Chicago and Detroit to Build Big Manufacturing Institutes

Detroit and Chicago didn't fare as well as other cities during the recent recession, leaving thousands of people without jobs. Fortunately, each city will soon get its own manufacturing institute, which should give the economy a much-needed boost. The initiative will cost a total of $320 million, with the Pentagon contributing $70 million and state governments, universities, and corporations picking up the rest of the tab. The hope is that each manufacturing institute will revitalize its home city and revolutionize American manufacturing.

Before the manufacturing industry went into a tailspin, Chicago was a factory town. As the site of a manufacturing institute, it will serve as a digital manufacturing hub, creating thousands of jobs and putting millions of dollars back into the economy. It's not clear when the institute will open, but Chicago area officials believe employees will work on projects such as reducing the amount of scrap material produced during small manufacturing runs and producing faster aircraft engines. Mayor Rahm Emanuel says this move will help secure the economic future of the Chicago area.

Detroit's manufacturing institute will focus on manufacturing applications of lightweight and modern metals. The institute will actually be based in nearby Canton Township, which is conveniently located between Ann Arbor and Detroit. Officials from the University of Michigan believe the new manufacturing institute will create as many as 10,000 jobs within a five-year period. This initiative will ally some of the leading titanium, aluminum, and high-strength steel manufacturers with researchers from universities and laboratories. The institute's employees will look for ways to use lightweight metals in ships, cars, planes, and trucks to reduce carbon emissions and save fuel.

Some big names are attached to both institutes. The Detroit-area consortium includes EWI, a nonprofit manufacturing technology organization based in Ohio. The Michigan Economic Development Corp. will also contribute $10 million to the manufacturing initiative. The Chicago facility will receive funding from Dow Chemical, Procter & Gamble, General Electric, Siemens, Rolls-Royce, and Lockheed Martin. President Obama wants to launch four more bidding competitions within the next year, and his overall plan calls for the creation of forty-five manufacturing institutes throughout the United States. Lawmakers hope that this initiative will help the manufacturing industry recover from the recession and give workers access to high-paying jobs.

Thanks to the manufacturing institutes set to open in the Chicago and Detroit areas, workers there will have access to better manufacturing jobs. Employees of the Chicago facility will work to revolutionize digital manufacturing, while the workers at the Detroit-area facility will find new ways to use lightweight metals in manufacturing. Each manufacturing institute is positioned to create thousands of jobs and put millions of dollars back into struggling economies.

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