manufacturing

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker announced the solicitation for the second round of the Investing in Manufacturing Communities Partnership (IMCP) will be released in the coming weeks. Through this federal funding competition, regions from across the country will compete to receive the designation of manufacturing communities and receive the financial and technical support of 11 federal agencies to achieve economic growth and job creation through manufacturing.

The federal government should invest in strategic technologies and multi-agency initiatives to iincrease U.S. advanced manufacturing capabilities, according to a new report from the President’s Council of Advisors in Science and Technology. The Advanced Manufacturing Partnership (AMP) Steering Committee “2.0” is a cross-sector, national effort to secure US leadership in emerging technologies that create high-quality manufacturing jobs and enhance the nation’s competitiveness.

In celebration of National Manufacturing Day, the Obama Administration announced it will release a new competition to award more than $100 million to launch a new Institute for Manufacturing Innovation (IMI) focused on Integrated Photonics. The proposed Integrated Photonics Institute will assist in developing an end-to-end photonics ‘ecosystem’ in the U.S. and support research and development efforts across the country on domestic foundry access, integrated design tools, automated packaging, assembly and test, and workforce development in the research area related to photonics.

Each year, the first Friday in October marks Manufacturing Day, a quasi-holiday where manufacturers nationwide open their doors to host open houses, tours, workshops, and other events to educate the public on the current state of American manufacturing. Although the phrase “American manufacturing” may conjure up images of oversized equipment or Rust Belt decay, the industry is, by many accounts, thriving. One of the highlights of this year’s Manufacturing Day was Jay Williams, the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development’s announcement of a nearly $1.9 million EDA grant to Wichita State University in South Kansas to support advanced manufacturing, fueling the creation of 500 jobs and providing competitive advantage to the region’s transportation equipment manufacturing industry.

The Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana metropolitan area is home to the largest number of manufacturing jobs in the country, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Approximately 510,900 people are employed by manufacturing firms in the Los Angeles metro, about 100,000 more than in the Chicago-Joliet-Naperville area, which is ranked second for manufacturing employment. Other top metros include New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown and Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington.

To revitalize the U.S. manufacturing base, states and private organizations are turning their attention to support university-led, manufacturing Research and Development (R&D) partnerships that reduce the cost of manufacturing domestically and equip U.S. manufacturers with cutting-edge technologies. Responsive to the needs of industry, these partnerships are intended to not only spur innovation, but also support economic prosperity in regions across the country. The Walmart Foundation and Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett announced new funding for university-led manufacturing partnerships.

The Manufacturing Institute announced that it is accepting applications for the 2015 STEP Awards program, a national awards program to honor women who have demonstrated excellence and leadership in manufacturing. Part of the Science, Technology, Engineering and Production (STEP) Ahead initiative, STEP Awards aim to recognize women at all levels of manufacturing. These awards illustrate the widespread impact women have on shaping the industry, whether they are running the company, designing the next big product, or testing innovations on the shop floor.

Between 2000 and 2010, about one-third of U.S. manufacturing employment – approximately five million jobs – were lost as a result of new technologies in the manufacturing process or competition from abroad, according to The Brookings Institution.

The Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) released federal funding opportunity award competitions for the operation of MEP state centers. States up for competition include Colorado, Connecticut, Indiana, Michigan, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the creation of the Power Electronics Manufacturing Consortium, a 100-member public-private partnership between public research universities, private sector companies, and other research partners to develop next generation of materials and processes used in the manufacturing of wide band gap semiconductors.