Montie Design Announces Participation in Major Defense Industry Expo

Montie Design has announced its participation in the First Annual Symposium and Expo April 19-20 sponsored by the North Carolina Defense Business Association (NCDBA). The state’s inaugural tradeshow of its kind is expected to draw thousands of innovators and defense industry vendors to the world-famous Pinehurst Resort, along with numerous high-profile, influential speakers such as North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue, Secretary of Commerce Keith Crisco, and Lt. General Frank Helmick, the XVIII Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg commander. Continue reading “Montie Design Announces Participation in Major Defense Industry Expo”

Montie Design Announces Student Design Contest Winners

(Morrisville, N.C.) Collaborative product design and development firm Montie Design has announced the winners of its first annual Student Design Contest centering around new additions to the Montie Gear line of outdoor equipment. Prizes will be awarded at the March 25 Final Friday networking event at the Montie Design studios in Morrisville. First prize goes to North Carolina State University student Josh Little, who will collect $500 and receive a two-year commission on his product, the Autolever gun rack, if it is successfully brought to market within two years. Nicholas Pennington, also of NCSU, will be awarded $250 for his second-place design for a Montie Gear slingshot.

“Even the five runners-up had outstanding ideas,” Montie Roland, company president, said. According to Roland, Montie Design enjoys a strong relationship with many premier design schools as well as industry groups for students, such as the Industrial Designers Society of America.

“We’re going to have all the student designs on display at our March 25 Final Friday event, in addition to having some of the contestants on-hand to talk about their experience and professional goals,” he added.

Montie Design’s Final Friday events allow the firm to provide its insights and experience to help the industrial and mechanical engineering and product design communities achieve excellence. They are fun, informal quarterly networking opportunities for product design and manufacturing professionals to mingle in a relaxed atmosphere after work. Attendees at previous Final Fridays have come from small, medium, and large firms from multiple industries, representing the diversity of skills and experience Montie Design applies to each individual project from concept to prototype to market.

There is no cost to attend Final Friday; music, food, and non-alcoholic beverages will be available from 4-6:30 p.m. To RSVP or to get more information, email Jeff Smith at jeff@montie.com.

About Montie Design
Montie Design is a collaborative product design and development firm with core competencies in industrial design, mechanical design and fuzzy front end services. Implementing a client-centric approach in taking products from concept to marketplace, Montie Design balances vision with usability in realizing products that are economical to manufacture, elegant and robust. The firm operates out of the Research Triangle Park region of North Carolina with access to industry-leading technology, resources and innovative thought. For more information, visit www.montie.com.

Great Way to Look at Design

Sometimes design isn’t about studios and renderings.  Sometimes design is about letting the function dictate the form and then going from there.  In this video, the custom car building describes how he does just that.

[vimeo]19874684[/vimeo]

Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.  The end result was one really great car!

Cheers,
Montie

Two New Opportunities for Education and Networking at March Lunch and Learns

Montie Design and the RTP Product Development Guild are providing two new opportunities for high-impact networking and education at March Lunch and Learn events. John Slaughter of Moore & Van Allen will be presenting “Confidentiality and Non-Disclosure Agreements: Understanding their Role and Practical Tips” on March 2. Pam Cardozo of The Ultimate Sales Connection will be presenting “Resetting Your Revenue Future” on March 16. Each event will take place at the Montie Design offices in Morrisville. Continue reading “Two New Opportunities for Education and Networking at March Lunch and Learns”

Montie Design Releases Tree Hook Archery Rest

Montie Gear's newest product for hunting and camping, the Tree Hook Archery Rest

Montie Design has added to our ever-expanding line of Montie Gear outdoor equipment with the multi-purpose Tree Hook Archery Rest.  This new tool for hunters and campers provides sturdy support, whether in a tree stand or campsite, for a bow, crossbow (without quiver), rifle with a sling, or pots, pans and other camp utensils.

Continuing in the Montie Gear tradition of products that are easy to carry and set up, the Tree Hook Archery Rest weighs just 6.9 ounces, with an even lighter 5.7-ounce version also available. This convenient tool has a one-inch strap accommodating trees up to 18 inches in diameter, measures 4.2 inches tall, and sticks out 5.16 inches from the tree once attached.

The Tree Hook Archery Rest is 100% American-made from .188 inch thick 5052 aluminum with an anodized finish available in either clear, black or olive drab. Its catch securely holds a camp lantern or parachute cord (commonly knowns as “550 cord”) and features high quality padding to give hunters support for a bow while not scratching the bow limb.

To order a Montie Gear product online, visit MontieGear.com.

Alphabet Soup, Who’s Your Product Presentations Now Available

You asked for it — you got it! Two of our most popular 2011 Lunch and Learn presentations from Barry Cox of Wyle Labs and Jeff Smith from Montie Design and Trajectory Business Services are now available for download and viewing.

Barry’s presentation shares important insights related to the business of developing and bringing engineered products to market:

Alphabet Soup: The Acronyms and Steps of Military Contracting

In his seminar, Jeff provided step-by-step guidance on creating and conveying the identity for a product, service, or business by selecting the most effective name for it:

Who’s Your Product–Putting the Right Name on What You Sell

The next Montie Design Lunch and Learn is “Confidentiality and Non-Disclosure Agreements: Understanding their Role and Practical Tips” on March 2nd featuring John Slaughter, intellectual property attorney of the law firm Moore & Van Allen.

In this seminar, John will provide an understanding of how confidentiality agreements fit into the context of intellectual property rights, and how they can be used to protect your rights in business transactions.  He will discuss different types of confidentiality agreements, different terms commonly found in such agreements, and practical tips on which types of and terms in confidentiality agreements are appropriate for different situations.

To register, click here.

Student Product Design Contest Deadline Approaching February 17

Montie Design has received 13 Stage 1 entries for its first annual student design contest as the February 17 deadline for final design proposals quickly approaches.  Students from Appalachian State University, North Carolina State University, and Virginia Tech have sent in their description of basic concept for a new product for the Montie Gear line of outdoor shooting, hunting, camping and archery products.

“We have had a wide variety of product submissions from shooting-related to emergency outdoor survival to outdoor furniture,” said Montie Roland, company president.

Prizes of up to $500 and a two-year commission on any products that go to market within two years of design submission will be awarded.

Participants are being tasked with designing which grew out of the success the firm has enjoyed with its X-Rest line of portable firearms rests. The X-Rest originated as a hands-on, intensive review of product design and manufacturing for Montie Design staff, Roland said, but soon took on a life of its own once the original version was made available for sale.

Montie Design enjoys a strong relationship with the NCSU College of Design and the Industrial Design Program at ASU as well as industry groups for students, such as the Industrial Designers Society of America. The firm regularly hosts interns who engage in hands-on product development from concept to design to prototyping, manufacturing and marketing.

Active Discussion Breaks Out at Lunch and Learn

Jeff Smith presents “Who’s Your Product? Putting the Right Name on What You Sell”

Wednesday, February 2 saw business owners, marketing professionals, and product design peers engage in an energized breakout session at the second Montie Design/RTP Product Development Guild Lunch and Learn of 2011.

Following on the heels of a successful kickoff Lunch and Learn on military contracting featuring Barry Cox of Wyle Labs (see below), this week’s event turned toward branding with Jeff Smith of Montie Design and Trajectory Business Services. Jeff put forth a step-by-step guide through the product naming process during his presentation, “Who’s Your Product? Putting the Right Name on What You Sell.”

Wednesday's crowd was engaged

Jeff’s presentation actively involved attendees, leading to an energetic post-event discussion focused on utilizing product naming elements to help one of their own who was having a problem settling on a name for a product to reflect its benefits to the end user.

The Lunch and Learn series was developed to connect professionals involved in the technical or business side of designing and producing innovative products and technologies with one another as well as with speakers, who have agreed to share their knowledge, professionalism, and willingness to support entrepreneurial growth. Lunch is provided at each event in addition to plenty of time for networking and discussion before and after each presentation. Proceeds of each Lunch and Learn are donated to Post 7383 of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

An audio clip of Jeff Smith sharing insight on product naming can be found here:

Montie_Design_Feb2_Jeff_Smith

Upcoming Lunch and Learns include:

Wed, Feb 16
Raising Capital and Cash Flow Enhancement in the New Economy
Featuring Susan Hasty, BCF, and Phil Apostolico, Guardian Ins.

Wed, Mar 2
Protecting Your Company’s Intellectual Property: Non-disclosure Agreements
Featuring John Slaughter, Moore & Van Allen

Wed, Mar 16
Steps to Increased Sales: Creating a Dependable Sales Funnel
Featuring Pam Cardozo, The Ultimate Sales Connection

Wed, Apr 6
Advantages of Manufacturing with Waterjet
Featuring Al Ely, ADR Hydro-Cut

For information on attending any of these events, email Jeff Smith at Jeff@Montie.com.

Montie Design Kicks Off 2011 Lunch and Learns in Style

Over two dozen attendees engaged in networking and education at the first Lunch and Learn event of the new year hosted by Montie Design and the RTP Product Development Guild January 19.

Barry Cox presenting to crowd

Barry Cox of Wyle Labs presented “Alphabet Soup: The Acronyms and Steps of Military Contracting” sharing important insights related to the business of developing and bringing engineered products to market.

Barry’s interactive session was well-received, with audience questions targeting a myriad of different confusing elements of defense industry contracting. Peer-to-peer conversations after the presentation spilled out of the Montie Design studio and into the main lobby, with many attendees staying well over the allotted time to share leads and business expertise with one another.

The next Lunch and Learn is February 2, featuring Jeff Smith, Trajectory Business Services presenting, “Who’s Your Product?  Putting the Right Name on What You Sell.”

Over two dozen attendees attended for education and networking

Look for more information in the next Montie Design newsletter coming out soon.

The rest of the Q1 2011 lineup includes:

Wed, Feb 16
Raising Capital and Cash Flow Enhancement in the New Economy
Featuring Susan Hasty, BCF, and Phil Apostolico, Guardian Ins.

Wed, Mar 2
Protecting Your Company’s Intellectual Property: Non-disclosure Agreements
Featuring John Slaughter, Moore & Van Allen

Wed, Mar 16
Steps to Increased Sales: Creating a Dependable Sales Funnel
Featuring Pam Cardozo, The Ultimate Sales Connection

Jan 19 – Barry Cox / Wyle Labs Lunch and Learn

If recent history has taught us anything, it’s that the business community cannot sit back and wait for someone else to deliver economic development. Collaboration, encouragement, and action are proven paths to success, and it’s a constant work in progress.
 
To that end Montie Design, in partnership with the RTP Product Development Guild‚ introduces the Montie Design Lunch and Learn series of semi-monthly presentation and networking events in 2011.
 
Each Lunch and Learn provides access to industry contacts and important insights related to the business of developing and bringing engineered products to market. Speakers at these events are expert practitioners in their fields, thoughtfully selected for their knowledge, professionalism, and willingness to support entrepreneurial growth. If you are involved in the technical or business side of designing and producing innovative products and technologies, Montie Design Lunch and Learns can help you find solutions and resources to help you prosper.
 
Our first Lunch and Learn features Barry Cox of Wyle Labs presenting “Alphabet Soup: The Acronyms and Steps of Military Contracting” on Wednesday, January 19. Barry’s presentation will introduce attendees to Department of Defense contracting, providing steps small businesses should take to prepare for DoD business and information on how to locate business opportunities and agencies who exist to help you succeed. A bio detailing Barry’s background and experience appears below.
 
Attendance is capped at 25, so reserve your space now. Tickets are priced at $20, but enter the discount code “alphabet” when registering to receive a $10 discount. The event will include a catered lunch by Panera Bread; all proceeds will be donated to Post 7383 of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
 
The January 19 Lunch and Learn will be held at the Montie Design studio, 100 Dominion Drive, Suite 101, just south of RDU Airport in Morrisville, from noon to 1:15 p.m., with plenty of time for discussion and networking before and after the presentation.
 
We look forward to your participation!
 
Sincerely,
 
Montie Roland
President
Montie Design

About Barry Cox

Barry Cox has over twenty-seven years as a manager, director, and leader in the Department of Defense and Defense Industry to include 18 years providing program management for AF and USG acquisitions and training programs. Barry is currently a Business Manager for Wyle Laboratories conducting business development efforts in Fayetteville, N.C. focusing on expanding Wyle service to DoD and USG agencies in the Carolinas. He previously served as Project Manager for USD/SO-LIC delivering quick turn R&D for Irregular Warfare and counter-terrorism programs. Barry provided operations management, requirements definition and acquisitions management for HQ USAF. Barry served 12 years in the USAF in command, control and communications (C3), battle management (BM), data link operations, electronic warfare, training and counterdrug operations in the joint, combined, and interagency arenas. He has worked for small businesses serving DoD needs and has worked with small businesses to develop and pursue opportunities in DoD and the USG.

 

Montie Design Hosting Student Design Contest for Outdoor Gear

Montie Design Hosting Student Design Contest for Outdoor Gear

Prizes of Up to $500, Commission on Product Sales to Be Awarded

(Morrisville, N.C.) Collaborative product design and development firm Montie Design is hosting a student design contest for Winter 2011 with prizes of up to $500 and a two-year commission on any products that go to market within two years of design submission.

Participants are being tasked with designing a new product for the Montie Gear line of outdoor shooting, hunting, and archery products which grew out of the success the firm has enjoyed with its X-Rest line of portable firearms rests.

“We’ve found there is an incredible amount of interest in sturdy, lightweight portable gear for hunters and other folks who enjoy camping, backpacking, hiking, and outdoor shooting sports,” Montie Roland, president of Montie Design, said.

The X-Rest originated as a hands-on, intensive review of product design and manufacturing for Montie Design staff, Roland said, but soon took on a life of its own once the original version was made available for sale.

“Once we marketed the product outside of the product design world, in the firearms and outdoors industry, that’s when things started to roll,” he said.

The design contest is generating buzz and support in academic institutions throughout North Carolina. According to Donald Corey, Assistant Professor of Industrial Design at Appalachian State University, anytime a student can develop a product for a “real world” application, their educational experience is heightened.

“The fact that the winning product might go into production multiplies their intensity for making the project feasible and successful,” he said, adding, “For the winners the benefit is immediately evident in their resumes and portfolios.”

Prof. Corey went on to explain that in this job market anything a student can do to increase their visibility to a potential employer is helpful. “Winning this contest, and having the piece produced and available for sale will really impress these potential employers, making often difficult hiring decisions easier,” he said.

Montie Design enjoys a strong relationship with the NCSU College of Design as well as industry groups for students, such as the Industrial Designers Society of America. The firm regularly hosts interns who engage in differing hands-on activities from concept to design to prototyping, manufacturing and marketing.

Laura Taylor, president of the NC State Student Chapter of IDSA, worked with Montie Design to conceptualize the design contest. Taylor, a senior from Charlotte, said the contest will help energize the IDSA membership and provide sought-after challenges for participants.

“This is a great opportunity to learn what real design looks like, stretching beyond the concepts we are familiar with in the studio,” she said.

According to Taylor, the contest gives design students the chance to see what it takes to be a real designer. “It moves past pleasing professors and focuses more on addressing the needs of the real market and pleasing the client,” she said.

The design contest is open to current college students from across the United States beginning December 1, 2010. January 18, 2011 is the deadline for submitting a description of basic product concept; the final design proposal is due on February 17, 2011 at 5:00PM EST. Submission information and other contest specifications are available on the Montie Design website, www.montie.com.

Download the Contest Flyer

About Montie Design
Montie Design is a collaborative product design and development firm with core competencies in industrial design, mechanical design and fuzzy front end services. Implementing a client-centric approach in taking products from concept to marketplace, Montie Design balances vision with usability in realizing products that are economical to manufacture, elegant and robust. The firm operates out of the Research Triangle Park region of North Carolina with access to industry-leading technology, resources and innovative thought. For more information, visit www.montie.com.

Announcing BATTLEPLAN FOR RECOVERY EDUCATIONAL SERIES FOR MANUFACTURING EXECUTIVES in Morrisville, NC Oct 21st

Mining Cash From Your Manufacturing Operations

Mining Cash From Your Manufacturing Operations

Thursday, October 21, 2010
11:30am – 1:30pm
100 Dominion Drive, Suite 101
Morrisville, NC 27560

The financial meltdown has made access to capital very difficult to obtain and expensive for many companies.    This event will explain what steps manufacturing businesses can take to take advantage of substantial amounts of stored cash in most, if not all enterprises, not only within their four walls but within their supply-chains as well.  The good news is that these tools can be quickly deployed to free up cash now.

What will be covered:
The impact of the “Great Recession” had on the Manufacturing Sector
The difference between “push” and “pull” supply chains
How can modern supply chain methodologies impact the bottom line
Critical KPIs (Key Performance Indices) to track to make bottom line improvements.

SPEAKER BIO:

Stephen Parker is CEO of KPISolutions. His career spans over twenty-five years, with experience in manufacturing, international commerce, executive management, corporate growth strategies, sales, technology development, and corporate financing.

He is renowned as a capital efficient restructuring expert. He holds patents in lean enabling technologies and has worked with a number of large corporations implementing world class efficiency improvement programs including NTT, Bharti, AT&T, Singapore Tel, MCI, BT, Hong Kong Tel, IBM, Telstra, Verizon, Bell Canada, Time Warner Telecom, China Unicom, Toyota, Danaher, Saudi Telephone, New Zealand Tel, Helsinki Telephone, GTE, and the Russian Ministry of to name a few. With an under graduate focus in Technology Management, Stephen has completed executive MBA studies at the University of Virginia–Darden School and the Harvard School of Business.  He has been a frequent guest speaker at numerous global conferences on technology, market management and “The Impact of the Financial Market Meltdown”.

YOUR HOSTS:
Montie Design is a collaborative product design and development firm with core competencies in industrial design, mechanical engineering and product commercialization.  The firm has been successful in helping many manufacturing companies develop innovative new product lines and profit centers.

Business Capital Finance provides manufacturing companies with financial solutions including expansion capital, working capital, debt reduction and restructuring.

Register at http://manufacturingprofits.eventbrite.com/
Contact Susan Hasty with Business Capital Finance @ 919.749.5910
Admission: $20

2010 Montie Design Catalog Now Available for Download

Our 2010 catalog is now available for download at:

https://montie.com/uploads/X-Rest/2010_Catalog_master_REV00.pdf

You can also visit our website at:

https://montie.com/modules/info/shooting_rest.html

Sign up for our email list at:

https://montie.com/modules/info/shooters_email_list.html

Have a great weekend.

Montie

Montie Design President Gives Talk on X-Rest Development and Marketing on 1 Feb

(Morrisville, N.C.) Montie Roland, president of collaborative product design and development firm Montie Design, will be leading the discussion, “X-Rest – The Process of Going from Concept to Consumer” February 1st as part of the RTP Product Development Guild Speaker Series. The event will be hosted at multimedia and mobile messaging firm Tekelec from 11:30 – 1:00 p.m.

The presentation will take attendees on a visual tour through the development process for the X-Rest, a unique portable shooting accessory conceived, designed, and distributed by Montie Design. Since Montie Design began selling the X-Rest in the Spring of 2009, it has seen distribution grow from local to regional to national.

“We felt very strongly that by utilizing our design facility as a learning laboratory to conceptualize, build, market and distribute our own product we could learn where we needed to tighten our process and strengthen our capabilities to better serve clients,” Roland said, adding, “The opportunity to understand first-hand how companies launch new products into the marketplace, and what challenges that brings and how they relate to the design process is invaluable.”

Attendees at the February 1st event will follow Montie Design on its quest to take the X-Rest from concept to market, getting a behind-the-scenes look at the integrated design, public relations and marketing process. Prototypes of the X-Rest critical to the development of a simple product will be on-hand, as will samples of the finished product, to give professionals in the design and product development industry a better understanding of the entire process of getting a product to market..

Designed to meet the needs of all shooters as well as most firearms, the easy-to-carry X-Rest weighs less approximately one pound and disassembles easily in three pieces, fitting neatly into a small carrying case. Unlike conventional bench rests, which are heavy and complex, the X-Rest  — made of sturdy yet lightweight aluminum — provides steady support for different sized long guns ranging from  semi-automatic and bolt action rifles to shotguns, carbines and pistols.

The X-Rest was the second “test” product designed and distributed by Montie Design in 2009, following the firm’s innovative radio frequency identification (RFID) detector card which was released in January and is now being sold throughout the U.S. and seven foreign countries.

Both the RFID detector and the X-Rest are produced in the Research Triangle Park region of North Carolina, using local manufacturers. The event sponsor, the RTP Product Development Guild, is a local group of engineers and designers working together to improve the regional economy.

To register online visit http://xrest.eventbrite.com/. Cost to attend is $15, which covers lunch. A video demonstration of the X-Rest is available online:

http://www.youtube.com/user/montieroland#p/u/3/XeRrmbh7-Vk

For more information visit http://www.rtpproductguild.com.

About Tekelec
Tekelec, a global leader in core multimedia session control, mobile messaging and network intelligence, ensures scalable, secure and highly available communications. The company’s market-leading signaling solutions enable the interworking of different network applications, technologies and protocols, providing a smooth transition to next-generation networks. Tekelec has more than 25 offices around the world serving customers in more than 100 countries, with corporate headquarters located near Research Triangle Park in Morrisville, N.C., U.S.A. For more information, please visit www.tekelec.com.

About Montie Design
Montie Design is a collaborative product design and development firm with core competencies in industrial design, mechanical design and fuzzy front end services. Implementing a client-centric approach in taking products from concept to marketplace, Montie Design balances vision with usability in realizing products that are economical to manufacture, elegant and robust. The firm operates out of the Research Triangle Park region of North Carolina with access to industry-leading technology, resources and innovative thought.  Visit Montie Design at www.montie.com.

About the RTP Product Development Guild
The RTP Product Development Guild seeks to improve the regional economy in Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill, N.C. by providing a framework for product developers and startups to work together on products in a collaborative environment. This helps entrepreneurs move products to market that might otherwise languish due to a lack of funding and professional guidance. The Guild accepts applications for products, services or concepts from entrepreneurs, early stage start-ups and corporate spin-offs. More information is available online at www.rtpproductguild.com.