For almost 30 years, IMC has been helping Central Pennsylvania manufacturers become more innovative, productive and profitable.  We have been able to do this, in part, due to support from the U.S. Department of Commerce, NIST Manufacturing Extension Partnership program.

A recent study by the W.E. Upjohn Institute found that the MEP Program generates a substantial economic and financial return of nearly 9:1.  Yes, a federal investment that works!

Please take 5 minutes to e-mail your federal elected officials asking them to support a $142.4 million appropriation for MEP, which helps support IMC’s operations.

To e-mail your federal elected officials

1. Click on this link
2. Click Send E-mail.
3. Complete the demographic information in the blue box and click Submit. This will take you to the Compose Message page where you will see the text of the e-mail and the names of the officials you will be e-mailing.
4. Review the letter and customize as appropriate – paragraphs 1 and 4 REQUIRE customization inside the brackets [ ].
5. Click Submit at the bottom of the page
6. Please consider forwarding this request to employees or others at your discretion.

Thank you for your support of IMC and Central PA Manufacturers!

IMC’s federal sponsor, NIST Manufacturing Extension Partnership, releases national network impact results for 2017.

By Carroll Thomas 2/05/18
I am proud to announce the MEP National Network impact results for 2017. These results are truly impressive. Last year, this streamlined program with 51 MEP Centers located in all 50 states and Puerto Rico, interacted directly or through their partners with over 26,000 manufacturers. Based on results from a third-party survey, clients from across the country reported that the assistance they received helped to create and retain more than 100,000 manufacturing jobs in 2017 alone.  Read on…

The Manufacturing USA Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2016 describes the program’s work in helping to move discoveries in the nation’s universities and research laboratories to the shop floor here in America. It highlights the nine Manufacturing USA institutes that were active in Fiscal Year 2016, and documents the network’s progress toward increasing the competitiveness of U.S. manufacturing.

Highlights of the Manufacturing USA network in 2016 include:

• 830 industry members, two-thirds of which were manufacturing firms, including 361 small businesses.
• Non-federal funding exceeded the original goals of a 1 to 1 match, with federal funds being matched at a 2 to 1 ratio, indicating the value of the network to industry, academia and the states. In addition to manufacturing companies, the partnerships included a variety of academic institutions and federal, state, local agencies, laboratories, and not-for-profit organizations.
• A portfolio of diverse programs for students in high schools, community colleges and universities; educators from kindergarten to twelfth grade; manufacturing employees; and transitioning veterans, so that the nation’s workforce will be prepared for a renewal of advanced manufacturing. Institute-led programs have reached about 28,000 people.
• AIM Photonics, based in Rochester, New York, developed a shared toolkit that has helped members speed up the design and development of photonic devices, which use light instead of electricity to enable faster performance and new capabilities.
• PowerAmerica, in Raleigh, North Carolina, helped keep 400 highly-skilled manufacturing jobs at a facility, X-FAB Texas in Lubbock. The company was able to update its capabilities to become an “open foundry” that semiconductor companies can use to produce next-generation electronic products.

The annual report also highlights an assessment by Deloitte, which found that the first eight institutes, established between 2012 and 2016, have “reached a critical mass of valuable connections among participating companies, universities, and other entities. Those connections are accelerating the innovations needed to develop new products and markets, helping alleviate a shortage of technically trained manufacturing workers and building a sustainable national manufacturing research infrastructure.”

There are now a total of 14 Manufacturing USA institutes, sponsored by the departments of Energy, Defense and Commerce.

Read the full Manufacturing USA Annual Report, Fiscal Year 2016

Citation information:

Manufacturing USA Annual Report, Fiscal Year 2016, Advanced Manufacturing National Program Office, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Department of Commerce (2017),
https://www.ManufacturingUSA.com/resources/Manufacturing-USA-Annual-Report-Fiscal-Year-2016

Contact: Advanced Manufacturing National Program Office – (301) 975-2830