13 August, 2018 | Oliver Admin | Blog, News
The Southeast Colorado Manufacturing Partnership (SECO MFG Partnership) hosted its latest meeting on August 6. In addition to the usual agenda items such as grant preparation and member updates, this month the meeting had a couple of special guests: Bart Taylor, owner of Company Week, a Colorado publisher with a focus on business and company growth; and Lawrence Sutherland, a member of the La Junta Utility Board.
Lawrence Sutherland of the La Junta Utility Board joined the meeting to relay information to the industrial complex regarding Tri-State Generation and Transmission’s acquisition of municipal power infrastructure in the southeastern plains of Colorado.
The transaction would transition the control of infrastructure from Arkansas River Power Authority (ARPA) to Tri-State. Before the transaction can be finalized, each of the six municipal zones in ARPA must vote to approve it. The transaction includes a contract that would put Otero county municipal power under Tri-States control until 2050.
Bart Taylor is the owner and founder of Company Week, a Colorado publication for manufacturers and supply chain providers. Taylor attended SECO MFG Partnership’s meeting to get a feel for the goings on in La Junta’s industrial district. He’s written about 992 manufacturers across America. Taylor feels that media can play an important role in emerging sectors.
Taylor shared some insights with the sector partnership, such as the fact that Food and Beverage is the fastest growing industry in Colorado, particularly the Boulder area. He also shared that the apparel industry was on the rise in Colorado, and that the parallel development of the industrial applications industry might lend itself to apparel.
