Illinois Manufacturing Lab Promises Innovation
Posted December 13, 2013 & filed under Job Search
Consider this: over 10 percent of Chicago’s economy is directly dependent upon manufacturing. Approximately 323,100 people from all around the Chicagoland area make their livelihood in one of the numerous metropolitan manufacturing facilities and close to 600,000 work on production floors statewide. Should it be any surprise that state and university officials are striving to keep new life pumping into the industry?
Birth of the Illinois Manufacturing Lab
Today, both Gov. Pat Quinn and University of Illinois trustees are announcing the details of a joint commitment to the Illinois Manufacturing Lab, a pilot program bent on further making Illinois a wellspring for manufacturing innovation. $5 million has already been promised by Gov. Quinn and U. of I. officials are deliberating about reciprocating with $5 million of their own funds.
Support for the program is anticipated from both the public and private sectors. Gov. Quinn’s announcement is expected to highlight at least 10 pilot projects for the Illinois Manufacturing Lab that will develop new products for small to mid-sized Illinois manufacturers that include:
• Gold Eagle, a Chicago-based chemical manufacturer
• Transco Products, a Chicago-based maker of nuclear plant insulation
• SWD Inc., an Addison-based maker of fasteners
• Morgan Bronze Products, a Lake Zurich-based metal manufacturer
• Numerical Precision, a Wheeling-based maker of satellite and aircraft components
• Trelleborg Sealing Solutions, a Streamwood-based maker of aerospace sealant
• TekPak, a Batavia based maker of plastic containers
U. of I. is simultaneously competing for a portion of a proposed $70 million Department of Defense grant for a digital-manufacturing research center. The highly sought after grant is a part of President Obama’s “We Can’t Wait” initiative, which encourages collaboration between private and public sector partners to fuel the paradigm shift from outmoded techniques to inventive new tactics. Next month the official winner will be announced.
Renewed Focus on Manufacturing
The Illinois Manufacturing Lab is all part of unified push to reinvigorate manufacturing output across the state. In recent months, the number of manufacturing jobs in Illinois have been declining in contrast to a national resurgence in high tech manufacturing. U. of I. is just one institution striving toward the goal of renewed Illinois manufacturing.
City College of Chicago are rapidly moving forward with college-to-careers manufacturing programs. Raymond Pendergast, Daley College’s Director of Manufacturing Technology, said to Fox 32 that through their intensive programs, “typically, in one year, students completing two semesters should be job-ready.”
And that’s a good sign seeing that with programs like this, 100,000 manufacturing jobs are expected to come to the region.
by James Walsh
