Valley Industrial Association of Illinois

A HUGE congratulations to VIA member MTH Pumps for winning the Illinois Manufacturers' Association Makers Madness Coolest Thing Made in Illinois Contest! MTH Pumps/MTH Tool Company creates the Aerial Firefighting Helicopter Refill Pump that helped combat wildfires in California. The pumps reduce the refill time for helicopters fighting fires, allowing for more water to be distributed faster. MTH Pumps/MTH Tool Company was awarded the title by JB Pritzker today. Congratulations to MTH on winning this prestigious award from amongst more than 250 entries, and thank you to IMA for hosting an excellent contest that captures the spirit of innovation that is so vibrant in Illinois.

Go team! On Monday, the VIA/Greater Chicago Advanced Manufacturing Partnership team got busy planning our next quarter at our EOS meeting. Thanks Sean McDermott, TrellisWorks for helping set us on the right path! 🛣️ Lots of exciting things in the works... make sure to keep an eye on the event calendar to take part in the action: https://lnkd.in/gPA-yMG2

🌟 Don't miss out! GCAMP's Manufacturing Breakfast at the College of DuPage is TOMORROW! 🎉 Get ready to join us on Tuesday morning, 4/8, to discover the exciting highlights of COD's program. 🔗 Registration Required: https://lnkd.in/gD-v-3tQ College of DuPage serves students from the towns of Addison, Bloomingdale, Carol Stream, Downers Grove, Elmhurst, Glendale Heights, Glen Ellyn, Itasca, Lisle, Lombard, Naperville, Oak Brook, Warrenville, West Chicago, and Wheaton. If your company is located near any of these towns, we encourage you to come, as these students may very well end up being your next workers! ⚙️ See you there!

Did you read about the Mostardi Platt factory tour recap in the latest edition of the Ezine? Checkout the article by K+L Storytellers on page 45: https://lnkd.in/gJvNiViK VIA loves partnering with member organizations who generously open their doors for tours for our members. It's a great way for our community to continue networking and learning from one another! #factorytours #viaeffect

💥 Official Announcement! 💥 To stay ahead of the curve, we are rebranding as the VAI - Valley Artificial Intelligence. From now on: 🎯 All Member 411s will be hosted by chatbots. 🤖 🎯 Our VIA Golf Outing? ⛳ Fully Automated! Your swing 🏌 will be analyzed by sensors and scored by an algorithm. 🎯 Instead of Hugs... you will receive a firmware update 💻 HAHA. Just kidding! We are still the Valley Industrial Association of Illinois - powered by people, not processors! Happy April Fool's Day - from your very human VIA Team! #AprilFools #VAI #HugsNotFirmware

VIA was excited to offer OSHA 10 Hour Training on Thursday & Friday. Not only did participants earn an OSHA 10 card after the training, but they focused on best practices to recognize, avoid, and mitigate hazards in the workplace. Thanks to Jeffrey Bowers American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP) and Tom Fitzgerald of Safety Fitz LLC for leading the training! Checkout our calendar for more events coming up soon: https://lnkd.in/gPA-yMG2 #safety #osha #manufacturing

A little late, but the luck of the Irish was still with us! 🍀 Our belated St. Patrick's Day celebration was worth the wait—green drinks, good vibes, and great company. Attendees learned more about VIA & Greater Chicago Advanced Manufacturing Partnership's offerings, heard about upcoming events, recapped the Spark Awards, ✨ and kept the holiday festivities going! Hope to see you at another event soon 💚 https://lnkd.in/gPA-yMG2

How is AI changing the manufacturing landscape? Find out in an article by K+L Storytellers, highlighted on page 32 in the most recent edition of VIA's Ezine, The Voice: https://lnkd.in/gJZsS_gp #manufacturing #AI

Missing Spark? So are we! 🌟 Head to page 8 in The Voice to relive the night through an article by K+L Storytellers , more pictures, and exclusive Spark content: https://lnkd.in/g6EEwmmM The good news is that while the event may only be once a year, continuous improvement and community building are year-round endeavors at the VIA 🙂 Join us at an event soon to keep learning and growing with the VIA/Greater Chicago Advanced Manufacturing Partnership network! https://lnkd.in/gPA-yMG2 #viasparkawards #viaspark #sparkawards #benchmarking #excellence #manufacturing #innovation #workforcedevelopment #safety #culture #socialresponsibility #opex

Still feeling lucky? 🍀 Join us for a belated St. Patrick's Day Member 411 this Thursday! Networking, updates, drinks, and shenanigans included. 🌈 Register here: https://lnkd.in/gt9bYQsD