CLEVELAND, OH - October 5, 2010 - The Manufacturing Advocacy & Growth Network (MAGNET) has been awarded $285,000 by The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Manufacturing Extension Program (MEP). This contract is for a new one year regional pilot project to assist small-to-mid-sized manufacturers that want to grow their business by entering the advanced energy value chain, specifically in biomass/waste-to-energy and electric vehicles. MAGNET partnered with NorTech, a regional technology-based economic development organization, on the design and development of the project.
Working together, MAGNET and NorTech will coach and train a group of manufacturing companies to stimulate and support manufacturing innovation, address technology acceleration, supply chain development and continuous improvement and efficiency in their individual businesses. By focusing on a variety of tools and resources from the MEP program, Small Business Administration, and other workforce programs, manufacturers served by the project will have a higher likelihood of creating jobs for workers who have been displaced from more traditional industry sectors.
"A vibrant manufacturing sector drives American innovation and is central to our economic growth and global competitiveness," U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said. "With the right investments, we can continue to create highly valued manufacturing jobs building great products and selling them around the world."
MAGNET currently offers a variety of programs and services to help manufacturers accelerate innovation in their products and processes. Through this new project, MAGNET, as part of its market diversification efforts, will help link companies to new opportunities in advanced energy.
"We're delighted that our proposal to help companies transition to the advanced energy industry was funded by NIST and we are very pleased to be working with NorTech on delivery of this program because of their existing efforts and expertise in advanced energy," said Dan Berry, MAGNET president and chief executive officer.
This newly funded initiative complements efforts already underway by NorTech Energy Enterprise, a NorTech initiative leading regional efforts to grow an advanced energy cluster in Northeast Ohio. With support from the Economic Development Administration, NorTech is engaged in a strategic roadmap process to assess the region's strengths and assets in the Energy Storage, Transportation Electrification, Smart Grid and Biomass/Waste-to-Energy sectors.
"Our goal is to establish Northeast Ohio as a regional model for helping manufacturers transition from slow growth markets to new, high demand markets with stronger growth potential in emerging technology sectors, such as advanced energy" said NorTech president and chief executive officer Rebecca O. Bagley. "Ohio ranks third in the U.S. in manufacturing production output and manufacturing employment. Working with MAGNET, we can help our region's manufacturers leverage their existing strengths and diversify their business to capture more global market opportunities in advanced energy."
Pending outcomes from the first year of the program, the contract also contains an opportunity for MEP to fund a second year of activity for the project.
Manufacturers who are interested in learning more about this project or partnering with MAGNET and NorTech to receive assistance should contact: Linda Barita at 216.391.7766 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it