Several Washington manufacturing leaders traveled with Impact Washington – NIST MEP to Washington, DC, March 8th – March 9th to advocate for Impact Washington and the NIST Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) program funding during the annual Hill Day Initiative. The traveling team included Jenny Snow-Boscolo, Sr. Director, Global Customer Experience from Genie a Terex Brand; Steve Wittenberg, VP of Operations and Mitch Niemela, VP of Sales and Marketing, both from Toolcraft, Inc.; Deloit R. Wolfe, Jr, President, and Center Director; Jessica Ingle, Deputy Director and Carol Blayden, Director of Marketing – all from Impact Washington.

The MEP network is a catalyst for strengthening American manufacturing – accelerating its ongoing transformation into a more efficient and powerful innovation engine, driving economic growth and job creation. Impact Washington is one of over 50 MEP Centers across the U.S. and Puerto Rico.

Hill Day consists of meetings with each of the Washington congressional delegates in the House and Senate office buildings to discuss manufacturing and the vital role that Impact Washington and the MEP National Network play in assisting small to mid-sized U.S. manufacturers.

Attending manufacturers shared their experiences and benefits from working with Impact Washington and their businesses' current challenges.

Steven Wittenberg comments, "Having the opportunity to meet personally with the Legislators and Staffers on Capitol Hill with the Impact Washington team, along with other manufacturing leaders, was an educational event." "Getting an opportunity to share first-hand the benefits of manufacturing repatriation, creating domestic supply chains, and discussing investments into supply-chain optimization will surely pay off for both business and government leaders," says Mitch Niemela.

Jenny Snow-Boscolo added, "The manufacturing sector's workload is very healthy—one of the biggest things preventing the manufacturing sector from continuing to grow is the lack of an available workforce. We must come at this crisis from every angle and discuss greater investments. Discussing all areas with Legislators and Staffers, including childcare, transportation, affordable housing, and more, to connect these needs is a win-win for both companies and workers."

The team discussed how the MEP program is a powerful economic driver in support of U.S. manufacturing; in the last 5-years, Impact Washington has been the catalyst of:

• The creation and retention of more than 8,549 jobs
• $1.1 billion in increased/retained sales.
• $315 million in capital investments
• $197 million in process improvement savings

View Impact Washington's All State Impact Report Here

In 2022 the MEP

• The creation and retention of more than 116,767 jobs
• $18.8 billion in increased/retained sales.
• $6.4 billion in capital investments
• $2.5 billion in process improvement savings

View ASMC MEP National Network Report Here 

The visiting team received unparalleled support from congressional delegates on the MEP program. Throughout the year, Impact Washington works closely with congressional representatives and their staff, the Washington Manufacturing Council, and the manufacturing community, focusing on improving the manufacturing industry's competitiveness through innovative solutions to products and processes.