Second Generation of The Manufacturing Mandate

The Manufacturing Mandate was introduced in 2009 just as the recession was ending. Since then, the U.S. manufacturing sector has been the driving force behind the economic recovery. Today, policymakers, industry leaders and academia agree on the major aspects of a national strategy that will accelerate and sustain this manufacturing resurgence. They are aligned with The Manufacturing Mandate core principles of incentivizing R&D and innovation; increasing global competitiveness and building a Smartforce that is equipped with the knowledge and skills necessary for careers in manufacturing.

The release from AMT stresses that the Manufacturing Mandate underscores the importance of collaboration as central to the implementation of a national strategy. The Obama Administration’s recent announcement of a new public-private institute for manufacturing innovation in Youngstown, Ohio, is a prime example of the important role government can play in facilitating that collaboration between the public sector, academia and industry. This new partnership, the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute (NAMII), was selected through a competitive process, led by the Department of Defense, to award an initial $30 million in federal funding, matched by $40 million from the winning consortium, which includes 40 manufacturing firms, nine research universities, five community colleges, and 11 non-profit organizations from the Ohio-Pennsylvania-West Virginia ‘Tech Belt.’ The NAMII aims to increase successful transition of additive manufacturing technology to manufacturing enterprises within USA. It is scheduled to launch in September and is led by the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining. AMT and The MTConnect Institute are key launch partners in this innovative project.

“AMT will continue to invest significant resources in a secure future for manufacturing in this country,” said Douglas K. Woods, AMT President. “There is still much work to be done, but this type of support from the federal government is precisely the type of project the Manufacturing Mandate recommends. It certainly bodes well for America’s future as the world’s manufacturing innovator.”

Copies of The Manufacturing Mandate will be available at IMTS--The International Manufacturing Technology Show 2012--and can be downloaded at AMTonline.org/mandate.