October 2012, Vol. 67 No. 10
Newsline
New institute to lead renaissance in manufacturing
In August, the Obama Administration announced it was launching a new institute, the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute (NAMII), to be housed in renovated industrial space in Youngstown, OH, to help lead a renaissance in U.S. manufacturing. Academic scientists involved in the institute hope it will also send a message to students that, in the words of one researcher, “manufacturing is as cool as working for Google.”
In a responding statement about NAMII, Carlos M. Cardoso, chairman, president and chief executive officer, Kennametal Inc., who also serves as co-chair on the Governor’s Manufacturing Advisory Council (Gov. Tom Corbett; Team PA) and as chairman on the Manufacturers Association for Productivity and Innovation, stated: “Manufacturing is at a crossroads in America. On one path, it’s leading our nation’s economic recovery. On another, our nation’s manufacturers face a skilled-worker shortage that is nothing short of an emergency.”
He expressed that government and industry leaders across Northeast Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia can accomplish more working together as they share the $30 million grant. “It’s one of a number of things we’re doing to bring the home-field advantage back to the manufacturing heartland and prepare a generation of skilled technicians we desperately need.”
“A key part of the message is that to pursue a college degree or manufacturing career is not an either-or choice. Manufacturing careers today are high-tech. They provide a good living as well as access to higher learning and development. That’s a message we’ll stress again when we release a report in Pennsylvania outlining a series of actions to come out of Governor Tom Corbett’s Manufacturing Advisory Council, which I had the honor to serve as co-chair with Department of Community and Economic Development Secretary Alan Walker.”
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