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

U.S. Manufacturing

Reflections – Part 2

"Technological innovation is the successful implementation (in commerce or management) of a technical idea new to the institution creating it." —Lewis M

Smart Bolt

Waiting for me in my inbox this morning was an e-mail from a long-time friend who works in the financial industry (that fact is sort of important later). The

Reflections – Part 1

This is the story of how and why the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) was created. It’s the first in a series of tributes to celebrate the upcoming 25

Bringing It All Together

Recently, I had the opportunity to attend a Manufacturers Roundtable organized by the Oregon MEP and held at Welch Allyn, a medical device manufacturer and MEP

The Magnitude of Manufacturing Day

James Soto, president and CEO of Industrial Strength Marketing, a Nashville-based marketing firm and guest producer of MFG DAY, recently asked (over a plate of

Making Good Use of Some Downtime

In September I heard about Making in America – From Innovation to Market, a new book by Suzanne Berger and her colleagues at MIT. I finished the book with some

The Manufacturing Facts are in the Data

The difference between a myth and a reality can be as stark as the difference between day and night. Indeed, the gap between popular perception and reality

A Manufacturer's Cinderella Story

There is a growing cluster afoot and it is in East Tennessee. How do I know this? Five organizations that comprise the AMP!, the Advanced Manufacturing and

MFG Is Who We Are

Toward the end of summer, I was part of an assembled mass of governors and manufacturers at a Walmart-led summit in Florida. My boss, the Secretary of Commerce

From A Metal Fabricators Perspective

Guest post by Mike Bowlby of Mack Hils Metal Fabrication Metal fabrication shops can get bombarded at any moment with orders from customers, ranging in

Minecraft and Manufacturing Day

If you have or regularly spend time with any kids over the age of five, then you have undoubtedly heard of the game Minecraft. I have watched games progress in

Lunar Manufacturing In The 21st Century

England, in the 1760s, was the birthplace of the western world’s Industrial Revolution, initiated by a group of men who made “manufacturing” the purview of the

How People Make Things

Guest post by Andy Capel, Arkansas Manufacturing Solutions Sometimes we all need a pick-me-up. It is so easy to get in a rut in our everyday life and become

Foods’ Future

What do a McDonalds French fry supplier (J.R. Simplot Company), Starbucks Coffee, and Béquet Caramels have in common? Two things it turns out. First, they’re

A Visit to the Movies, American Made

I want to let you know about a movie that I decided to see the other day. I drove to nearby Baltimore’s historic Charles Theatre to see American Made Movie
Unlocking-Manufacturing’s-Potential

Unlocking Manufacturing’s Potential

Recently I had the opportunity to attend an interesting presentation and event, Today’s Manufacturing: Unlocking the Unlimited Potential, organized by the U.S

No Fake’in…It’s All About Bacon

There are few things in life that I really am sure of. Well, except for the fact that yes, I just ended a sentence in a preposition and violated sacred grammar

Manufacturing is America’s Strength

Once in a while, we get to work on something totally meaningful and fun all in one. For me, that’s this great new campaign, or movement if you will, started

Are You Ready?

Summer is here! Most of us are eager to enjoy longer days, more sunlight, and warmer weather, but summer also ushers in increased risk of weather related storms

What’s In Your Garage?

The idea of the garage as an incubator for start-up businesses is as American as hot dogs, baseball and apple pie (although I like apple cobbler better). From

How Iron Man Can Help Make it in America

You may not believe this, but economic development has something to learn from Iron Man. When Tony Stark and his “super suit” enter a combat zone, his

Search

Put exact phrase in quotes (e.g., "advanced manufacturing")

Email alerts

Subscribe to free e-mail alerts from the Manufacturing Innovation blog by entering your e-mail address in the box below.

Stay connected

Categories

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).

Blogroll