U.S. manufacturing continues to make headlines with reshoring efforts and new innovations that put American manufacturers on the cutting edge once again. This boost received federal government support in mid-March 2015 thanks to a new program aimed at growing small- and medium-sized manufacturers in the United States.
The White House notes smaller manufacturers employ nearly half of all U.S. manufacturing workers in America. A new contest from the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership distributes more than $320 million in federal and private funding over the next five years to worthy groups and organizations that support manufacturing innovations in the United States.
This second round of competitions is available in 12 states. Collectively, awardees receive nearly $32 million annually for five years to support the growth and success of whatever products each manufacturer produces. Each nonprofit organization that wins a grant becomes a member of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership, a network of more than 60 centers across the country that focus on hiring new staff, speeding delivery of products and generating new sales leads.
The idea behind the contest involves spurring U.S. manufacturing in relevant ways. Government support and extra funding help smaller companies compete with larger firms that already have huge marketing departments and adept sales teams. Companies that benefit from these grants often supply larger companies or have unique client bases for specialized products. This new funding makes smaller companies more profitable, more quickly. These manufacturers also add new employees as operations expand.
Manufacturing Extension Partnership organizations generate approximately $19 in new sales for every dollar of federal funding. For every $2,001 of federal investment, one manufacturing job is created or retained. The partnership has helped more than 80,000 U.S. manufacturing companies by saving a total of $14 billion in costs since 1988.
Despite this boost in federal funding, more must be done to revitalize U.S. manufacturing efforts. Workers must be retrained to learn new technologies and new innovations such as robotics, automation software and 3-D printing techniques. This skills gap should be filled by educational initiatives at community colleges and by companies that invest in highly trained workers.
More suppliers should come from within the United States as opposed to companies importing parts from China or Mexico. Supply chains that start and end in America have faster turnaround times due to decreased shipping times. That means more companies get products on store shelves faster, leading to quicker profits instead of waiting for a boat to cross the Pacific Ocean to get the revenue stream started.
U.S. manufacturing has made several steps to recover losses suffered during the economic downturn of 2007 and 2008. As the economy continues to grow, companies and groups need to take advantage of every opportunity they get to remain competitive.
Photo courtesy of Seattle Municipal Archives at Flickr.com
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