About Manufacturing Solutions

Our Mission: To Grow and Strengthen Capital Region Manufacturing and Technology Companies

Our Vision: To be known as a Trusted Advisor, and be widely recognized as a resource of choice for Capital Region manufacturers.

Our Core Values:

Manufacturing Solutions, powered by CEG, upholds the values of trust, collaboration, respect, resourcefulness and continuous learning in every interaction with our colleagues, clients and partners in the Capital Region manufacturing community.

As a designated Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) center, Manufacturing Solutions is connected to a national network of manufacturing experts through NIST MEP. We’re one of 11 centers in New York State under the New York MEP.

Your success is our success.

As a non-profit 501©3 consulting and training organization, our focus is on achieving success for our manufacturing clients, rather than pursuing profits. We offer free consultation to help you identify the most impactful areas for your business improvement efforts – and work with you to understand your current and future challenges and opportunities. Grant funding is often available to help offset consulting and training costs.

Senior Vice President, Manufacturing Solutions and Center Director for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP)

Don Wiesenforth

518.431.1481 · donw@ceg.org

Don is a seasoned leader with nearly 30 years of diverse professional experience including as owner and president of a local manufacturing company, founder and partner of an exhibition management company, leading a lean transformation in healthcare, as well as a strategic business advisor to manufacturing and technology companies.

Throughout his career, Don has been successful using the servant leader mindset to drive staff engagement, operations excellence, and change management. Don is a certified TWI (Training within Industry) Job Instruction, Job Relations and Job Method Improvement Instructor, a certified Innovation Engineering blackbelt through the NIST Manufacturing Extension Partnership, and a highly experienced lean leader/practitioner. Don holds a Master of Business Administration from the State University of New York at Albany and a Bachelor of Science from Bentley College with a major in Marketing Management.

Vice President of Business Development

Carlos Flores

518.431.1483 · Carlosf@ceg.org

Carlos Flores is Vice President of Business Development for Manufacturing Solutions. Carlos began his career at General Electric in their Plastics division as a Customer Service Manager and got involved in value creation initiatives, system/process improvements, talent development and training. After a couple of years collaborating at the Customer Service Center in Pittsfield, MA, he joined the commercial force holding positions of increasing responsibility supporting a multitude of customers across industrial applications and manufacturing processes. Carlos was promoted to the newly created GE Water & Process Technologies as District Sales Manager and Regional Sales Manager; he drove the commercial efforts and go-to-market strategy for the equipment solutions team in Mexico. He obtained his first P&L role as the Country Manager for GE Advanced Materials-Silicones (now Momentive Performance Materials) where he was tasked with developing the local infrastructure to serve the customer base after the spun off. Following GE Advanced -Materials Silicones, Carlos joined Davis-Standard LLC, as Vice President of Global Marketing where he led the marketing strategy driving transformational efforts to position the company as a multinational player. He was recruited by Cyanco International, a leader in re-agents and technologies for the precious metals mining industry as VP of Latam & VP of Sales & Marketing for the Solids BU, to define and implement the growth strategy. He holds a Diploma in Executive Top Management from IPADE Business School and a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from Skidmore College, a Six Sigma Green Belt Certification and has completed the Six Sigma Black Belt Train the Trainers course, and 20 additional leadership, technical and development seminars.

Project Director

Tom Bell

518.431.1484 · tomb@ceg.org

Tom serves as Project Director for Manufacturing Solutions. After completing studies in mechanical engineering technology, Tom began his manufacturing career in 1973 at the Watervliet Arsenal. Over the following twenty-six-year period, he served in various technical and management positions at the arsenal including leading the production planning, quality, and design business units. He also applied five years in the aerospace composite structures industry as the manager of manufacturing support and continuous improvement at Vermont Composites Inc. in Bennington, VT. Since joining the CEG, Tom has focused on the advancement of small to mid-size Capital Region manufacturing companies in conjunction with the National Institute of Standards and Technology Manufacturing Extension Partnership, workforce training, and process optimization resources and initiatives.

Manager, Grants & Contracts

Lucy Totino

518.431.1485 · lucyt@ceg.org

Lucy Totino serves as the Grants and Contracts Manager for the Manufacturing Solutions team, where she is responsible for overseeing financial and qualitative reporting to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and NYSTAR on behalf of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership. Lucy manages CEG’s grant program services for Federal, State and Private Awards. She supervises across the lifecycle of the grant; processing applications, ensuring compliance and reporting guidelines are met while coordinating successful completion project deliverables for Capital Region-based manufacturing companies.

Program Manager

Ellyn Davis

518.431.1489 · ellynd@ceg.org

Ellyn Davis has been with the Center for Economic Growth (CEG) since 2015, where she has consistently championed entrepreneurship and regional manufacturing. With a strong passion for community engagement and small business development, Ellyn has worked closely with entrepreneurs to connect them with vital resources and support networks to help launch and grow their businesses.

In addition to her work with startups, Ellyn has managed a wide range of events centered around innovation, entrepreneurship, and manufacturing. She currently serves as the Contest Manager for the “What’s So Cool About Manufacturing®” program, an initiative that introduces middle school students to careers in advanced manufacturing through student-driven video storytelling.

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Maufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) National Network

The MEP National Network™ is a unique public-private partnership that delivers comprehensive, proven solutions to U.S. manufacturers, fueling growth and advancing U.S. manufacturing.

The Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) is part of the Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The MEP National Network is comprised of 51 MEP Centers located in all 50 states and Puerto Rico, with over 1,450 trusted advisors and experts at approximately 430 MEP service locations, providing any U.S. manufacturer with access to resources they need to succeed.

About MEP

Our Funding Partners

Advisory Board

Kenneth Colloton
Principal Consultant
Joel Dzekciorius
CEO, Centrotherm
Christine McLear
Workforce Development Lead, GlobalFoundries
Matt Grattan
Director of Community & Workforce Development, Plug Power
Eileen Guarino
Owner & COO, Greno Industries
Eric LaCoppola
President, EONE
Scott Rajeski
President & CEO, Latham Pool Group
Nick Viggiani
AVP RPI Partners, Office of Strategic Alliances and Translation, RPI
Amanda Vitullo
Senior Economic Developer, National Grid