Manufacturers Provide Added Value as Domestic Suppliers

The response to the COVID-19 pandemic has shown there is a clear ROI in manufacturing PPE in the U.S., economically and for society as a whole. The manufacturing community’s response to the pandemic also has provided a proof of concept that domestic suppliers can provide reliance and added value for items of critical importance to the health of the nation. It may prove to be a tipping point for reshoring.

Manufacturers prior to the pandemic already were dealing with risks of cost-driven outsourcing — such as poor quality, theft of IP, shipping delays and a lack of control. The onslaught of disruptions in the global supply chain has provided opportunities, and the Manufacturing USA network’s public-private investment model has shown how it can perform as a catalyst in spurring economic recovery.

Emerging technologies converged with this urgent demand for PPE to create new possibilities for domestic manufacturing, helping boost public health, strengthen our economy and ensure national security. The pandemic-related projects involved many of the institutes and included:

  • Digitizing and streamlining production requirements and instructions for PPE, helping ensure public health and safety
  • Compliance testing and quality control
  • Product lifecycle management
  • An online repository to connect suppliers with customers

The Manufacturing USA network institutions are providing pathways for manufacturers to add more value as domestic suppliers and lower their total cost of ownership. Ultimately this will empower manufacturers to align their supply chain management more closely with their business success.

IndustryWeek COVID-19 MFG USA
Additive Manufacturing, Biomanufacturing, COVID-19, Digital Manufacturing
The COVID-19 pandemic created a ripple effect for U.S. manufacturers that revealed not only a lack of redundancy in the supply chain but also a lack of transparency. As the pandemic took hold, worldwide demand for personal protective equipment (PPE) dramatically increased and many material and product costs skyrocketed. It quickly became apparent...

News

Go to NIST Releases Summary of RFI Responses for Semiconductor-Related Manufacturing USA Institutes

NIST Releases Summary of RFI Responses for Semiconductor-Related Manufacturing USA Institutes

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The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has released a summary of public comments solicited to inform the design of, and requirements for, potential Manufacturing USA institute(s)... Read More
CHIPS for America
Go to America Makes Announces Delta Qual Project Call Totaling $3.2M

America Makes Announces Delta Qual Project Call Totaling $3.2M

| America Makes
The National Center for Defense of Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM) and America Makes have announced a new directed project call funded by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) worth a total of... Read More
AmericaMakes 3D printer
Go to NIST and AIM Photonics Team Up on High Frequency Optical/Electronic Chips

NIST and AIM Photonics Team Up on High Frequency Optical/Electronic Chips

| AIM Photonics
The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has entered into a cooperative research and development agreement with AIM Photonics that will give chip... Read More
Image of AIM Photonics laboratory floor
Go to LIFT Announces Four New Projects through its LEAP Program

LIFT Announces Four New Projects through its LEAP Program

| LIFT
LIFT, the Detroit-based Department of Defense manufacturing innovation institute, today announced four new projects with its LIFT Ecosystem Accelerator Program (LEAP). The projects were generated by a... Read More
LIFT Logo - Where Manufacturing Technology and Talent Matter
Go to MVCC partners with LIFT, MACNY for ‘Operation Next’ program

MVCC partners with LIFT, MACNY for ‘Operation Next’ program

| LIFT
LIFT, the Detroit-based, Department of Defense-supported national manufacturing innovation institute, in partnership with MACNY, The Manufacturers Association, announced their partnership with Mohawk... Read More
Logo for Operation Next powered by LIFT
Go to Manufacturing USA Releases 2022 Highlights Report

Manufacturing USA Releases 2022 Highlights Report

| AFFOA
Highlighting Manufacturing Innovation, Collaboration, and Education This report highlights the manufacturing technology and workforce development innovations underway at the Manufacturing USA... Read More
2022 Manufacturing USA Highlights Report Cover
Go to Manufacturing USA at IMTS 2022

Manufacturing USA at IMTS 2022

| AFFOA
The Advanced Manufacturing National Program Office along with 9 manufacturing innovation institutes attended the International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS) in Chicago, IL during the week of... Read More
IMTS Group Photo
Go to Biden Administration Releases Implementation Strategy for $50 Billion CHIPS for America program

Biden Administration Releases Implementation Strategy for $50 Billion CHIPS for America program

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The U.S. Department of Commerce released its strategy outlining how the Department will implement $50 billion from the bipartisan CHIPS Act of 2022, signed by President Biden last month. The CHIPS for... Read More
CHIPS for America
Go to Manufacturing USA at SMX

Manufacturing USA at SMX

| AFFOA
Manufacturing USA’s program office along with 7 manufacturing innovation institutes attended the Smart Manufacturing eXperience (SMX) in “Steel City,” Pittsburg, PA. With a focus on combating the... Read More
MFG USA at SMX
Go to NIST Awards Funding to Strengthen Advanced Manufacturing for Critical and Emerging Technologies

NIST Awards Funding to Strengthen Advanced Manufacturing for Critical and Emerging Technologies

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The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has awarded a total of $2.08 million to seven organizations in six states to develop manufacturing technology... Read More
Mike_shots_Nanotech_SS_1236723367
Go to PowerAmerica Receives $5M NIST Cooperative Agreement to Help Native American Communities Better Prepare for Future Pandemics

PowerAmerica Receives $5M NIST Cooperative Agreement to Help Native American Communities Better Prepare for Future Pandemics

| PowerAmerica
PowerAmerica has been awarded a $5 million cooperative agreement from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to help Native American communities better prepare for future disasters... Read More
PowerAmerica PowerLines_cropped
Go to MxD Awarded $6.25 Million by U.S. Department of Commerce

MxD Awarded $6.25 Million by U.S. Department of Commerce

| MxD
MxD, the national digital manufacturing and cybersecurity institute, announced that its project teams have been awarded nearly $6.25 million by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST... Read More
MxD USA labs

Opportunities

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Manufacturing
America Makes announces Methods for AM Cross-Platform Consistency (AM-CPC) Project Call

America Makes is proud to announce a new directed project call focusing on Methods for AM Cross-Platform Consistency (AM-CPC) with a $250K funding opportunity provided by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). One award is anticipated.

The AM...

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NIST invites AFFOA, AIM Photonics, America Makes, ARM, BioFabUSA, BioMADE, CESMII, CyManII, IACMI, LIFT, MxD, NextFlex, PowerAmerica, RAPID, & REMADE Manufacturing USA institutes to propose high-impact projects designed to fund awards for research, development, and testbeds to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus.

Please note that...

External News

EEJournal
Emerging Technologies, Flexible Hybrid Electronics, Manufacturing, Workforce

I have to say that I’m flabbergasted. In fact, I don’t think it would be unfair to say that rarely has my flabber been quite so gasted. The reason for my current state of high-gast is that I just received some frabjous intelligence with respect to enhancing our manufacturing capabilities here in the USA.

One of the things that’s made me...

Department of Commerce
Manufacturing, Semi-Conductor

As another productive year comes to a close, it’s always nice to take a moment to look back on everything our hard-working staff members have accomplished and celebrate the wins. From semiconductors to quantum computing (and post-quantum encryption) to artificial intelligence, this year has seen NIST accomplish some major milestones.

CHIPS Act

In...

CleanTechnica
Manufacturing, Sustainability

Fossil energy stakeholders have a new reason to worry. During the last weeks of the Trump administration, the US Department of Defense announced that it had lent some of its financial muscle to BioMADE, a sprawling program aimed at accelerating the growth of a domestic bioeconomy. One of the first shoes to drop is a a dandelion-based rubber...

Photo of an ACE employee.
Industry Today
Education, Manufacturing, Workforce

For decades, young adults believed that the ticket to success was a college degree. As a result, interest in the skilled trades declined. We are now paying the price for that shift with a shortage of skilled workers at a time when they are more critical than ever.

While the need for these workers is widespread, American manufacturing in particular...

White House
Manufacturing, Manufacturing Day

Manufacturing is the backbone of America, powering our economy and building our middle class. Over the past year and a half, we have been making “Buy American” a reality, not just a slogan, and bringing jobs and companies home. This year’s National Manufacturing Day comes in the midst of an American manufacturing boom, as we celebrate the strength...

Design News
COVID-19, Smart Manufacturing

During the pandemic, the food processing industry was slammed. Supply chain issues slowed production. Runs on products resulted in empty shelves, and social distancing stretched the labor force impossibly thin. The meat processing industry was hit particularly hard by social distancing constraints and dangerous outbreaks. You could just about hear...

Textile World
Fabrics, Innovation, Manufacturing, Smart Manufacturing

Loomia Technologies is partnering with Advanced Functional Fabrics of America (AFFOA) to develop highly tactile, heated handwear that could be applicable to both commercial/recreational and military customers.

For this collaborative project, Loomia will provide technology to be used in a heated glove insert, while AFFOA will lead customer discovery...

SME
Additive Manufacturing, Flexible Hybrid Electronics, Manufacturing, Smart Manufacturing, STEM

In 2021, Smart Manufacturing started asking the leaders transforming manufacturing what effect the coronavirus pandemic has had on their business. Not only do the stories continue to amaze, we’re also seeing some of the trickle down effects of COVID-19 emerge in their answers.

Two respondents said reshoring—bringing manufacturing back to the...

ASME
Biofabrication, Biomanufacturing, Biopharmaceutical, COVID-19, Supply Chain

Some of the images from the first weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic are indelible: doctors and nurses wearing garbage bags instead of gowns and reusing the same protective mask for days at a time; homemade plastic face shields replacing professional-grade models; live coverage of deliveries of personal protective equipment to hard-hit hospitals. The...