It's All About The Kids!!!

11/30/2011

Jack Traver, President and CEO of Traver IDC engages with students.

What a blast I had yesterday!

Keynote Speaker, Harry Moser, founder of Reshoring Initiative

enjoyed Moser's Keynote Address and an informal roundtable discussion during the afternoon. In addition to newspaper coverage of the event in the Republican-American, it was also featured during NBC 30's evening newscast.

It truly was a rewarding day. I'm confident that several students "saw the light" and will consider pursuing a career in the manufacturing sector as a result of the Expo!

Traver IDC recognized as Manufacturer of the Year

01/26/2010

Boy, if Alfred Traver Sr. could see us now! Our founder would sure be proud.

We've often flown under the radar, but not any more.

Now in our 72nd year of operation, we were recently honored and priveledged to be selected as the Manufacturer of the Year at the 12th Annual Harold Webster Smith Awards Celebration of the Waterbury Regional Chamber.

We owe this great honor to the hard work and dedication of all of our employees who do such an outstanding job providing top notch service to our extensive list of long time customers.

Hopefully, we'll be around to continue servicing the industry of CT for another 72 years!

The Wild Ride Is Over

05/19/2009

Boy, did the year fly by. I can't believe it's over. I told everyone at the SMA Annual Meeting last night that this is my 2nd favorite day of my year as President of the SMA.

It was truly a remarkable night. We had over 100 people attend. A central theme of my administration was Collaboration. It was certainly exciting to be joined last night by Ken Dugan - President of NHMA; Lynn Ward - President of the Waterbury Chamber of Commerce; and Eric George and Kia Murrell of CBIA.

It was also a pleasure to introduce Mary Phil Guinan and Randy Collins of M P Guinan Associates to the membership. M P Guinan is our brand new lobbyist that we hired collaboratively with NHMA and METAL to promote our cause in Hartford. In a very short time, they have outlined a great strategic plan and have begun implementing the plan effectively. We have joined them for several very effective meetings in Hartford.

So many other wonderful things happened last night. We welcomed (4) new members to the SMA - Gemco Mfg. Co, MS Design, Peer to Peer Advisors, and Triple Stitch Sportwear. Trade associations gaining new members during these challenging times is unprecedented and a true testament that we are accomplishing our mission of providing resources to help CT's smaller manufacturers thrive.

Can you believe that we had (12) past presidents in attendance last night - Jay Carlson, Rich DuPont, Pat Hayden, George LaCapra, Jr., Rich Laurenzi, Tony Nardella, Mary Pavone, Fred Perugini, Tim Richards, George Strobel Jr., and Richard Strobel. Thanks to you all for helping make the night special.

We swore in our new slate of officers last night. I know they will accell in their new positions. Eric Albert - President; Gerry Mastropietro - Vice - President; and Bill Waseleski - Secretary/Treasurer will all do a bang up job. In addition, Dave Mieczkowski will be a great addition to the board. Tim Richards and Bernie Roselli's term on the board has come to an end. They accomplished great things and will be sorely missed.

After a long 3-1/2 month arduous task, our Executive Search Committee finally chose a capable and competent new Executive Director. It was a pleasure to introduce Karen McWhirt, our new Executive Director to the membership last night after less than 72 hours on the job. She got to speak to us about her goals to help the organization reach new heights. I'm sure she will!!!

A special thanks to Michele Caulfield and Marcia Rodgers for doing a wonderful job helping us pick up the pieces after the untimely passing of Lisa. They worked together over the last several months to carrry out the duties of the Executive Director flawlessly. We owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to them and they will continue to work dillegently to make Karen's transition a smooth one.

In keeping with our objectives regarding School To Career, it was a pleasure honoring Kaynor student Jason Kraft as our student of the month. Jason is a Senior Manufacturing student who has a 90 average in shop and theory. He has just passed the NIMS Material, Measurement, and Safety written test along with completing the practical portion of the NIMS Bench Work and Layout module. We also announced to the membership our results with the Scholarship Program that is progressing nicely thanks to the hard work of Jim Basta.

Last but certainly not least, we were honored to have Jim Vicevich, (6) time Emmy nominated host of the popular radion talk show "Sound Off Connecticut" as our guest speaker. He rocked the house and was honored to receive the SMA gift, a Palm Guitar manufactured by our own Tim Richards. The placque on the guitar was made by H&T - Waterbury on a CNC machine and gold plated by Donham Craft. Thanks to Tim, Ron, and Pat for making Jim's night extra special.

What a helluva nightcap to a wild year! 

Hitting The Little White Ball Across The Pond

07/06/2008

My son Brandon and I just got back from one unbelievable trip!!! He was lucky enough to be chosen on a Hilton Head all - star junior golf team of 8 golfers that were invited to compete in a "Ryder Cup" format event against 8 junior golfers from Dornoch, Scotland. It was the 3rd annual Morcott Cup Challenge.

For the 1st time, the Scottish boys squeeked out a very close victory. The venue rotates back and forth each year between Dornoch and Hilton Head. The next event will begin April 1, 2009 in Hilton Head. The golfers competed at the prestigious Royal Dornoch Golf Club as well as Andrew Carnegie's Skibo Castle (where Madonna was married). Royal Dornoch is the 13th most prestigious golf course in the world. The British Open would definitely be here except it's so remote - way up on the North Sea.

I even got to sneak out on both courses and "hack and wack" the little ball around. Nothing like links golf to make a lousy golfer like myself even more humble. The courses may never be the same.

Another highlight of the trip - our lives passed before our eyes as I drove 80MPH on the wrong side of the road with the steering wheel on the wrong side of the car following a crazy Swiss dad (father of one of the other junior golfers) from Edinbergh to Dornoch for several hours - white knuckles the whole way. Thanks Ernst.

The scenery was spectacular, the village of Dornoch so quaint. It was such a treat to get away for a week with my son. And yes, we did get down to St Andrews in the rain. If you ever get the opportunity to go to Scotland and especially Northern Scotland, jump on it.

The Start of A WILD Ride as SMA President!

06/06/2008

Hi All,  

Two weeks into my SMA Presidency, I find my calendar already full of upcoming SMA related events and meetings to attend. Here is just a sample of the SMA related things that are on my calendar in the coming months.

This week was the School to Career Manufacturers Symposium in Hartford. What an outstanding event bringing more than 3,000 students through the exhibit.

Next week, Wednesday evening, I will gladly represent the SMA at W. F. Kaynor Technical High School's Senior Night where we will continue our tradition of providing Machinery Handbooks to 8 graduating seniors. On Thursday night, I look forward to attending the New Haven Manufacturers Association Annual Meeting. Friday morning, I will attend the Advanced Manufacturing Technology Training Program's Governing Board meeting where the Governing Board will conduct the Program's annual review of the program, the facility and safety percautions.

Coming up on June 26th, is the SMA Summer Picnic. I encourage all of our members to consider attending this event as it is coordinated for SMA member companies and their employees to enjoy a night of fun, food and activity.

I'm currently working on the details to solidify a July Board of Directors Retreat where we will take a closer look at the Association's Mission Statement and consider updating our Strategic Planning initiatives.

During this summer, I will also be serving on the Golf Outing Committee in an effort to produce a great outing on Tuesday, August 5, 2008 at the Watertown Golf Club. As the Golf Outing is our Association's key fundraiser, I encourage all members to participate, at a minimum, as a golf flag sponsor. I'd like to acknowledge the Demsey family at this time and thank them in advance for the attention they will give to this project during the summer.

As your President, please know that I am available to discuss matters of importance to you at any time. I look forward to my year ahead and I look forward to seeing you at the events held throughout the summer.

These are exciting times at Traver IDC!!!

05/22/2008

Welcome to Jack's Corner! Hopefully, I'll be able to keep this interesting enough to get you to come back again and again. 2008 has been a really exciting time here at Traver IDC.

After working with Jack C. and others from Connstep for over a year, we put the finishing touches on our 5 year Marketing Plan late in 2007. We set a lofty goal to double the size of the company in 3-5 years, all the while improving our level of customer service to all of you. 2007 was a record year thanks to all the hard work and dedication by everyone here at Traver IDC and we're well on our way.

Well, finally our new website has arrived. Thanks to Charlie, Julee and all the great people at Worx Group for all their help. It only took us 70 years but I think we finally got it right. That's right, it's our 70th anniversary this year. I wonder if my grandfather had any idea that we'd still be grinding it out when he left Scovill and started his own motor repair shop right in the middle of the depression, back in 1938.

Another cool thing in 2008 - we've begun our lean journey. Tom and Fred from Leanovations and Ron, our internal Lean champion have pushed us hard and basically turned the whole place on it's ear as we've made it through our 1st 3 Kaizen events. Everybody here is psyched with the amazing progress and we're looking forward to having you, our customers, come visit us and see what we're up to.

That's all for now. I'll be back soon.

Jack