How am I going to pay for shop floor improvements?

Federal Award Programs Designed for U.S. Manufacturers

You are too busy to surf through the internet hunting down government grants. Production is backing up, you had another experienced Operator retire that needs replaced and your calendar is booked with meetings of people trying to convince you to drive your prices down even lower just to compete with overseas competition. 

The stress of just keeping a small manufacturing business afloat is overwhelming.

If these are your reasons for not seeking federal funding, then you’re exactly the kind of plant the government’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) was created to support.

What is the NIST's MEP?

The U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology was founded to “promote U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness” (nist.gov). For more than 30 years various MEP Centers have supported manufacturers to save and increase sales by billions of dollars (infographic). Every state in the country has a designated MEP Center that works with shops specific to their territory and in a quick call you can receive the information you need to get started. 

These Centers are predominantly connected to public/state universities and offer whatever assistance they can in keeping work in the United States. It is their job to help you succeed.

The MEP is only one of many resources leveraged by manufacturers to receive additional funding to keep their plan competitive.

Connect with the resources below to find the program that works best for you.

• FIND YOUR STATE’S MEP CENTER BY STATE
• SEARCH FEDERAL GRANT OPPORTUNITIES
• GREAT LAKES TRADE ADJUSTMENT ASSISTANCE CENTER (TAAC)
• FEDERAL OPEN COMPETITIONS FOR MANUFACTURING

Does My Shop Qualify?

If your plant is losing business to overseas competition, programs like the TAAC are here to help. If you're more focused on using tech or anticipate updating your physical infrastructure, research the various innovation programs created by the government to support energy initiatives. These grants could match contributions or offer major savings for the work your company had planned on carrying out anyway.

The best strategy is to find a resource from the list above and leverage their industry expertise for recommendations on next steps. They understand the intricacies of government award systems and will point you in the right direction. 

Connect with your local branch to learn more about which federal award programs are available to upgrade software or other tech on your shop floor. There will often be some research required on your part to verify you qualify for aid. But once you've made the required initial steps your branch will provide whatever support they can in driving your company to the next level. 

Programs like these exist to keep American manufacturing strong. Connect with your resources now to learn what they can do for you. 

Ready to Take Control of Production?

Connect with a CIMx Expert to find out how other manufacturers have taken control of their production processes. When you're ready to get to work on permanent error elimination, schedule your live demo of Quantum^® with a CIMx Expert.