The Council on Competitiveness Applauds the President’s Continued Commitment to U.S. Manufacturing Competitiveness

President Obama recently announced the unique focus areas for the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation (NNMI); an important program aimed at leveraging the strengths and assets of particular regions across the country, while also bringing together companies, universities, community colleges, national laboratories and government to partner and co-invest in the development of world-leading manufacturing technologies.

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2013 Chicago Innovation Awards Nominations

Nominations are now open for the 2013 Chicago Innovation Awards, the largest celebration of innovation in the Chicago region. Whether you work for a large company or small start-up, for-profit or non-profit, high-tech or low-tech, across all industries, nominate your new product or service for this year’s awards. Nominations will be accepted through July 26th.

New this year is the Collaboration Award, which recognizes an innovation that resulted from a large and small firm working together. This will be in addition to the traditional 10 Chicago Innovation Awards; the Up-and-Comer Awards, recognizing innovation in the start-up community; the Social Innovator Award and the People’s Choice Award, selected by popular vote.

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Webinar Employee benefits purchasing strategies after healthcare reform

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) potentially changes the purchasing dynamic of employer-sponsored plans — from IMA member Plante Moran

Tuesday, May 14 — 1-2 p.m., CDT — 1 CPE credit anticipated — No fee to participate

In this webinar our experts will outline the required essential health benefits and review the categories of plans available on public exchanges: platinum, gold, silver, and bronze. They will also explain how to calculate the minimum actuarial value (MAV) and describe the new taxes including the reinsurance fee, Patient Centered Outcome Research Institute fee (PCORI), and the health insurance tax.

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Financial Executives Manufacturing Roundtable: May 30, 2013 — Rosemont

After years of lackluster demand, manufacturing is poised for growth — from IMA member BDO

Yet even as manufacturers ready their organizations to step up production and enter new markets, executives are considering how best to leverage capabilities and efficiencies mastered during leaner times, determined not to succumb to runaway expansion. 

Join BDO Thursday, May 30, 2013, at the Rosewood Restaurant for an in-depth discussion of how you can position your organization to take advantage of increasing global demand at a CPE-qualified exclusive, executive roundtable: Optimizing Profitability: Riding Manufacturing’s New Demand Wave.

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BusinessUSA can help

BusinessUSA, a Presidential initiative designed to help small businesses and exporters Discover opportunities, Connect with the right resources, and Grow; is the first fully integrated federal website reflecting a new level of collaboration among federal, state, and local agencies.

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Illinois Partners with Export-Import Bank to Make Export Financing More Accessible to State Businesses

Partnership Will Support Small Business Expansion

Governor Pat Quinn recently announced that the state of Illinois has entered a new marketing partnership with the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) that is expected to accelerate export business and create job growth. Today’s announcement is a part of Governor Quinn’s agenda of creating jobs and driving Illinois’ economy forward. The Ex-Im Bank partnership with the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) gives thousands of exporters, especially small businesses, access to information about the Bank’s resources.

“This agreement is a win for small businesses and a win for the state of Illinois,” Governor Quinn said. “This partnership will bolster our economy and help Illinois businesses boost their exports and create new, well-paying jobs.”

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IMA Business Day – Wednesday, May 1 – Springfield

The IMA’s annual Business Day event is only weeks away. If you are concerned about the state’s direction and want to play a direct role in lobbying your elected officials, then register today for this great event. It begins with a noon luncheon and program followed by Capitol visits and a gala reception. There will be a special demonstration by America’s Natural Gas Alliance that will feature natural gas fired vehicles.

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IMA is on Facebook

Stay up-to-date and find out what’s happening in manufacturing. Take a moment to check out IMA’s Facebook page — be sure to “like” and “share” our posts.

Read a recent Time magazine article: How “Made in the USA’” is making a comeback here. https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=627464887268267&id=276312959072&ref=notif&notif_t=like

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Current and Future Challenges for U.S. Manufacturing — U.S. R&D Spending Lead Over Emerging Markets Narrows

For more than a half-century, the United States has led the world in science and innovation. In today’s competitive world, our country can no longer take its supremacy for granted. Aggregate R&D spending by six large and fast-growing economies for which reliable data exist (Brazil, China, India, Russia, Korea, and Taiwan) reached 53 percent of the U.S. level in 2009, up from 17 percent just 10 years prior. If current trends continue, R&D spending in these key emerging markets may exceed U.S. levels by the end of this decade.

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The First Phase of the MTConnect Challenge Opens

Finalists can win cash prizes at conclusion of each phase

Cincinnati, Oh - April 11, 2013 - The National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining and the MTConnect Institute announced the start of the first phase of the MTConnect Challenge: Creating Manufacturing Intelligence, a U.S. Department of Defense - Defense-Wide Manufacturing Science and Technology (DMS&T) ManTech sponsored competition that seeks to engage and stimulate development of advanced manufacturing intelligence applications that utilize the MTConnect standard. MTConnect is an open, royalty-free set of communications standards intended to foster greater interoperability between manufacturing equipment, devices, and software applications.

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