Recap of the 2020 Catalyst Connection Annual Manufacturing Reception

Catalyst Connection, which has been helping regional manufacturers grow their businesses for over 30 years, celebrated the Annual Manufacturing Reception and What’s So Cool About Manufacturing Video Contest at its annual meeting last Thursday, February 20th. The program focused on Powering the Potential of Manufacturing and the importance of technology within the manufacturing industry – or Industry 4.0. The event, held at Nova Place, attracted more than 550 people, including manufacturers, industry leaders, students, teachers and parents.

Our Keynote Speaker for the event was Tony Uphoff, President and CEO of Thomas, the parent company of Thomasnet.com: the leading platform for product sourcing and supplier selection for the Industrial and Manufacturing markets. Tony engaged the crowd and provided information on the new “modern” manufacturing, making mention of the various opportunities that students might be able to take part in to fill the skills gap, as well as opportunities for manufacturers to get involved.

For the video contest, 17 manufacturing companies were paired with 17 Pittsburgh-area middle schools who were encouraged to interview employees and go behind the scenes to learn about the manufacturing industry. Each team submitted its video to Catalyst, and voting took place on https://www.whatssocool.org/. The contest yielded more than 43,000 votes over a five-day period.

Companies and school districts who participated in the contest included: Aero Tech Designs with Moon, AeroTech with Burrell, All-Clad Metalcrafters with South Fayette, Auma Actuators with Canon-McMillan, Cleaveland/Price with Elizabeth Forward, DMI Companies with Baldwin, Giffin Interiors with Peters Township, Intervala with Norwin, Kurt J. Lesker with Clairton, MECCO Marking and Traceability with Northgate, Natrona Bottling with Manchester Charter, Plaztuff USA with Montour, Premier Automation with Franklin Regional, RE2 Robotics with Pittsburgh Public Langley, Schroeder Industries with Mars, Seegrid Corporation with Mt. Lebanon, Stellar Precision Components with Norwin

Award Winners included: 

Best Overall Video
Franklin Regional with Premier Automation

Bonus Video
Peters Township with Giffin Interiors

Best Manufacturing Message
1^st – Mars with Schroeder Industries
2^nd – Franklin Regional with Premier Automation

Best Rookie Team
Manchester Charter with Natrona Bottling Company

Exceptional Videography
1^st – Norwin with Intervala
2^nd – Manchester Charter with Natrona Bottling Company

Most Creative
1^st – Burrell with Aerotech
2^nd – Franklin Regional with Premier Automation

Promotion Award
Elizabeth Forward with Cleaveland/Price

Viewers’ Choice Award
1^st – Elizabeth Forward with Cleaveland/Price
2^nd – Peters Township with Giffin Interiors