12 Added to Manufacturing Communities Program

Plastics Business

Twelve additional communities have been designated as Manufacturing Communities under the Obama administration’s Investing in Manufacturing Communities Partnership (IMCP) initiative. The program, led by the US Commerce Department, is designed to accelerate the resurgence of manufacturing in communities nationwide by supporting the development of long-term economic development strategies.

The new Manufacturing Communities include:

• The Greater Pittsburgh Metals Manufacturing Community, led by Catalyst Connection in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
• The Alamo Manufacturing Partnership, led by the University of Texas at San Antonio in the San Antonio, Texas, metro area
• The Louisiana Chemical Corridor, led by Louisiana State University, stretching from New Orleans, Louisiana, to Baton Rouge, Louisiana
• The Madison Regional Economic Partnership (MadREP) in the Madison, Wisconsin, region
• The Made in the Mid-South Manufacturing Alliance, led by the Greater Memphis Chamber spanning nine counties in surrounding Memphis, Tennessee
• The Greater Peoria Economic Development Council leading a five county region in central Illinois
• The Minnesota Medical Manufacturing Partnership, led by GREATER MSP in Minneapolis, Minnesota
• The South Central Idaho region, led by the Region IV Development Association in Twin Falls, Idaho
• The Utah Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Initiative, led by the University of Utah in the Wasatch Front region
• The Pacific Northwest Partnership Region, led by Business Oregon in Oregon and southwest Washington
• The Connecticut Advanced Manufacturing Communities Region, a four county area centered on Hartford, Connecticut, is led by the State of Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development
• The Central Valley AgPlus Food and Beverage Manufacturing Consortium led by California State University in Fresno and the Sacramento Community

The communities were selected by an interagency panel, based on the strength of their economic development plans, the potential for impact in their communities and the depths of their partnerships across the public and private sectors to carry out their plans. As demonstrated by this year's designees, leaders from the private sector, local government, higher education, local economic development organizations, and other nonprofits worked together to identify a sector of manufacturing where their community has a comparative advantage and drafted a strategic plan that addresses: workforce and supply chain challenges; infrastructure; research and innovation; trade and investment; capital access; and operational improvement for manufacturing companies.

The announcement brings the total communities in the program to 24. The first 12 communities to receive the designation were announced in May 2014 and include southwest Alabama, Southern California, northwest Georgia, Chicago metro, south Kansas, Greater Portland (Maine), southeastern Michigan, New York Finger Lakes, Southwestern Ohio Aerospace, Tennessee Valley, Washington Puget Sound and the Milwaukee 7 regions. Those in the program receive coordinated support for their strategies from 11 federal agencies with more than $1 billion available in federal economic development assistance. The communities receive a dedicated federal liaison at each agency to help navigate available federal resources. They also will be recognized on a government website, accessible to prospective private foreign and domestic investors, looking for information on communities’ competitive attributes.

For more information, visit www.eda.gov/challenges/imcp/index.htm.