Source: United States Senator for Ohio Sherrod Brown
YOUNGSTOWN, OH – Today, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) visited America Makes, a manufacturing hub supported by public and private organizations, that helps develop Ohio manufacturers so companies can compete regionally, nationally and globally.
“We want the technologies that will drive the next generation of U.S. economic growth and manufacturing to be developed in America, and to put people to work at good-paying jobs in America,” said Brown. “We know the Valley has some of the best manufacturing talent in the country. We just need investment, so that corporations that have ignored us and written us off over and over can’t afford to ignore the Valley going forward. I’ve fought for that investment my whole career.”
America Makes is the nation’s leading public-private partnership for additive manufacturing – also called 3D printing – technology and education. Founded in 2012 as the first institute of the Manufacturing USA Network, America Makes brings together members from industry, academia, government, workforce and economic development organizations and is managed by the not-for-profit National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining.
“Through our shared vision of making US manufacturing more competitive on the global stage and ensuring we have a highly skilled workforce, Senator Brown has been a vocal supporter of America Makes and all of the Manufacturing USA institutes,” said America Makes Executive Director John Wilczynski. “We look forward to continuing to work with the Senator to show additive manufacturing as a solution to addressing US manufacturing needs.”
Brown also met with one of the companies that works with America Makes, JuggerBot 3D, which is also a Youngstown Business Incubator (YBI) portfolio company.
“JuggerBot 3D is an additive manufacturing machine builder whose mission is to design and build the finest 3D printing solutions in the world while delivering technology that meets our customers’ criteria for performance, reliability and value,” said Zac DiVencenzo, President of JuggerBot 3D. “As a YBI portfolio company, we occupy 3,200 sq./ft. of Tech Block Building 5 in downtown Youngstown, and we are also a proud member of America Makes.”
The U.S. Senate recently passed the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (USICA), which included key provisions from Brown to make a once-in-a-generation investment in American science, technology and innovation to help the U.S. preserve its competitive edge. This legislation included a bipartisan bill authored by Brown and Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO) to build on the success of their 2014 legislation, the Revitalize American Manufacturing and Innovation Act (RAMI). This 2014 bill created a network of 15 manufacturing innovation hubs around the country and was modeled after the first manufacturing institute, “America Makes,” in Youngstown, which President Obama directed the Department of Defense to create in 2012. This effort was one of the biggest steps the U.S. had taken to make our manufacturing industry more competitive.
The new Brown provision included in the USICA would provide funding to support existing institutes and create 15 new institutes – steps that will help ensure American industry continues to out-innovate the rest of the world. Brown helped write and pass this bill in the Senate with wide bipartisan support, and if it’s passed by the House of Representatives it’ll go to the President’s desk for his signature. America Makes’ success makes it a model for new tech hubs that would be established across the country through the bipartisan USICA.
More specifically, the USICA will:
- Provide funding to support existing institutes like American Makes and create at least 15 more Manufacturing USA institutes, by committing $2.4 billion through 2025
- Promote more direct collaboration with minority-serving institutions
- Integrate the Manufacturing Extension Program – which provides critical assistance to small and medium-sized manufacturers
Competitors like China spend billions propping up state-owned enterprises and subsidizing research and development, sometimes even cheating American workers and businesses. The USICA will ensure the technologies that will drive the next generation of economic growth and manufacturing – from semiconductors to hydrogen buses to the next generation jet engine – will be developed in America, and put Ohioans to work at good-paying jobs.
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