....Thrive in the Global Economy

Acting on a request from leading technology companies in Marion, Polk and Yamhill counties, the Enterprise facilitated the creation of the Mid-Willamette High Performance Consortium (MWHPC) to create a learning environment for skilled workers. The Enterprise has secured a $25,000 grant to facilitate consortium projects, and has invested almost $755,000 through EWTF and Gateway grant funding to support the implementation of lean manufacturing in the region.

The MWHPC Mission
The mission of the MWHPC is to ensure all Mid-Willamette manufacturers are high performing, profitable, and thriving in the global  economy.       

Objectives:    

• • Provide a forum for collaboration and learning among members  
• • Provide resources to companies for training and growth  
• • Help members set continuous improvement benchmarks and provide guidance
  • Share information through a growing network of members    

• • Increase the capacity of companies currently involved in high performance activities    
• • Increase the number of companies actively using high performance strategies

Sustainability Plan

Consortium Structure and Representation
Consortium leadership is comprised of at least three industry company representatives that form the steering committee.  Steering committee involvement is voluntary and a representative may choose to stop steering committee participation if the commitment becomes too much.  The steering committee meets monthly and may make administrative decisions to keep the consortium focused and moving forward. 

Industry Member Responsibilities
Industry membership is focused toward any manufacturers and in the Mid-Willamette Valley interested in supporting our mission and goals.  Member companies who agree to the following requirements will be included in all grant-funded activities, trainings, projects, programs, and consortium publicity and recruitment.  There will be a document signed by a representative of member companies, and kept on file.   The agreement states that member companies will: 

• • Have a representative present at the majority of quarterly membership meetings
• • Give prior notice to the facilitator if a representative cannot attend a meeting
• • Participate in annual needs assessments surveys and respond to requests for information
• • Participate by attending trainings, events, tours, special projects, career fairs, outreach programs; and offering space or staff resources to host meetings, tours, and events if possible.

Companies that regularly participate in these ways may be given priority in MWHPC-sponsored events when space is limited.

Funding
When possible, the consortium will actively pursue grant funding for current workforce training, workforce recruitment, membership retention, capacity building, and outreach.  Although membership dues are not charged at this time, members may be charged an annual fee or usage fee if additional funds are needed to support training, projects or events.  It is possible that some MWHPC-sponsored events will have an associated fee to attend or participate.

Associate Membership
Non-industry organizations may be considered associate members or partners of the consortium. These associate members will be approved by vote of the consortium industry membership.   Associate members may give input, but do not have a counted vote on consortium issues.  The numbers of associate memberships will be approved as necessary to keep industry/non-industry balance within the consortium.  Non-member participants such as vendors, public partners or those with resource information may be invited to monthly meetings as needed.  Associate members may participate in MWHPC-funded events as space allows. 

Sustainability and Outreach
Industry and Associate Memberships will be reviewed annually.  Events will be held in a continuous effort to obtain and retain members.  The consortium supports efforts to extend the reach of the consortium to businesses in other regions if it will benefit the manufacturing industry and support the mission of the consortium.

Join Us...
To become an active member of the MWHPC, fill out the membership application below and mail or fax to Karen Litvin, Workforce Program Manager at 503-581-4999 or 250 Church Street SE, Ste. 103; Salem, OR 97301 

 MWHPC Membership Application

Enterprise Contact
For more information regarding meetings, schedules and activities, please see our calendar of events from our homepage or contact:

Karen Litvin, Workforce Program Manager 
O: 503-581-4272
E: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it