National Exposure
The Weekly Report – June 1, 2020
Enterprise Minnesota’s CEO will make a presentation to a national audience using State of Manufacturing® data.
Bob Kill, president and CEO of Enterprise Minnesota, will appear on June 10 on a panel of experts at a nation-wide webinar designed to help state policymakers understand how manufacturers are coping with the pressures of the COVID-19 economy.
The event, Manufacturing Our Way to Economic Recovery, scheduled at 1:30 p.m., June 10, will be presented by the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL). Learn more and register.
NCSL represents state legislatures in the U.S. Its mission, it says “is to advance the effectiveness, independence and integrity of legislatures and to foster interstate cooperation and facilitate the exchange of information among legislatures.”
Event hosts designed the Zoom conference to help state lawmakers see the government-imposed COVID-19 constraints through the eyes of manufacturers. The NCSL said, “Restrictions and shutdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have created a major shock in American manufacturing supply chains and production lines. As states begin to reopen, federal and state governments are working to support manufacturers as they get back to full production, which might include pivoting products to combat the pandemic.”
Other participants will include:
- Rob Ivester, deputy director, Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership, National Institute of Standards and Technology
- Scott Paul, president, Alliance for American Manufacturing
- Mark Troppe, senior research fellow, Center for Regional and Economic Competitiveness
Bob will use the most recent – truly unique – version of our State of Manufacturing® (SOM) survey results to illustrate the reactions of Minnesota’s manufacturers. The SOM is a major research project, created and managed by Enterprise Minnesota, that gauges how manufacturers view their current challenges and opportunities. Through it, we use one of America’s top pollsters to interview 400-plus manufacturing executives, and supplement that research with at least 15 focus groups held throughout the state.
Bob will use data to share how manufacturers tend to stay calm during economic upheavals, and the COVID-19 economy is no exception. The unique aspect of this year’s survey is that COVID-19 forced us to postpone the June public release of our annual release of SOM data. But when we made that decision, it was too late to cancel the survey itself. In fact, pollster Rob Autry had already completed the research.
For complete information and to register, visit the NCSL event page.
Industry News
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SkyWater Technology Inc. said last week it has been hired to manufacture temperature-sensing chips that can be used in wearable patches to look for symptoms of coronavirus. May 30, Star Tribune Read more
Manufacturing: Back to Business (part one)
Now that every state has begun reopening, the manufacturing sector will once again be called on to lead. Six essential questions manufacturing leaders should consider as they plan for the future. May 26, National Law Review Read more
St. Cloud college gets grant to build manufacturing training lab
The U.S. Commerce Department has awarded St. Cloud Technical and Community College $2.5 million to build a manufacturing training lab. May 19, Star Tribune Read more
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