http://www.mceda.org/ Mon, 27 Feb 2012 23:44:19 GMT FeedCreator 1.8.0-dev (info@mypapit.net) http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MorganCountyEDA/~3/ygP1EaNKY-A/login Login below with your frontend login credentials.&nbsp; Use the site navigation to go to the articles you need to edit.&nbsp; When you are finished with edits, return to <a href="http://www.mceda.org/login">http://www.mceda.org/login</a> and click the "logout" button to complete the process.<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MorganCountyEDA/~4/ygP1EaNKY-A" height="1" width="1"/> webdev@redsageonline.com (morcoeda) Wed, 08 Dec 2010 20:23:02 GMT http://www.mceda.org/login http://www.mceda.org/login http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MorganCountyEDA/~3/elxisH5AObc/90-drawer-fortune500 <img src="http://www.mceda.org/images/stories/fortune500.jpg" /><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MorganCountyEDA/~4/elxisH5AObc" height="1" width="1"/> webdev@redsageonline.com (morcoeda) Wed, 29 Sep 2010 13:35:21 GMT http://www.mceda.org/component/content/article/10-featuring/90-drawer-fortune500 http://www.mceda.org/component/content/article/10-featuring/90-drawer-fortune500 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MorganCountyEDA/~3/ekDSv92ZF0o/91-drawer-top-investments <img src="http://www.mceda.org/images/stories/investors.jpg" /><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MorganCountyEDA/~4/ekDSv92ZF0o" height="1" width="1"/> webdev@redsageonline.com (morcoeda) Wed, 29 Sep 2010 13:35:21 GMT http://www.mceda.org/component/content/article/10-featuring/91-drawer-top-investments http://www.mceda.org/component/content/article/10-featuring/91-drawer-top-investments http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MorganCountyEDA/~3/iORj4EQVWPM/92-drawer-decade-leader <img src="http://www.mceda.org/images/stories/smallmarket.jpg" /><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MorganCountyEDA/~4/iORj4EQVWPM" height="1" width="1"/> webdev@redsageonline.com (morcoeda) Wed, 29 Sep 2010 13:35:21 GMT http://www.mceda.org/component/content/article/10-featuring/92-drawer-decade-leader http://www.mceda.org/component/content/article/10-featuring/92-drawer-decade-leader http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MorganCountyEDA/~3/YsDt8MdyyFM/93-drawer-al-leader <img src="http://www.mceda.org/images/stories/vpp.jpg" /><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MorganCountyEDA/~4/YsDt8MdyyFM" height="1" width="1"/> webdev@redsageonline.com (morcoeda) Wed, 29 Sep 2010 13:35:21 GMT http://www.mceda.org/component/content/article/10-featuring/93-drawer-al-leader http://www.mceda.org/component/content/article/10-featuring/93-drawer-al-leader http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MorganCountyEDA/~3/psBlO-oy4Pw/94-drawer-top-ranked <img src="http://www.mceda.org/images/stories/topranked.jpg" /><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MorganCountyEDA/~4/psBlO-oy4Pw" height="1" width="1"/> webdev@redsageonline.com (morcoeda) Wed, 29 Sep 2010 13:35:21 GMT http://www.mceda.org/component/content/article/10-featuring/94-drawer-top-ranked http://www.mceda.org/component/content/article/10-featuring/94-drawer-top-ranked http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MorganCountyEDA/~3/_UnHDuE9m3U/88-micor-contract <h2>Micor Industries Lands 40MM, MK 19 Machine Gun Parts Contract</h2> <h3>Custom Machining Company Prepares for More Aerospace/Defense Contracts with AS9100 Certification</h3> <p>Decatur, Ala. – Contract manufacturer and machining company Micor Industries, Inc. has been tapped by major aerospace and defense contractors Alliant Techsystems, Inc. (ATK) and FN Manufacturing, LLC (FNMI) to provide individual parts and assemblies for 40MM, MK 19 machine guns. Micor Industries has been contracted through 2012 to deliver 137 individual parts and assemblies on a monthly basis.</p> <p>The new contract comes on the heels of Micor Industries' recent upgrade to its quality system. The company, which is ISO 9001:2008 certified, recently completed the rigorous process to become AS9100 certified. The AS9100 certification, an aerospace quality standard system, will allow Micor Industries to increase their business in the aerospace, nuclear, and medical business sectors.</p> <p>In addition to the custom machined products that Micor Industries manufactures for the defense, aerospace, and related industries, Micor Industries also manufactures a line of flash suppressors that are being marketed to the defense industry. The Micor flash suppressors reduce muzzle flash and climb, improve accuracy, and can be used with U.S. military blank firing adapters or silencers.</p> <p><strong>About Micor Industries, Inc.</strong></p> <p>Micor Industries, Inc. provides global contract manufacturing services, using the latest technology in CNC precision machining, fabrications, welding, finishing, laser marking and precision inspection tools and techniques. ISO 9001:2008 and AS9100 certified, Micor Industries specializes in value?added manufacturing services with a focus on quality, lean manufacturing and customer?driven solutions. In addition to working with clients within the oil field, subsea / nuclear, aerospace sectors, Micor Industries is a prime contractor for the Department of Defense, as well as a subcontractor to several large prime government contracts, providing precision machined military weapon parts and systems. More information about Micor Industries can be found at www.micorind.com.</p> <p>###</p> <p><strong>CONTACT:</strong><br /> Dave Ponegalek<br /> Micor Industries, Inc.<br /> 1314 A State Docks Road<br /> Decatur, AL 35601<br /> (256) 560?0770<br /> dave@micorind.com</p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MorganCountyEDA/~4/_UnHDuE9m3U" height="1" width="1"/> webdev@redsageonline.com (morcoeda) Tue, 28 Sep 2010 15:35:30 GMT http://www.mceda.org/component/content/article/13-news/88-micor-contract http://www.mceda.org/component/content/article/13-news/88-micor-contract http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MorganCountyEDA/~3/XpSJMAysJkE/87-rockets-water <p><a target="_blank" href="http://www.decaturdaily.com">Decatur Daily</a><br /> Sunday, August 1, 2010<br /> By Eric Fleischauer<br /> Staff Writer </p> <p><strong>Mark Twain had Lloyd Patten’s number.</strong></p> <p>“All men — kings and serfs alike — are slaves to other men and to circumstance — save alone, the pilot — who comes at no man’s beck and call, obeys no man’s orders and scorns all men’s suggestions,” Twain wrote. “It is a strange study — a singular phenomenon, if you please, that the only real, independent and genuine gentlemen in the world go quietly up and down the Mississippi River, asking no homage of anyone, seeking no popularity, no notoriety, and not caring a damn whether school keeps or not.”</p> <p>Lloyd Patten says he carries America’s most expensive cargo in the holds of the Delta Mariner. From Decatur, he takes it down river to Florida or, by way of the Panama Canal, to California. With hundreds of millions of dollars in cargo, with United Launch Alliance his paymaster, he answers to no one.</p> <p>“If there’s a storm, I’ll tell them I’m arriving in three days, not one day,” he said.</p> <p>Do they complain?</p> <p>“No, but I don’t care. Once it’s on this boat, it’s my responsibility. I really don’t care what they say. ‘I’m sorry I’m late guys, but hey, your cargo’s here instead of on the bottom of the river.’ ” Patten’s boat traverses many of the same rivers that Twain wrote about, but the resemblance ends there.</p> <p><strong>Docked in Decatur</strong></p> <p>The Delta Mariner — which transports ULA’s Delta IV rocket to Florida and California, and may one day transport the Atlas V — has two 4,000 horsepower diesel stern motors and a pair of 500-horsepower bow thrusters. Patten gave The Daily a tour of the ship Thursday at its Tennessee River dock off Red Hat Road. In a week, it is scheduled to take a Delta IV rocket to Cape Canaveral. </p> <p>Unlike Twain’s subject, Patten’s 312-foot-long ship is loaded with high-tech equipment. He controls it with a single joystick, can rotate it within its 82-foot width and has two 5-ton anchors to protect its cargo in a storm.</p> <p>Patten, who was captain of an oil tanker for 24 years — but jokingly claims he’s on work release from Huntsville prison — was hand-picked for the job of carrying the most expensive cargo on an American flag vessel. Fully loaded, the Mariner carries rockets worth almost $400 million.</p> <p>His employer is not ULA, but the owner of the $30 million ship, Gulf Caribe Maritime of Mobile. Foss Maritime of Seattle built the boat to ULA specifications 10 years ago. It is on lease to ULA for 20 years. Occasionally it carries third-party cargo — most notably NASA’s Ares 1-X — but usually it carries the Delta IV from Decatur to its launch sites.</p> <p><strong>16-man crew</strong></p> <p>Patten is the captain of a 16-man crew that lives on the boat for 50 or 60 days at a time.</p> <p>“If you do this long enough, seriously, you end up with a 60-day personality. After about 60 days on board, everybody says, ‘Cap, it’s time you went home.’ It’s the same thing at home. After about 60 days at home my wife says, ‘You need to go back to work.’ ”</p> <p>Unlike Twain’s subjects, Patten can keep in touch with his family. His bedroom on the Mariner is tiny, but a laptop sits on his bed and a cell phone is clipped to his belt.</p> <p>Carting high-priced aerospace equipment over the Tennessee and Mississippi rivers, and sometimes through the Panama Canal, is not normal work for a captain.</p> <p><strong>State of the art</strong></p> <p>“This is state of the art,” Patten said of the ro-ro (roll on, roll off) vessel. “I’m very careful with my cargo. I know how expensive it is. We’re very careful going through locks and under bridges. We don’t want to bump anything. They’re very concerned about lateral motion of the vessel. They don’t want me bumping up to a dock. I try not to make any contact with anything. All our landings are very soft. We do everything we can do to make sure the cargo is not jostled in any way.”</p> <p>The ship’s normal cruising speed is 12 knots, or about six miles per hour.</p> <p>Patten shows the cargo hold, which could hold numerous basketball courts.</p> <p>“This is the business end of the vessel. This is where we make our money. You’re looking at about 350,000 cubic feet.”</p> <p>The lights in the hold — and on the boat’s exterior — are yellow.</p> <p>“These lights are referred to as turtle lights,” Patten said. “They were installed because that’s the only way the people in (Cape) Canaveral would let the vessel come in because of the turtles. White lights attract the turtles.”</p> <p>The cargo hold, when it’s carrying the Delta IV, is monitored and secure. Patten is the only crew member who can enter, and multiple cameras monitor his movements.</p> <p>The crew is cleared through the U.S. Coast Guard, but Patten admits others occasionally help steer the boat. </p> <p>“We pick up river pilots who speak Arkansas,” Patten laughs, “because I don’t. When we start talking to those guys on the tugboats with the chew in their mouth, on the radio that probably isn’t working too great, I get totally lost. So we employ two tugboat captains to bring us up here, because they know the river. We do it in any port we pull in.”</p> <p><strong>Fire station, clinic</strong></p> <p>In addition to a cafeteria and lounge, the Mariner has its own fire station and clinic.</p> <p>“If you pick up the phone and call the fireman, it’s us. If you pick up the phone and call the hospital, that’s me. We’re fully self-sufficient,” Patten said.</p> <p>The long treks from Decatur to Florida and California can be tough on the crew, but Patten said there is a perk.</p> <p>“On this boat,” he said, “Oreos are unlimited.”</p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MorganCountyEDA/~4/XpSJMAysJkE" height="1" width="1"/> webdev@redsageonline.com (morcoeda) Tue, 28 Sep 2010 15:30:14 GMT http://www.mceda.org/component/content/article/13-news/87-rockets-water http://www.mceda.org/component/content/article/13-news/87-rockets-water http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MorganCountyEDA/~3/LFf7dRWBWoo/77-aidt <h2>Alabama Industrial Development Training (AIDT)</h2> <p>AIDT was established to recruit, assess and train qualified potential employees at no cost to the industry and based on company criteria for both new and expanding industries. Job-specific pre-employment and on-the-job training programs are provided in addition to trainee recruitment and screening; and a full range of customized technical training programs that are free to the employers and to the trainees. Management and supervisory training programs such as Total Quality Management (TQM) and ISO 9000 are also available. Visit the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.aidt.edu">AIDT website</a>.</p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MorganCountyEDA/~4/LFf7dRWBWoo" height="1" width="1"/> webdev@redsageonline.com (morcoeda) Fri, 17 Sep 2010 19:03:01 GMT http://www.mceda.org/component/content/article/12-training/77-aidt http://www.mceda.org/component/content/article/12-training/77-aidt http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MorganCountyEDA/~3/WlFq5zhXlkI/78-calhoun-community-college <h2>Calhoun Community College</h2> <p>Calhoun Community College is a community-based, State supported, comprehensive community college. The college program offers Associates in Arts, Associates in Sciences, and Associates in Applied Science degrees and a diploma and certificate program. Calhoun continually works with local industry to develop curriculum that is specifically designed to meet the needs of current workforce demands. Visit the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.calhoun.edu">Calhoun website</a>.</p> <p>Academic and Technical Programs of specific interest to Business and Industry include:</p> <ul class="bullet"> <li>Associate of Applied Science degrees and certificates in Applied Technology with Majors in Aerospace Technology, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration, Automation/Robotics, Design Drafting, Electrical Technology, Industrial Maintenance, Machine Tool Technology and Process Technology.</li> <li>Business Administration with majors in Accounting Technology, Business Administration, Entrepreneurship, Management, Real Estate, and Paralegal.</li> <li>Computer Information Systems with majors in Microcomputers, Programming, and Networking Technology.</li> <li>Computer Graphics with majors in Graphic Design, Computer Graphics/Electronic Imaging, and Graphic Animation/Electronic Imaging.</li> <li>Health Sciences with degrees in Nursing, Dental Assisting, Clinical Laboratory Technology, Emergency Medical Services, and Physical Therapist Assistant.</li> <li>Associate of Science Degree is offered in various topics of study including Humanities/Fine Arts/Speech, Natural Sciences and Mathematics, and History, Social and Behavioral Sciences along with Pre-Professional, Pre-Major, and Elective Courses such as Engineering.</li> </ul> <p>In conjunction with many of these programs, Calhoun offers a <a target="_blank" href="http://www.calhoun.edu/cooperation/index.html">Co-operative work program</a> affording students the opportunity to gain industry work experience in their field of study while pursuing their academic degree.</p> <p>For a full listing of Academic Programs and Courses visit <a target="_blank" href="http://www.calhoun.edu/academics.htm">www.calhoun.edu/academics.htm</a>.</p> <p>In addition to the wide range of traditional and credit courses that are offered, Calhoun through its Workforce Solutions Division is committed to providing short-term training and workforce solutions to the business community as well as non-credit community education and adult literacy courses to our community. Workforce Solution offerings range from short-term Corporate Training with Global Corporate College ( www.globalcorporatecollege.org), ACT Testing and Assessment Services, Industrial Skills Training, Professional Certification Training in areas such as Quality and Computer Skill and Health Care certification programs and Adult Education/GED services. In all areas, Calhoun can tailor the training for the particular business and industry situation.</p> <p>For a full view of short-term Business &amp; Industry and Community Education offerings and contacts, visit <a target="_blank" href="http://www.calhoun.edu/BIS">www.calhoun.edu/BIS</a>.</p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MorganCountyEDA/~4/WlFq5zhXlkI" height="1" width="1"/> webdev@redsageonline.com (morcoeda) Fri, 17 Sep 2010 19:03:01 GMT http://www.mceda.org/component/content/article/12-training/78-calhoun-community-college http://www.mceda.org/component/content/article/12-training/78-calhoun-community-college