The National Institute of Standards and Technology has awarded roughly $12 million in contracts to 11 organizations that will operate manufacturing centers as part of a program designed to aid small and medium-size entities.NIST said Thursday organizations that secured cooperative agreements under the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership program will operate MEP centers in Delaware, Hawaii, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Carolina and Wyoming.
Each agreement covers a five-year period that will commence on April 1, 2017 and selected organizations will look to help NIST develop approaches to transfer technologies from Manufacturing USA institutes as well as create strategies for small manufacturer engagement.
“The award winners and the MEP centers they operate play a critical role in our continued efforts to strengthen the economy and create jobs in the manufacturing sector,” said U.S. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker.
The selected organizations that will operate MEP centers in select states include:
- Delaware Technical Community College
- High Technology Development Corp.
- Iowa State University of Science & Technology
- Mid-America Manufacturing Technology Center
- Maine Manufacturing Extension Partnership
- Mississippi Manufacturers Association
- New Mexico Manufacturing Extension Partnership
- South Carolina Manufacturing Extension Partnership
- The Dakota Manufacturing Extension Partnership
- University of Nevada-Reno
- University of Wyoming
NIST has also awarded contracts worth approximately $5 million to California Manufacturing Technology Consulting, Massachusetts MEP, Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center and Pennsylvania MEP to support four Manufacturing USA programs.
Selected MEP centers will conduct projects that seek to accelerate the transition of the latest technological concepts into manufactured products as well as offer assistance to small U.S. manufacturers through Jan. 14, 2019.
