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Obama Cites NAMII as Model for North Carolina Hub
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- Calling the creation of the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute here “a great start,” President Obama Wednesday announced the establishment of a second manufacturing hub, this one focused on power electronics and led by North Carolina State University in Raleigh, N.C.
The new hub is the first created since NAMII, branded as America Makes, was established in 2012. The president noted NAMII in his 2013 State of the Union Address, when he announced the creation of three more such centers.
NAMII, which opened in Youngstown in 2013, is a partnership of companies and universities that focuses on "developing 3-D printing technology and training workers with the skills required to master that technology,” Obama said.
“Now, that was a great start. We got one going, and some of the folks from Youngstown are here today and we congratulate them on the great work they're doing. But here's the problem. We've created one. In Germany, they've already got about 60 of these manufacturing innovation hubs. So we've got catching up to do,” he remarked (CLICK TO WATCH VIDEO).
During his State of the Union address, Obama expressed the intent to establish a network of manufacturing hubs, and later called for the creation of 45 centers.
“Republicans and Democrats in the House and the Senate introduced bills that would get this going. That's good. But they haven't passed the bills yet,” he said Wednesday. “In the meantime, I'm directing my administration to move forward where we can on our own.”
The North Carolina new manufacturing hub, like NAMII, is a consortium of 18 companies and six universities, and will be backed by $70 million in federal and in-kind funding.
The president’s announcement adds momentum to U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown’s call to establish a network of manufacturing innovation. Last week the Senate Manufacturing Caucus endorsed Brown’s bipartisan Revitalize American Manufacturing and Innovation Act, which would help establish public-private institutes to leverage resources to bridge the gap between basic research and product development.
“Today’s announcement is excellent news for the future of our country’s manufacturing infrastructure,” Brown said in a statement distributed by his office. “Ohio and the Mahoning Valley should be proud to have set an example for the rest of the country. But we need to continue to build on this momentum in order for the United States to retain its competitive edge. That is why Congress should pass my bipartisan bill which would ensure that American workers, universities, and large and small manufacturers can out-compete and out-innovate the rest of the world. This would have strong ripple effects on the rest of our economy and continue building America’s middle class.”
Copyright 2014 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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