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Local organizations, manufacturers
Call for State to Invest $3 Million in FY 11 Budget
to Assist Illinois Manufacturers
Unemployment at record high; Manufacturers challenged to compete;
Opportunity to Leverage Federal Matching Money
For Immediate Release
January 29, 2010
Contact: Tucker Kennedy
309-677-4633
Rockford, IL – Local manufacturers and business assistance organizations called on the Illinois House of Representative Jobs Task Force to provide $3 million to the Illinois Manufacturing Extension Center (MEC) in the FY 2011 state budget as a way to boost the struggling manufacturing sector and create new, high wage jobs.
A $3 million investment in IMEC will not only leverage up to $4.5 million from the federal government and another $3 million-plus from manufacturers, it will generate more than 700 new manufacturing jobs. In the last two years alone, the companies IMEC served reported creating or retaining nearly 2,200 jobs at a time when many other companies were reducing employment.
“My message today is simple: The state can create more jobs by funding the Illinois Manufacturing Extension Center,” Brian Nelson, Sr. Vice President of Haldex Hydraulics, told the committee. “By investing in IMEC, the state will drive the kind of activity that will stimulate the economy. More companies will re-tool. More companies will train their workers. More companies will increase sales. More companies will boost productivity. More companies will make the critical changes they need to survive and thrive long term.”
Haldex Hydraulics is Rockford-based producer of gear pumps, motors and power packs that has utilized IMEC to implement new techniques to increase efficiency and improve product quality. Nelson testified that local manufacturers have to change in order to succeed in a global market. He described how IMEC’s assistance enabled his company to reduce process steps, improve quality, and increase its daily output. As a result, Haldex was able to compete with offshore suppliers and grow its business with a large agriculture manufacturer from zero to $6 million. That alone resulted in the creation of 20 jobs.
“Large companies have access to these types of resources. The smaller companies cannot make them alone. IMEC fills this gap with hands-on assistance.”
IMEC is a non-profit organization that's helped thousands of small and midsize manufacturers across Illinois to be more productive and competitive since 1996. One of 59 affiliate centers of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP), IMEC utilizes federal and state support to reach out to manufacturers throughout the state, assess their needs, and provide them with affordable best practice solutions to improve productivity and create jobs.
An additional incentive for the state to provide a $3 million investment is the ability to leverage up to $4.5 million in federal matching funds.
“For 14 years IMEC has established a track record for generating one of the highest impact returns per dollar of state investment of any state-supported program,” testified Bob Weinstein, IMEC President. “Delivering verifiable benefits to Illinois manufacturers is the singular focus of IMEC’s mission.”
Weinstein reported on data showing that IMEC annually generates more than $100 million in verified benefits on impacts on manufacturing cost savings, sales, investments, and employment. These benefits, in turn, result in more than $250,000,000 in state and local economic impacts, including more than a four dollar increase in state and local tax revenues for every dollar the state provides to IMEC.
“Now is the time when our state’s smaller manufacturers are most in need of help,” said Weinstein. “Now is also the time when companies have the capacity to make the changes to survive and grow. While it is no doubt true that state resources are limited and there are many competing needs, failure to adequately support manufacturing will risk prolonging the recession and further weakening the state’s financial health.”
“When the state spends taxpayer dollars, we have an obligation to spend them wisely,” said Representative Dave Winters (R-Shirland). “This $3 million is a smart investment for the state because it will allow Illinois to capture additional federal matching dollars to help manufacturers at a time when they really need it.”
Globalization has created a fiercely competitive environment for domestic manufacturers. Firms of all sizes, and smaller firms in particular, are challenged by a fast-paced market with high demands for quality, cost and delivery. Since 1996, IMEC (the Illinois Manufacturing Extension Center) has helped Illinois' manufacturers meet these challenges and many more. IMEC’s team of manufacturing specialists and affiliated partners assists more than 450 manufacturers each year. Major solutions include operating cost reduction, quality improvement, continuous improvement technology & innovation, and market diversification/growth strategies. IMEC is a non-profit corporation with 10 office locations throughout Illinois.
Companies served by IMEC achieve productivity gains more than four times greater than the firms who don’t receive this assistance. They’re able to increase sales, retain workers and modernize their facilities when others are scaling back. Independent studies verify that every dollar the state invests in IMEC generates an additional four dollars in tax revenue for Illinois.
IMEC is part of the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership, with over 1,400 manufacturing specialists throughout the U.S. IMEC’s Rockford regional office is in partnership with the Northern Illinois University Outreach center.
Associations, higher education institutions, and economic development organizations supporting IMEC’s funding in the State’s FY 11 budget include:
· Bradley University
· Champaign Chamber of Commerce
· Economic Development Council for Central Illinois (Peoria)
· Economic Development Council of the Bloomington-Normal Area
· Eiger Lab (Rockford)
· Employers’ Association
· Fabricators and Manufacturers Association (FMA)
· Growth Dimensions for Belvidere-Boone County
· Illinois Development Council
· Illinois State Chamber of Commerce
· Illinois State University
· Illinois Sustainable Technology Center
· Leadership Council Southwestern Illinois
· Northern Illinois University
· Quad City Development Group
· Rockford Area Economic Development Council
· RSM McGladrey
· Southern Illinois University, Carbondale
· St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association (RCGA)
· Tuscola Economic Development
· Vermillion Advantage (Danville)
For more information, visit www.imec.org or call 1-888-806-4632.
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