ITAC comments on President Obama’s scheduled Jobs Speech: The importance of manufacturing jobs to support economic growth in New York City and New York State
New York, NY – Sept. 8, 2011 – President Barack Obama will address the nation tonight to unveil his proposed jobs plan, which is expected to outline a variety of measures in both the public and private sectors to help stimulate job creation and economic growth.
"ITAC appreciates the strong, bi–partisan assistance the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) program has received thus far from the Administration and Congress," said ITAC’s President, Sara Garretson, and ITAC is calling on both to continue their support by making America’s small manufacturers a critical component of any jobs plan. "American manufacturers can compete and win. Our country needs a jobs plan that will help small manufacturers create jobs and enhance our global competitiveness through the investment in small–to–midsized companies," said Garretson.
Despite a weakening economic landscape, the U.S. MEP program, funded by the Department of Commerce, helped create 72,075 jobs in 2009 alone.
"The current job scene in America is discouraging, but manufacturing has the potential for significant growth," Garretson commented. "However, progress has slowed and small manufacturers in particular face many challenges. If policymakers tout that small business is the economic cornerstone to U.S. growth, then more should be done to help small manufacturers succeed."
ITAC helps small manufacturers in the area through training and workforce development. In 2010, ITAC helped over 300 local companies producing $44,015,000 in new sales and $35,452,067 in new investments; 65 of those companies reported 333 jobs created. In the last five years, ITAC helped to create or retain over 4,800 jobs in New York City and produce over $1 billion in economic impact for NYC manufacturers, as measured by an independent, third-party group.
ITAC has been helping Lee Spring Company grow since 2002 through implementing solutions to a broad range of company challenges, such as strategic planning, lean manufacturing, ISO certification, and recruitment.
"We believe it’s important that manufacturers have access to tools that can enable us to compete and grow local jobs," Al Mangels, President of Lee Spring Company said. "The services ITAC provides are invaluable to a company of our size, with hands on technical assistance in areas such as process optimization, quality improvement, safety, technology and automation, and workforce development."
About ITAC
ITAC is the MEP Center for New York City and one of ten Regional Technology Development Centers (RTDC) for New York State. ITAC is the only consulting and training firm dedicated exclusively to helping NYC’s small and medium–sized manufacturers. As part of the MEP national network — the largest consulting network in the U.S. serving manufacturing and technology firms with under 500 employees— ITAC can draw on over 1,400 technical experts across the country. Entering its 25th year, ITAC continues to help NYC companies grow from start–up to maturity to innovation, strengthening the local economy and creating jobs for New Yorkers.
About Lee Spring Company
Lee Spring Company is a global manufacturer and distributor of springs, wire forms and related products. Founded in 1918, its headquarters and primary factory remain in Brooklyn, New York. The Company currently employs approximately 200 people across the United States and over 300 worldwide.
Lee Spring satisfies thousands of customers all over the world in a wide variety of industries including industrial equipment, consumer goods, aerospace, defense, electrical and electronics, computer equipment, medical equipment, automotive and many others.
In addition to extensive world-class custom product design and manufacturing capabilities, Lee publishes an extensive print and web catalog featuring over 19,000 Stock Springs. This catalog is published in English, Spanish, Italian and Chinese with plans to expand to other languages. Lee Spring's extensive website, http://www.leespring.com features an online catalog, e-commerce for Stock products, CAD downloads and the ability to submit Requests for Quote for custom products.
Lee Spring is IS0 9001 registered in all of its domestic and global locations. It is committed to supporting environmental standards as virtually all Lee Spring Stock parts are both RoHS and REACH Compliant.
Lee Spring currently exports to over fifty countries in Europe, Asia and Latin America either through direct sales or distribution. Lee Spring was the recipient of the 2006 United States Export Achievement Award.
ITAC is funded by:
