U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Manufacturing Innovation Blog

Powered by the Manufacturing Extension Partnership

Ken Voytek

Ken Voytek

Mr. Voytek is the Manager of the Program Evaluation and Economic Research Group and the Chief Economist with the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) Program at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). In his spare time, he collects baseball cards, reads obscure books and articles, and shares his bubbly personality with family, friends, and colleagues.

Production factory workers in the current health environment wearing masks

Thinking Anew about Manufacturing

The last couple of months have caused manufacturers and MEP Centers to think anew about many things — supplier, customer and workforce relationships; the
Female manuel workers team working on the production line in factory stock photo

Managing Productivity

I’ve made it my personal crusade to keep a focus on the fundamental importance of productivity to manufacturers, to the MEP Program, to the MEP Centers that do
woman working on a tablet in a manufacturing facility

The Importance of Productivity

Productivity matters. It matters a lot. Yet it often seems that folks talk about productivity, but don’t do anything about it. At least, it feels that way to me
manufacturer with an ipad controlling a robot

What Happens in Georgia...

…Should not stay in Georgia. Every two years, the Georgia Institute of Technology’s Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy (STIP) program and Kennesaw State
50 Shades of Productivity Performance

50 Shades of Productivity Performance

In some earlier posts, I wrote about the variation across states and industries in terms of productivity at a particular point in time. I like to think about
Ho, Ho, Ho…An Early Holiday Present

Ho, Ho, Ho… An Early Holiday Present

Every year, I take some time to look at what manufacturing clients across the MEP National NetworkTM are saying about the future and the challenges they face