February 2020

We are always happy to receive guests in our Geotech offices. One of our all-time favorite VIP visitors is Dr. Walt Copan who stopped by earlier this month to chat with our CEO Tom Bugnitz and our Board Chair Mickele Bragg. As the Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology, Dr. Copan is our boss and he's also a dear friend. He also happens to be a lover of the arts, so it only seemed natural to get a photo in front of our wall of paint-and-sip masterpieces!
In this issue:

Upcoming Events
tailwindA Gale Force of Innovation Thrusts
Tailwind Nutrition to the Front of the Pack
A Manufacturer's Edge Success Story
" We really haven't changed much since our first year. We still make the product ourselves right here in our community, write the notes and personalize every bag that goes out the door to our customers, and believe in the power of our community to do incredible things."
 
- Jeff Vierling, Founder, Tailwind Nutrition
Most companies have an interesting origin story-the "a-ha! moment", the twists and turns, the ups and downs, the series of big wins and small missteps that eventually lead them to a successful, rewarding, and sustainable business. Few companies, however, have as interesting a story as Tailwind. Moments after finishing the renowned Leadville 100 ultra-endurance race, Tailwind founder Jeff Vierling had his "a-ha! moment". Unfortunately for Jeff, it involved his body expelling everything he had eaten before the race into a trashcan at the finish line. Even more unfortunately, the entire thing was caught on tape, posted on YouTube, and made Jeff a bit of a minor celebrity.
 
As it turns out, endurance athletes have long struggled to find a way to provide their bodies with enough sustenance to get them through the race without turning into a brick in their stomachs. Armed with years of endurance training, a wonderful community of athletes willing to act as guinea pigs, a curious and self-proclaimed "geeky" nature, and a familiarity with medical nutrition terminology thanks to being raised by physicians, Jeff set out to develop a delicious supplement that allows people to run at peak performance without wreaking havoc on their digestive systems.
 
After many months of research and experimentation, Jeff and his wife Jenny started offering samples of their powder to other athletes and then fine-tuning the product based on feedback. Did they taste good? Did they provide a consistent level of energy to complete the race? Were they easy on the stomach? Eventually, they landed on a line of products and developed a steady demand. Jeff and Jenny were bagging the powders in their kitchen and handwriting the labels. They would even add thank you notes and words of encouragement to help their customers prepare for the feats ahead. In return, the customers and the community around them were giving back as well by sharing their stories, accomplishments, and helping to spread the word about the Tailwind brand that was allowing them to achieve goals that had previously been unattainable. (...) 
TAILWIND NUTRITION RESULTS:
 
Increased Sales: $100,000
 
Cost Savings: $50,000
 
Increased Investments: $70,000
tech

Techstars Startup Week West Slope is a free, multi-day, "choose your own adventure" meeting of the entrepreneurial minds and celebration of the #WestSlopeBestSlope way of doing business.

Be sure to visit their website for more information and to submit your ideas for possible session offerings.
cesColorado Companies Gamble on CES 2020
By Karen Gerwitz, President & CEO, World Trade Center Denver
Karen Gerwitz, President & CEO,
World Trade Center Denver
The World Trade Center Denver was proud to partner with the Colorado Technology Association to lead a delegation of 15 participants, including Mayor Hancock, to see 25 other Colorado companies exhibiting at one of Las Vegas' largest trade shows, the Consumer Electronics Show.  With 175,000 participants in attendance, spread over 5 venues, I can attest to the overwhelming size of this show.  I logged 25,000 steps per day and still didn't see everything after 5 days!

If Colorado manufacturers have not taken the opportunity to see CES, I think you will be inspired by the innovations you will experience.  Flying Ubers are only 10 years out, according to Hyundai.  Google Translate was blown out of the water by a Chinese company, where  I witnessed flawless and instantaneous interpretation between Mandarin and Hungarian, using only a Bluetooth earbud device.  Visiting John Deere's booth with the biggest tractor I've ever seen, I was most pleasantly surprised by their transparency of data that help our farmers make better decisions on their crops.

The Colorado companies exhibiting this year included:  Altia, CableLabs, Calyton InterGalactic, Dish Network, Eksa, EM Microelectronic - US, Epilog Laser, Furniture for Life, Glow Labs, HeartHero, Innovators Network, LiDAR, LEOMO, Misty Robotics, Occipital, Peak Audio, PopSockets, Public Safety Communications Research, Serenity App, Sphero, Sphix, SpotX, Televes USA, The Last Gameboard, and Trova. (...)

simplycyberSimply Cyber (vol 24):  
Cultivating Cybersecurity Resiliency for Defense Contractors
 
Jennifer Kurtz, Cyber Program Director, Manufacturer's Edge 
Manufacturers understand the importance of resiliency: reliable equipment that is well maintained, dependable employees who show up and perform as expected, timely suppliers that deliver material according to specifications. These conditions promote resiliency, "the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness . . . the ability to spring back into shape." But these conditions are not automatic. They are planned and cultivated-that ounce (or two) of prevention and planning that can reduce the risk of adverse surprises, an important piece of equipment being unavailable or a key employee being out with the flu.
 
Cybersecurity Resiliency
Cybersecurity resiliency works the same way. It's about managing the risk that is predictable, controlling the risk that is probable, and recovering from the risk that is inevitable. And this is the core of what the Department of Defense (DoD) is looking to achieve through supply chain compliance with DFARS 252.204.7012. Being fully compliant with the 7012 clause means that suppliers can assure the DoD that they will be able to perform as expected in a timely way without business or production outages.
 
DFARS 252.204.7012 Compliance
The fundamental requirements for compliance with this DFARS clause are meeting the 110 NIST SP 800-171 security objectives and the clause Sections c through m. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) objectives include articulation of a system security plan (SSP) that contains a plan of action and milestones (POA&M), which is an analysis of current security control gaps with an explanation of how and when those gaps will be addressed. Many of these gaps can be controlled through policy, training, process, and configuration adjustments, rather than significant investment in new technology.
 
Sections c through m of the DFARS clause address incident response, recovery, and reporting practices that are not addressed as fully in NIST SP 800-171. They represent that additional assurance about contractor resiliency and consistent communication should something unexpected happen so that the business impact to the contractor and to DoD and its supply chain are minimized.
 
April 21 Workshop (No Fee)
The DoD chose Denver as one of 23 cities in the US to stand up an all-day workshop on cybersecurity resiliency and DFARS 7012 compliance. The target audience is manufacturers and others that currently hold DoD contracts-or anticipate DoD contracts in the near future. The program will be highly interactive with group exercises on manufacturing-focused use case scenarios and next steps:
  • How to prioritize the POA&M to align with DoD's security level assessment methodology (and maximize your score)
  • How to construct your audit preparation materials (including SSP and other security binder material)
  • How to prepare for a security compromise (develop, communicate, and practice an incident response and recovery plan)
This free workshop will be held on April 21 at the University Club of Denver (1673 Sherman Street) from 9:00 to 5:00. Lunch will be included. There will be a post-workshop gathering (with a cash bar). The room limit is 120 participants.
 
 
camaThe CAMA Conversation
by Dave Jeffrey, Chair of the Colorado Advanced Manufacturing Association
 
Dave Jeffrey, CEO & Owner, JPM Prototype & Mfg, Inc. 
Mike Rowe from Dirty Jobs once said, "I think a trillion dollars of student loans and a massive skills gap are precisely what happens to a society that actively promotes one form of education as the best course for the most people. I believe that the stigmas and stereotypes that keep so many people from pursuing a truly useful skill begin with the mistaken belief that a four-year degree is somehow superior to all other forms of learning."
 
What an insightful statement.
 
As I follow the statistics that show we will have somewhere between 600,000 and 2.4 million unfilled manufacturing jobs over the next 10 years, I have to ask, "what are we doing to find creative ways to bridge those gaps"? I think bridging those gaps will take both forward-thinking industry partners who see the need and the very shops and factories needing the skilled labor. Together, we need to change the stigma that manufacturing is the same as grandpa's dangerous factory.
 
We can choose to be an island and let the future take care of itself, or we can choose to do something about it, to work with our industry partners, our schools, our workforce centers, and others to make a difference.
 
Let's find ways in which we can work together to bridge the gap and make manufacturing even greater in our state and in our country.
events Upcoming Events
Visit our website for a complete calendar of
manufacturing events taking place around Colorado
 
Aerospace Day at the Colorado State Capitol
March 10 @ 8am-6:30pm
Colorado State Capitol
 
Enjoy a full day of networking and dialogue with our Colorado Legislators discussing how Colorado became one of the largest space economies per capita in our nation and how they can effectively support aerospace in our state.
 
Find out more
Webinar: What Every Manufacturing CEO Needs To Know About Marketing   
March 17 @ 12-1pm
Online  
 
In this 45-minute webinar, we will examine the six most critical tenets you need to know to market your manufacturing business effectively. Understand them, and you will be able to make better marketing decisions that will save you time and money.
 
Find out more

Women in 3D Printing March Meetup
March 19 @ 3-5pm
Colorado State Capitol
 
Join the Colorado Chapters of Women in 3D Printing and Women in Manufacturing for an afternoon happy hour at The Advance Longmont Center. This networking opportunity will allow attendees to meet and mingle with the brightest minds in 3D Printing and Advanced Manufacturing.
 
 

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