Issue link: http://www.insightdigital.biz/i/563465
w w w . i n s i g h t o n b u s i n e s s . c o m S e p t e m b e r 2 0 15 • I NSIGH T | 11 FROM THE EDITOR THE FIRST TIME I TOURED C3 CORP., my eyes popped to see the mattress-squishing machine do its thing. Here was this large, awkward, queen-sized foam mattress being pulled into what looked like the rollers on a paper machine. It came out on the other end of the machine compressed and packaged in plastic, in a shape about the size of a golf bag. Here's something, I thought, that will make life a whole lot easier for anyone who needs to move with a small car. And of course, packing dense rectangles into a truck saves a whole lot on shipping costs for manufacturers and distributors. is was not, by far, the only machine created and made at C3, I was assured by Mark DesJardin, who began working at the Appleton manufacturing company a couple years ago (instead of moving out of state to work on his own business venture). What do they do at C3? ey solve problems for other manufacturers, finding ways to create or improve the machines they use to make their own products. In short, C3 specializes in innovation. So I should not have been surprised when C3 Co- founder and CEO Joe Van De Hey asked me, aer the video interview for this month's cover story, "Is there anything I can help improve your business?" My first reaction was that what we do at Insight — producing magazines, events and other ways to share information — couldn't be more different than a manufacturing company. But of course, it's a brilliant question. Taking that leap, to apply an idea (such as how to be more efficient) from one business model to a completely different one, is the stuff of innovation. Van De Hey certainly thinks outside the conventional bulky mattress box. DesJardin (who also heads up an online network of bike rides and routes nationwide) says he met his boss one day when he was emcee for a bicycle event up north. Van de Hey was impressed by the way he improvised and ad-libbed with a microphone, cracking jokes and keeping people amused. at's all he needed before asking DesJardin if he would interview for a job as business development and marketing coordinator. Neither has looked back. C3 Corp. was one of our 2015 Insight Innovation Award winners announced during our THINC! event last spring. Another Insight Innovation Award winner is also featured in this issue: Fox Valley Technical College's Public Safety Training Center. People are coming from all over the country to train in fire, police and emergency training, not to mention for the Secret Service and FBI. Check out page 32 for more. We feature yet another Insight Innovation Award winner this month, the United Way of the Fox Cities, available to our readers in the Fox Valley region as well as all readers of our digital magazine on our website. I think you'll find the United Way's PATH program (Providing Access to Healing for Students who need mental health services) quite innovative in the way it researched, developed and delivers services that result in measurable, positive changes that help teens cope and prevent suicide. Soon, we'll be asking for nominations for our 2016 Insight Innovation Awards. Please keep in mind whether your company, or a company or organization you know about, might be a worthy candidate, and stay tuned! In the meantime, we are ramping up plans for the fih annual Manufacturing First Conference, coming up Oct. 21 and 22 at the newly expanded KI Convention Center in Green Bay. Look for information on both the conference throughout this issue, as well as the KI expansion, on page 29. Hey — even if you're not a manufacturer, consider attending. You might learn something you can apply to your business! Good ideas transcend businesses models