The Department of Defense (DoD)’s Office of Industrial Base Policy, through its Manufacturing Capability Expansion and Investment Prioritization (MCEIP) office, and in partnership with RD Solutions, Inc., sponsored the Project MFG 2023 National Advanced Manufacturing Championship on May 8 - 11, 2023 in Greenville, South Carolina. Project MFG advances the Department’s vision of promoting the prestige of manufacturing and inspiring individuals to enter the manufacturing sector. The project is led by MCEIP’s Innovation Capability and Modernization (ICAM) office.
Teams from Calhoun Community College (Tanner, Alabama), Minnesota State College Southeast (Red Wing, Minnesota), Southwestern Illinois College (Belleville, Illinois), and Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology (Lancaster, Pennsylvania) gathered at Greenville Technical College’s Center for Manufacturing Innovation to compete, in which each were tasked with creating medical implants and devices that could be used for the restoration of physical mobility in military personnel suffering severe battlefield injuries and civilians with debilitating physical conditions. The projects were scored on machining accuracy, cost to produce, completeness, and teamwork. The winners for the 2023 competition will be announced in the Project MFG “Clash of Trades” episode scheduled to be aired on the Project MFG YouTube channel in late June. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkY0vFgZCw4.
The 2023 National Championship gave officials from DoD and industry the opportunity to offer valuable insight on their current manufacturing challenges and future remedies. The Honorable Dr. Laura Taylor-Kale, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy, stated, “The United States and DoD need to inspire this and future generations of Americans to pursue careers in advanced manufacturing. Project MFG is a pioneer in that inspiration and its output of skilled workers directly supports my organization’s mission of ‘forging and sustaining a robust, secure, and resilient industrial base enabling the warfighter, now and in the future’; as well as one of our key priorities of ‘Anticipating and closing gaps in manufacturing capabilities for defense systems’.”
“Project MFG’s 2023 series of competitions demonstrated the commitment of industry and academia in using competitions to promote manufacturing trades and trade training programs. We look forward to continuing to build the league of competing teams as it’s an indicator of the quality of not only their instructors and curriculums, but the determination of the students to hone their skills. Thank you to the Project MFG team for planning and organizing this event, the competitors for stepping-up and demonstrating their skills under pressure, and their host institutions for helping make this happen,” stated Ms. Adele Ratcliff, ICAM Director.
Project MFG helps elevate the next generation of highly skilled trade professionals through its series of interdisciplinary and trade-specific competitions where participants gain hands-on experience with the latest technology and support from subject matter experts. These competitions also provide an opportunity to build and strengthen local and regional manufacturing communities while working to change mindsets about advanced manufacturing careers, fostering community preparedness, and challenging how the critical skills needed to succeed in modern advanced manufacturing are taught.
During the awards ceremony, Ms. Ratcliff thanked the Greenville Technical College hosts and other partners from industry and academia for investing the time and resources to make the event a success. She pledged to continue to support Project MFG activities as a catalyst for future industrial base health and growth.
For additional information on MCEIP and other ICAM projects, please email osd.pentagon.ousd-a-s.mbx.ibas@mail.mil