Manufacturers Step up Effort to Coordinate Message Use Administration's Manufacturing Plan as Starting Point 2/26/2004
From: LeeSa Page of the National Coalition for Advanced Manufacturing, 202-429-2220 ext. 102 or pageL@nacfam.org News Advisory: -- Commerce Secretary Donald Evans to Address March 1 Conference on 'Focusing Manufacturing Voices in Washington' On March 1, the National Coalition for Advanced Manufacturing (NACFAM) and AMT -- The Association For Manufacturing Technology - - will bring together industry leaders and manufacturing organizations in an effort to build broader consensus within the manufacturing community on a series of increasingly contentious issues. These issues include: trade policy, tax policy, technology/innovation, costs of doing business in the U.S., manufacturing extension, skills gap, and the need for a continuing policy focus on manufacturing. This conference will hold breakout discussions on all these topics. The starting point for discussion in each group will be the Administration's manufacturing plan, "Manufacturing in America: A Comprehensive Strategy to Address the Challenges to U.S. Manufacturers" that Commerce Secretary Evans released recently in Cleveland. This conference will also serve to provide organized feedback to the Administration on that milestone document. WHO: Secretary Evans will be the luncheon speaker at this meeting. Prior to the breakout sessions, the conference will also hear perspectives from four prominent industry leaders: John Buttermore, vice president, Labor Relations, General Motors Corporation; Jerry Jasinowski, president, National Association of Manufacturers (NAM); Robert J. Weskamp, president, Wes-Tech, Inc; and Eric Mittelstadt, chairman emeritus, Fanuc Robotics NA. Some of the experts assisting in the industry-chaired breakout sessions include Chris Edwards, director of fiscal policy studies, The CATO Institute; David Danjczek, vice president, Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI; Catherine Mann, senior fellow, Institute for International Economics; Richard Pearson, president, National Center for Manufacturing Sciences; James McKenney, director, Economic Development, American Association of Community Colleges; and Bruce Mehlman, executive director, Computer Systems Policy Project. WHEN/WHERE: The event will be held on March 1 at the Westin Grand Hotel in downtown Washington, DC (2350 M Street, NW). Updated program and event information is posted on NACFAM's Web site at http://www.nacfam.org. Media will be allowed to attend the morning presentations and luncheon keynote address. For more information on press backgrounder opportunities and/or to register your attendance, please contact LeeSa Page at pageL@nacfam.org or 202-429-2220 ext. 102. The National Coalition for Advanced Manufacturing (NACFAM) is an industry-led, non-profit education, research and services organization committed to enhancing the productivity and competitiveness of U.S.-based manufacturing. More information about NACFAM can be found at http://www.nacfam.org. AMT (founded in 1902 as the National Machine Tool Builders' Association) supports and promotes the U.S. machine tool industry. The association provides U.S. builders of manufacturing systems with the latest information on technical developments, training methods, trade and marketing opportunities, and economic issues. It also gathers and disseminates information about world markets, promotes its' members' products in those markets, and acts as a representative on manufacturing technology matters to governments and trade organizations throughout the world. Additional information is at http://www.AMTonline.org. |