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MiMfg Magazine
May 2018
MFG
@ Work
What’s Happening
in Michigan
Manufacturing
Livonia Millwork
Manufacturer Earns
Prestigious WBENC
Designation
The 2017 State of Women-
Owned Businesses Report
indicates only 1.2 percent of
women-owned businesses are in
the manufacturing industry, yet
one business is breaking that
mold and showing that female-
owned companies can not only
succeed but thrive.
Burke Architectural Millwork
LLC (BAM), a Livonia-based
custom architectural millwork and
finish carpentry manufacturer,
gained national recognition earlier
this year as a Women’s Business
Enterprise by the Women’s
Business Enterprise National
Council (WBENC).
The WBENC certification for
a women-owned business is a
meticulous process, including an
in-depth review of the business,
designed to confirm the business is
at least 51 percent owned, operated,
and controlled by a woman or
women. Burke is the first Michigan-
based architectural millwork
manufacturer to gain the prestigious
WBENC designation.
“We are extremely pleased to
earn this certification, as it will
allow us the opportunity to work
with the most prestigious general
contractors in the country, and
partner with other diversity
vendors on projects,” said Kelly
Victor-Burke, co-founder and
majority owner of BAM.
Victor-Burke and the BAM
team were featured in the October
issue of MiMfg Magazine for their
success in building the growing
company (see mag.mimfg.org ).
This unique U-shaped booth measured in at 9 ft × 24 ft and was built in collaboration
with Keany Interiors for Mastercard World Headquarters in Purchase, NY
“We are keeping our eyes on
Burke Architectural Millwork, as
Kelly and her team are doing
amazing work to bring awareness
to their trade, and to architectural
millwork manufacturing in
Michigan,” said Chuck Hadden,
MMA president & CEO.
LTU Receives $75,000
Investment to Address
Manufacturing Workforce
Challenge
Lawrence Technological
University (LTU) and its industrial
engineering programs recently
received a $75,000 gift from
Siemens Corporation to address
growing workforce skills gaps in
the industrial engineering and
high-tech manufacturing sectors.
The investment in LTU is also
designed to help forge new
pathways to the middle class for
manufacturing workers.
“Siemens’ donations will help
establish an industrial engineering
and manufacturing lab at LTU’s
campus and help establish a
semi-automated mini assembly
line using Siemens Digital
Factory tools,” said Ahad Ali,
associate professor and director of
LTU’s Bachelor and Master of
Science in Industrial Engineering
programs. “It will be a great
learning experience for our
students and help prepare a skilled
workforce in the industrial and
manufacturing sectors.”
Siemens, a long-time contributor
to the university, is the United
States subsidiary of the German
industrial automation giant
Siemens AG. The $75,000 is
being awarded in the form of
cash, hardware, and software.
Magna Partners with
Lyft on Development of
Self-Driving Systems
Autonomous vehicle technology
is the centerpiece of manufacturing’s
next wave of innovation and one
company is looking to get a jump-
start on the competition.
Magna, a mobility technology
company and one of the world’s
largest automotive suppliers,
announced recently a multi-year