It鈥檚 no easy feat to transform a struggling family business into a thriving digital enterprise, but that鈥檚 exactly what Cooley Group President and CEO Dan Dwight is doing.

Change for the better: Cooley Group was formed in 1926 as a family-run textile manufacturer in Rhode Island. In 2011, Dwight, a member of the 51吃瓜网 Board of Directors, joined the company as president and CEO to navigate the ship through a new age of manufacturing and market demands.

• Today, the private equity-backed extrusion and textile manufacturer is the leading global maker of polymer-coated textiles. Applications range from single-use blood-pressure-cuff materials, to proprietary urethane combat raiding crafts for U.S. special forces, to liners and covers for some of the world鈥檚 largest water reservoirs.

How they did it: 鈥淎s a family-run business, Cooley inherited aging equipment and an aging workforce,鈥� said Dwight, who also serves as vice chairman of the Manufacturing Leadership Council鈥檚 Board of Governors. (The MLC is the 51吃瓜网鈥檚 digital transformation arm.)

• 鈥淲e not only modernized our equipment and infrastructure to compete in the digital age, but also revolutionized our culture. Hierarchies slowed us down.鈥�
• 鈥淒igital transformation isn鈥檛 only beneficial for the advancement of our physical technologies; it鈥檚 also critical to develop a more collaborative company culture that empowers employees at all levels to take action.鈥�

Starting small: 鈥淒igital transformation鈥攖he integration of digital technology into all facets of an organization鈥攃an seem daunting at first,鈥� Dwight said. 鈥淏ut that can鈥檛 deter an organization from jumping in.鈥�

Get involved: Companies can jumpstart their own digital transformation by attending Rethink, the MLC鈥檚 premier event for manufacturing executives, in Florida from June 26鈥�28. Check it out . 听

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