Silver Crescent Manufacturers of the Year 
On September 22nd, the Silver Crescent Foundation and the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce and the Silver Crescent Foundation announced the 2009 Silver Crescent Manufacturer of the Year award winners. Celebrating the awards, the distinguished Salute to Manufacturing was held at the Southeastern Institute of Manufacturing and Technology (SIMT) in Florence.
• The Small Manufacturer of the Year (100 or less employees) is Packaging Corporation of America, located in Honea Path.
• The Medium Manufacturer of the Year (101-499 employees) is Sandvik/Valenite, located in Westminster.
• The Large Manufacturer of the Year (500 or more employees) is Alcoa Mt. Holly, located in Goose Creek. 
South Carolina's Automation Engineering Corporation receives national manufacturing honor
The Association for Manufacturing Excellence (AME) recently announced the North American and regional recipients of its Manufacturing Excellence Award, a recognition honoring companies that have reached and sustained high levels of excellence throughout the past three years. Automation Engineering, a Greenville, S.C.-based manufacturer of equipment and systems for the healthcare, packaging, energy, tube & pipe and metals industries, was awarded the North American Manufacturing Excellence Award, as well as the Southeastern regional award, at AME's 2009 International Lean Conference. Automation Engineering is a past winner of the Silver Crescent Award for Manufacturing Excellence. President and CEO Gary Foster has been an active advocate for promoting manufacturing vitality and career exploration in the Palmetto State for a number of years. He currently serves as chairman of the Silver Crescent Foundation's Board of Directors. “We are very proud of Automation Engineering and certainly congratulate Gary and the entire AEC team on this wonderful accomplishment,” said Karen Owens, president of the Silver Crescent Foundation. “They have been a leading small manufacturer in South Carolina for a number of years and we’re pleased the company was recognized not just in the Southeast region but nationally as well.”
SCF Founder Honored with Scholarship Fund
The board of directors for the Silver Crescent Foundation honored the organization's founder, Tony Smith, at September's Salute to Manufacturing Awards luncheon in Florence.
The Foundation has established a needs-based scholarship program aimed to help young people pursue technical education and training. According to Gary Foster, president of Automation Engineering Corp. and chairman of the Silver Crescent board, $10,000 has been raised to establish the Tony Masters Smith Silver Crescent Scholars Fund. 
2010 Discover Manufacturing Design Challenge
The ninth annual Design Challenge is underway. This year we have added an essay to the competition as we challenge students to think, use their imagination and design something new or improved and tell manufacturers how this design improves our quality of life. The theme: Manufacturing starts with an idea; what is yours? puts no limits on the students' imaginations. Download the 2010 Design Challenge flyer. We are pleased that Automation Engineering Corporation and CPM Federal Credit Union are once again sponsoring the Design Challenge. Also, we look forward to working with the S.C. Department of Education and the Regional Career Specialists as we continue to promote manufacturing vitality and career opportunities in South Carolina. If you wish to be a calendar page sponsor and have your logo included in next year's edition featuring the students' designs, please contact Sharon at sharon@silvercrescentsc.org or (803) 657-6183. 
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