Big day of news for our industry yesterday, Manufacturing Day in America!
First,
At an event to celebrate Manufacturing Day at New York Photonics member EMF Corporation in Ithaca, New York with their Congressman from New York’s 23rd district (which includes Corning), Tom Reed, and OSA CEO Liz Rogan.
Congressman Reed deserved the wonderful welcome he got at EMF. Reed and Joe Kennedy, (D, MA) cosponsored the Reinvest in American Manufacturing & Innovation (RAMI) Bill that passed the House on September 15th. The bipartisan bill, supported by president Obama is also in the Senate (S. 1468) under the sponsorship of Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Roy Blunt (R-MO), has the potential to create another few Manufacturing Institutes as part of the president’s National Network of Manufacturing & Innovation.
Reed deserves to be recognized for his leadership, for his independent initiative, and last but certainly not least and especially significant for his constituents in the 23rd, his championing of manufacturing and manufacturing jobs. His critics can say what they will but this guy supports manufacturing. His questions at EMF showed insight into manufacturer’s problems, from workforce development and schools, to tax credits and rare earths.
Thank you, Congressman Reed for your efforts on the behalf of Manufacturers in New York and across the nation.
Second,
While we were headed to Ithaca we heard about the forthcoming announcement that afternoon from the Department of Defense (well, actually from President Obama, celebrating Manufacturing himself in Princeton, Indiana) of $200M in funding for a National Manufacturing Institute in Photonics.
This announcement is the result of so much work by so many people that it is difficult to appreciate unless you have been part of the effort. Connect the dots:
- Optics & Photonics: Essential Technologies for Our Nation
- The National Photonics Initiative
- Congresswoman Louise Slaughter’s vision and persistence
- Dozens of lobbying efforts by many dozens of individuals (including your own RRPC and New York Photonics representatives and board members) for a National Manufacturing and Innovation Institute in Photonics
These have also been the subjects, sequentially (in case you haven’t noticed), of the last four New York Photonics annual meetings.
At her press conference in Rochester to announce the upcoming competition (with a great deal of collaboration, we hope) for a
National Institute of Photonics, Congresswoman Slaughter said,
Rochester is the world capital of optics and photonics, and that’s why I’ve been fighting like heck for over two years to get this investment”
“What the world wants most in optics and photonics is already being developed right here in Rochester. We’ve got the manufacturing facilities, the research institutions, the highly-skilled workforce, and now we have the public-private investment opportunity that we need to get this industry to the next level. This manufacturing institute will have a transformative impact on our local economy that will help support the thousands of jobs we already have in this industry, and potentially bring many more to Rochester. Our region has been leading the world in optics and photonics for decades, which is why we’re going to pursue this competition aggressively.”
National Manufacturing Day was a great day for Western New York and for the nation’s optics, photonics & imaging industry. A lot of people, to many to list here, deserve credit for their hard work.
