A Special Report
• Go Green. Investments in clean energy technology, such as wind and solar, as well as new regulations for more fuel-efficient vehicles, have also led to a broad array of strong, new lightweight materials and technolo- gies that are forcing manufacturers to retool in order to build the cars, wind turbines, solar panels and electric cars of the future.
In summary, advanced manufacturing technology and equipment, combined with lower energy costs, are making the US an ever more attractive location for sourcing goods—green or not—that will primarily be sold here to meet organic demand.
Strategic Investments
The US government, often in partnership with states and local governments, as well as private businesses, also continues to make strategic manufacturing investments. The most significant of these new efforts is the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation, which President Barack Obama first proposed in March 2012 and
renewed calls for in his 2013 and 2014 State of the Union ad- dresses. Under his vision, the network, which requires legisla- tion from Congress, would be developed over a decade and consist of up to 45 regional hubs of public-private partnership. Each would develop specific manufacturing technologies, skilled workers and spin-off businesses. The pilot manufactur- ing innovation institute in Youngstown, OH, initially known as the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute (now called “America Makes”) is focused on additive, or 3D print- ing, manufacturing technologies. A second innovation institute focused on wide bandgap semiconductor technologies has been announced for North Carolina, and four more innovation institutes are expected to be revealed over the next year. Meanwhile, the Clean Energy Manufacturing Initiative, a Department of Energy effort launched in March 2013, also re- mains focused on building America’s competitiveness in clean energy manufacturing through strategic investments. For example, it has increased funding for clean energy manufac- turing research and development that is designed to acceler- ate US-based manufacturing of cost-competitive clean energy technologies, from wind, solar, and geothermal to batteries
Meanwhile, even the image of manufacturing in the US seems to be improv- ing. Thanks to efforts such as Manufacturing Day, which was in its second year in 2013 and featured more than 300 coordinated
events, as well as focused new public and private efforts to at- tract workers into STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields, the mainstream media has been featur- ing imagery that situates manufacturing more accurately—as clean, high-tech and creative.
Headwinds: Politics, Economy, Workforce To be sure, challenges remain across all manufacturing sectors. The defense sector is still digesting government bud- get cutbacks, the effects of Obamacare on the medical device industry have yet to play out and the economy remains on uncertain ground, even as it continues to grow, ever so slowly and steadily.
March 2014 |
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and biofuels. In December 2013, to that end, the Department of Energy announced $150 million in clean energy tax credits to twelve businesses. Already, government investment in clean energy technol- ogy is being given credit for helping to reduce the cost of components and technology used in energy technologies, such as wind and solar. That is helping to fuel their growth. In fact, the DOE says its loan program has a 97% success rate, with just 3% of companies that received funds going out of business.
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