Brown Tours NAMII, Calls for National Network
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, today took his first tour through the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute downtown and called for the creation of a National Network for Manufacturing Innovation so that the United States can out-innovate the rest of the world while creating thousands of high-paying, high-tech manufacturing jobs.
During the event, Brown touted the Mahoning Valley’s new public-private institute as a key first step in achieving that goal. Brown helped lead the charge for the first network pilot to be located in Ohio and his efforts helped procure $30 million in federal funding for the project.
“Northeast Ohio’s Tech Belt is a shining example of American ingenuity and a testament to Ohio’s ability to make things,” said Brown. “With NAMII leading the way, we can create a National Network for Manufacturing Innovation that will create thousands of high-paying jobs and establish the infrastructure to attract new investment in high-tech manufacturing.”
Brown has drafted legislation to create a National Network of Manufacturing Innovation that would create more advanced manufacturing hubs like NAMII.
In his State of the Union address, President Obama asked Congress to create a network of 15 additional hubs of manufacturing innovation. Brown's proposal would establish public-private institutes to leverage investments to bridge the gap between basic research and product development. President Obama, who specifically cited NAMII in his address, expressed support for a National Network for Manufacturing Innovation in his fiscal 2013 budget proposal.
Today, Brown focused on that goal and was joined by NAMII's director Ed Morris.
“We at the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute are very pleased that Sen. Brown visited our facility in Youngstown to see first-hand the significant progress being made as the pilot institute for the Obama Administration’s National Network for Manufacturing Innovation,” said Morris. “We greatly appreciate the senator’s support and vision for the accelerated advancement of game-changing innovative technologies such as additive manufacturing. Additive manufacturing combines innovative design and manufacturing capabilities to create new products and the jobs that follow as a strategic boost to the U.S. economy.”
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.