FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Sept. 14, 1999

Contacts: Jan Kosko
(301) 975-2767

Jo-Anne Prokopowicz (NAM)
(202) 637-3093

MA 99-13 R

Media Advisory

Summit to Address Issues Vital to Small Manufacturing
 

SUMMARY: Small manufacturers from all over the United States, policy makers, leaders in industry and academia and others will convene at a National Manufacturing Summit to recognize the important contribution small manufacturers make to the nation's economy and to discuss four issues vital to small manufacturing: e-commerce, workforce, international trade and sustainable manufacturing.

The summit is sponsored by the National Institute of Standards and Technology's Manufacturing Extension Partnership, a program of the U.S. Department of Commerce's Technology Administration; the National Association of Manufacturers; and the Modernization Forum.

President Clinton recently declared the week of Sept. 19-25 as Small Manufacturing Week. Earlier this year, Commerce Secretary William M. Daley declared 1999 as the Year of the Small Manufacturer. In addition, the National Governors' Association passed a resolution supporting the year and 12 states have issued proclamations.

DATE: Sept. 21-22, 1999

PLACE: Ronald Reagan International Trade Center, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, D.C., (Federal Triangle stop on Metro)

ACTIVITIES:

• Reception and celebration ceremony, Sept. 21, 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. Reporters must register at the Conference Center near the Amphitheater.
  
  
• Breakfast with a congressional panel, Sept. 22, 7:30 a.m. Reporters must register at the Conference Center near the Amphitheater.
  
  
• Manufacturing Summit, Sept. 22, 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Reporters must register at the Conference Center near the Amphitheater. Commerce Secretary William M. Daley will speak during the afternoon plenary session (Amphitheater, approximately 4:00 p.m.)

• News briefing, National Association of Manufacturers presents results of a survey on four issues important to small manufacturers, including e-commerce and international trade. Sept. 22, 11:00 a.m., Room Continental B, media contact: Jo-Anne Prokopowicz, (202) 637-3093.

• Exhibit, called "Greater Than the Sum of its Parts," will showcase more than 200 products made by small manufacturers from every state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. On display in the Atrium, Sept. 21, 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., Sept. 22, 7:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.