New Manufacturing Center Launches Amid Industry ‘Revolution’
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowA new center focusing on training leaders for one of Indiana’s biggest economic sectors has been launched at the Kelley School of Business at IUPUI. The Center for Excellence in Manufacturing will work with undergraduate and Evening MBA students and provide field research through partnerships with Indiana companies. It is supported through a $1 million gift from Illinois-based Tenneco Inc. Executive Chairman Gregg Sherrill, a 1991 Kelley graduate, and his wife Sabine. In a Studio(i) interview, Director Mark Frohlich said the center will "get in front of the action" as industry continues to evolve.
"The Information Age in the ’80s. Then you saw the Internet and e-commerce. The rise of global markets and global supply chains. The rise of the service economy. And this is literally the fifth revolution that I’ve seen in my lifetime," Frohlich said talking about the current state of the economy. He added Indiana’s manufacturing prowess and the presence of thousands of manufacturing businesses within driving distance of the center positions it in a unique place to research and train for the ongoing "revolution."
The center, he says, will serve as a resource for companies throughout Indiana and beyond and a manufacturing pipeline for mid-career executives looking to skill-up with changing technologies.