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Manufacturing Innovation Blog

Tab Wilkins

Tab Wilkins is Regional Manager for Strategic Transition and Senior Technology Advisor at NIST MEP, primarily supporting Centers in the western US. Prior to joining NIST, Tab helped establish and run two MEP centers and has a varied background in non-profit management, leadership development and technology-based Economic Development.

Commercial Space Exploration Opportunities for Manufacturers: Part 2

October 4, 2016

Following an earlier blog forecasting strong space industry growth, including satellite communications, space exploration and travel, we talked with five

Commercial Space Exploration—A Next Frontier for Manufacturers?

June 28, 2016

This blog is part one of a two part series. Recently there have been several public launch successes of re-usable space vehicles by SpaceX and Blue Origin

Learning and Benchmarking Other Manufacturers Growth Successes

May 10, 2016

Manufacturers are often faced with growth-related challenges, such as how to respond to industry consolidation, how to increase valuation and adapt to explosive

The CEO Perspective: Leadership Challenges for Manufacturers

March 24, 2016

Recently I came across the PriceWaterhouseCoopers Annual CEO Survey online and listened to several 3-6 minute videos about leadership challenges for

So What Exactly is Smart Manufacturing?

November 6, 2015

Recently I attended a technical conference that was actually invigorating—one on Smart Manufacturing. I learned in layman’s terms what Smart Manufacturing is

Making Music with U.S. Manufacturing

December 1, 2014

Fender Musical Instruments is currently celebrating the 60 th Anniversary of its iconic Fender Stratocaster guitar manufactured and first sold in 1954 (think

Looking to Buy “Made in the United States” Products?

November 6, 2014

What if you wanted to buy products manufactured in United States? How can you find products that are U.S. made, or list your U.S. made products or learn if

Cheers to Manufacturing

August 20, 2014

What’s still based on centuries-old technology but is experiencing a renaissance of growth and entrepreneurship today? Brewing beer – that frothy, cold beverage

Small Business, Large Cybersecurity Risks?

June 24, 2014

Is cybersecurity something you need to worry about as a small manufacturer? In 2011 50 percent of small businesses thought they were too small to be a hacker

Future Watch: High School Robotics Competition Season

May 1, 2014

Recently I watched a friend’s son compete in an international high school team robotics competition, and was simply amazed. Not knowing what to expect, we

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About this blog

Manufacturing Innovation, the blog of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP), is a resource for manufacturers, industry experts and the public on key U.S. manufacturing topics. There are articles for those looking to dive into new strategies emerging in manufacturing as well as useful information on tools and opportunities for manufacturers.

The views presented here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views or policies of NIST.

If you have any questions about our blog, please contact us at mfg [at] nist.gov (mfg[at]nist[dot]gov).