NIST-MEP has partnered with the State Science & Technology Institute and the Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness to construct a comprehensive dashboard of manufacturing data for each of the 50 states and Puerto Rico. The dashboard is designed to help demonstrate the importance of manufacturing to our state's economy, serve as an economic development tool, and help shape conversations around manufacturing throughout the country.

The Colorado Manufacturing Data Dashboard is now live and embedded on our website and will be updated in real-time moving forward in order to ensure that users have access to the most current data available.

We are excited to explore the dashboard's capabilities and are eager to find opportunities to use this tool to further advance manufacturing interests throughout the state.

Visit the dashboard on our website

and be sure to contact us if you have any questions

Join us for the 6th annual Colorado Manufacturing Awards Winners Reveal & Finale and virtual networking event.

We will announce 2021 winners, celebrate past winners and CMA Alumni, and recognize manufacturing advocates and stakeholders from across industry and the supply chain.

A must-attend Colorado business event. Registration is FREE, compliments of CMA health and wellness sponsor Kaiser Permanente.

*2-Day International Trade Conference*

Speakers Include:

In January 2020, the U.S. experienced a 50-year low in unemployment. Three months later, the U.S. unemployment rate skyrocketed to 14.7 percent, a level not seen since the Great Depression. COVID-19 has forever altered the U.S. workforce. A recent report by the McKinsey Global Institute suggests that 17 million American workers will be required to change their occupation in the next eight years in the post-pandemic economy.

Is this an opportunity or a threat for Colorado manufacturers?

To begin to address this question, the Colorado Advanced Manufacturing Association (CAMA) has designed a comprehensive survey to identify Colorado employers' current and future needs. This survey was developed to understand the state of the manufacturing industry in Colorado and recommend actions that will improve the state's capacity to support the industry's workforce needs both now and into the future.

Manufacturers can complete this survey.

If you are not a manufacturer but work with manufacturing companies, please share this link with your clients, customers, and partners. Together, we can make certain Colorado manufacturers have the trained workforce they need to grow profitably in the years to come.

With the exception of committed survivalists, we all rely on third-party providers to cover basic needs for food, shelter, clothing—and technology. And although most of us have a pretty good grasp of what we are looking for with respect to food, shelter, and clothing, our confidence with respect to technology providers is shakier. All too often, the value equation with the latter is unbalanced: We provide dollars and open access to information in exchange for a black box labeled TRUST ME. With luck, the experience is mutually acceptable; at other times, the experience leads to confusion and a deeper understanding of what Alice in Wonderland went through. Using standard manufacturing practices can promote luck.

Deliver the BOM. Manufacturers work with a client-provided bill of materials (BOM) to understand the raw materials, intermediate assemblies, sub-components, and quantities necessary for production. When a manufacturer works with a supplier, diagrams are clear and communications are direct. The BOM delivers. (...)

Read the full article on our website