Manufacturing is the foundation of economic security, environmental sustainability and a country’s standard of living. In the United States, it employs two-thirds of scientists and engineers, produces 90% of U.S. patents, and represents more than half of our country’s research and development. And perhaps most importantly today, manufacturing produces both the goods and the jobs that sustain communities.
That is why everyone from economic development agencies in communities throughout the U.S. to the White House has given manufacturing increased focus. As the Council for Competitiveness so succinctly puts it, “The perception of manufacturing as dirty, dangerous, dumb and disappearing is far from accurate. Today, manufacturing is smart, safe, sustainable and surging.” It is driving an innovation economy in the U.S.