from the plug-in device. Location information will be used to differentiate the mileage by the state in which the vehicle was driven, and also provides enhanced driver amenities. A mock monthly “invoice” will be generated to show mileage traveled and what the MBUF would be based on those miles. The entire pilot project will be a simulated mock process and no funds will be involved at any point.  
 
The pilot is scheduled to begin in July and sign-ups are underway now to get participants registered so they can receive their plug-in devices in time. If you’re willing to participate, please use this link to sign-up as a volunteer by June 18: http://eepurl.com/gmHUR5. Please feel free to forward this to family and friends as well. We want to get a diverse cross-section of participants.
 
You can find more information about MBUF at https://www.i95coalitionmbuf.org/. If you have questions about the pilot, please contact Shanté Hastings at [email protected].

Mark Vergnano speaks for Chemours, advocating for UD's STAR Campus. STAR has great potential regarding economic development and is an asset that should be supported.

Remarks by Paul Herdman, President & CEO, Rodel Foundation of Delaware

Good evening everyone. My name is Paul Herdman and I’m the president and CEO of the Rodel Foundation of Delaware. I also serve on the board of directors for The Partnership.

I’m up here tonight to present the John H. Taylor, Jr. Education Leadership Award—named after someone who I knew and respected ever since I came to Delaware—to another longtime friend and mentor, John Hollis.

John Taylor’s wife, Maria, and his son, John, are here with us today and helped us make this choice in partnership with the leadership of the Chamber and the Partnership, Inc board.  In making this decision, we thought hard about the core attributes that John Taylor brought to his work.  Two that stand out to me are, one, a deep and unwavering passion for kids, particularly those most in need, and two, integrity and universal respect from those on the front lines to the leaders of business and government.

As our group began reviewing the amazing candidates for this award, John Hollis fit these attributes to a tee.
 
For those of you in the audience who aren’t familiar with John Hollis’ body of work...
 
In 1974, John was approached by some leaders at the Seaford Dupont nylon plant, which was the world’s first and largest (at the time) nylon plant.
 
The bigwigs at Dupont wanted to tap into a national movement called the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering group, and the folks at the Seaford plant wanted to participate. John at the time was coaching and teaching science for the sons and daughters of the Dupont engineers, who all thought they needed an educator to advise and motivate these students.
 
So from relatively humble beginnings, MERIT was born, essentially as a science club aimed at local African American, Native American, and Latino children. MERIT stood for Minority Educational Regional Incentive Training. Their charge was clear: to help address the wide disparity between a roughly 25-percent local minority population, and the less than 1 percent of whom were matriculating into higher education in science and technical fields. 

Now, John knew from his years as a coach, counselor, and teacher that if we wanted to inspire these children to higher education and beyond, he needed to develop the whole child, not just host them in a science club.

So John got to work utilizing his knowledge in motivational science to morph this science club into a total youth development program, helping countless young people with not only academic chops, but with motivation, goal-setting, time management, and more.

John understood that all students have the potential for greatness. And that sometimes, what they needed most was a picture of what that greatness could look like. Hence the importance of setting goals, and understanding the steps needed to reach those goals. 

He did all this with an unflinching approach to STEM education (back before STEM was the buzzword it is now). MERIT kids were engaging in rigorous instruction met with fun activities that made science and engineering come alive. Stuff like engineering competitions with fighting robots or wind turbine design contests—often in partnerships with local employers. 

John once told us that he thinks about MERIT as a place where the rubber meets the road. In other words, he doesn’t operate in theoreticals, but in action. He preaches family involvement, community activation, mentorship. 

Not that he needs validation, but MERIT’s track record does just that. To date, 370 MERIT alumni have gone on to achieve a college degree, accounting for approximately 97% of its participants. Many return to volunteer, creating a strong alumni base, which has helped shape the evolution of the program. 14 MERIT students have gone onto Ivy League degrees. Around 30 have doctorates. 

In addition to all his work with MERIT, John’s been deeply involved with DelTech, the Delaware Community Foundation, the Western Sussex Boys and Girls Club, and Nemours.  

John has overseen MERIT for 42 years. And he’s done so through a lens of servant leadership and I know his faith has been foundational to how he approaches the work.  Thanks to his guidance, hundreds of young people who needed a leg up have been inspired by his passion for engineering and math, and more. He has given his heart to the community and never asked for acknowledgement. I have every confidence that the namesake of this award, John H. Taylor, would have been honored to give him some of that recognition.

Ladies and gentlemen, it’s my honor to present the John H. Taylor, Jr. Education Leadership Award—to John Hollis!

Contributed by DSCC Member Adesis 

as published by Delaware Business Times

By Roger Morris
Special to Delaware Business Times

Coming off a year when Delaware manufacturing jobs rose by almost one-half percent to about 26,000 workers, jobs growth in 2018 is expected to be similarly modest. According to local manufacturers and those who work in manufacturing-related organizations, three major trends will dominate the sector in the coming year:

Job growth will largely be organic
Most job growth will occur within businesses currently located within the state, with little expectations of immediate major manufacturing relocations to the region.

“One of the challenges we have at the Delaware Manufacturing Association is to reach out to growing companies in the state,” said Neil Nicastro, plant manager at PPG Industries’ Dover facility and a leader in the organization. “We try to get these companies in to discuss the challenges to growth they face, and we have seven sub-groups, such as health, advocacy and energy issues, to help in these areas.”

However, long-term growth may involve the relocation of heavier industries into the region, which was part of the rationale for the state changing some provisions of the Coastal Zone Act, to be more attractive for large manufactures to relocate here. Additionally, there are now recently abandoned locations available between Wilmington and the Pennsylvania border.

“I was very impressed when I recently visited the Navy Ship Yard in Philadelphia, and saw what they were doing,” Nicastro said of the 1,200-acre business campus, which is home to more than 12,000 employees and 152 companies. “I can’t help but think we can do something similar in Delaware.”

Programming and robotics part of training
Most of the jobs and job training will be concentrated on what is called “advance manufacturing” instead of traditional manufacturing skills.

“No employer is using the same machinery they were using 30 years ago,” said Rich Heffron, head of the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce, which means that new workers need to be trained in skills such as computer programming and robotics.

“The challenge is to find trained employees to replace older workers who are retiring,” Nicastro added.
Nicastro also thinks it’s important for young people to change their idea of manufacturing as a “dark and dirty” place, and he even invites parents to accompany their teens during career events at the PPG plant during the annual National Manufacturing Week.

Soft skills just as important
Employers are increasingly demanding that young potential workers be trained in “soft skills” as well as technical skills.

“We did a survey of state manufacturers to ask what job skills they are currently looking for,” said Paul Morris, head of workforce training at Delaware Technical Community College, “and we were surprised that about 90 percent said they needed better ‘soft’ skills, such as being skilled in leadership, teamwork and problem-solving.”

Nicastro added that some newly hired young employees have little understanding of workplace practices, even about work scheduling, being surprised that “they’re going to have to work a 40-hour week. What we really need is for more companies to provide job internships for training.”

Finally, while recent federal cuts in corporate tax rates may spur growth, James Butkiewicz, professor and chair of the Department of Economics at the University of Delaware, warned, “My concern is that the tax plan increases the fiscal deficit. This will appreciate the dollar and worsen our trade deficit, and this could hurt manufacturing and agriculture.”

​http://www.delawarebusinesstimes.com/2018-economic-forecast-manufacturing/

From Delaware Manufacturing Association member, Agilent Technologies

​Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) today announced that it has been selected as 2017 Company of the Year by Instrument Business Outlook (IBO).

IBO is a respected industry newsletter that tracks trends in the laboratory products markets, monitoring hundreds of life science and analytical instrument companies on a daily basis.

Managing Editor Tanya Samazan noted: "Agilent has grown sales since fiscal 2015 while keeping costs constant. The company's fiscal 2017 revenue growth was its fastest since fiscal 2010. Agilent's new investments have also paid off. Changes include an expansion of Agilent's diagnostics business, entry into new markets such as cell analysis and Raman spectroscopy, and additions to successful franchises in NGS sample preparation and LC/MS, among other key product launches."

"We are pleased that IBO has recognized Agilent as their 2017 Company of the Year, citing our impressive growth," said Mike McMullen, Agilent's president and CEO. "Having the right strategy to secure growth is pivotal, but equally crucial is the right team, resolute in their commitment, and with one focus - to provide solutions and services which enable Agilent´s customers to be successful across the all the markets we serve."

The newsletter highlighted Agilent's increased growth in revenues, operating profit, and net income, noting that the gains were the result of a sustained effort to position the company for future growth.

"It is rewarding that an organization with an in-depth knowledge of the industry, such as IBO, recognizes Agilent´s current strategy is the right one resulting in consistent growth," said Patrick Kaltenbach, president of Agilent's Life Sciences and Applied Markets Group. "Growth fueled by our focus on Innovation with Purpose, introducing differentiated solutions to address customer needs, and our strong Operational Excellence in developing, manufacturing and commercialization of our products, all complemented by our recent acquisitions."

IBO is a twice-monthly publication of SDi, a division of BioInformatics LLC, which offers custom market research and consulting, and strategic advisory services. IBO will present the award to Agilent at the annual conference of the Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening (SLAS) in San Diego in early February.

Contributed by Delaware Manufacturing Association member, MDavis

Contributed by Delaware Manufacturing Association member, Edgewell Personal Care

On December 7, Edgewell Personal Care, parent company of leading global personal care brands in the shave, feminine care, sun care, skin care and infant markets, joined colleagues, local officials, community leaders and Walmart representatives to recognize Edgewell’s commitment to local manufacturing and job creation. Edgewell recently completed the consolidation of its North American Feminine Care production at the company’s manufacturing facility in Dover, Del, resulting in 140 new jobs. Additionally, the company celebrated Walmart’s 10-year commitment to buy an additional $250 billion in products supporting American jobs by 2023.
 
“Within all of Edgewell’s manufacturing sites, we know that operating with passion, integrity and respect ultimately provides the best products and experience for our customers and consumers,” said Chris Crowell, vice president, Edgewell global operations. “As we strive to produce products that enhance the well-being of our consumers, it’s equally important that we manufacture these products as close to our customers as possible so we may respond quickly to their needs. This consolidation in Dover is an important step in positioning Edgewell to meet the requirements of our U.S. shoppers.”
 
Based on data from Boston Consulting Group, it’s estimated that one million new U.S. jobs will be created through Walmart’s initiative, including direct manufacturing job growth of approximately 250,000, and indirect job growth of approximately 750,000 in the support and service sectors.
 
“Our customers have told us that second to price, where products are made influences their purchase decisions,” said Cindi Marsiglio, Walmart’s vice president of U.S. manufacturing. “We are focused on buying great quality products that create jobs in communities across the U.S.  It makes sense for our customers, our communities and our company.”
 
For more information about Edgewell Personal Care and its portfolio of leading personal care brands, please visit www.edgewell.com. 

Contributed by Delaware Manufacturing Association member, Speakman Co.