Manufacturers in Six Upstate Counties to Receive Additional Composites Technology Assistance
SCMEP Secures Grant to Help Small Manufacturers in Anderson, Cherokee, Greenville, Oconee, Pickens, and Spartanburg Counties
COLUMBIA, SC – November 16, 2006 – The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) has awarded the South Carolina Manufacturing Extension Partnership (SCMEP) with a third phase of a grant to continue to transform small manufacturers in six Upstate counties into advanced composites suppliers. The total grant is $141, 645, of which $65,000 was awarded by ARC and the remaining $76,645 is being matched by SCMEP. SCMEP began a program in 2004 to help both existing composites companies and manufacturers who wished to transform themselves into advanced composites manufacturers.
The third phase of the grant-funded initiative is focused on technology development and has four goals:
1. Create linkages between the composites manufacturers identified in previous phases and composites-oriented talent within the state’s universities and federal laboratories;
2. Offer support to these same companies to help them expand their markets through new product development, and advances in materials and processing technologies;
3. Create training courses to enhance the skills of their employees; and
4. Further strengthen the existing mentoring relationships within the industry to help transition these manufacturers to being successful advanced composites suppliers.
“Historically, the ARC grants have provided the foundation for SCMEP to convince the S.C. Competitiveness Council to recognize and support the creation of an advanced composites cluster in the state,” says Ed Maier, program manager and technical composites specialist with SCMEP. “This third phase of funding continues to allow us to focus on the Upstate area where a lot of potential exists to transform small manufacturers into composites companies utilizing higher technology methods and materials, thereby increasing market capability and employees’ wages within the companies. There is a great need nationwide for competent and flexible smaller composites manufacturing firms, and we aim to make South Carolina the go-to state for fulfilling these needs.”
SCMEP has worked with small manufacturers for more than 15 years. It reports among these manufacturers a difficulty in keeping pace with rapidly changing technology and a lack of access to financing for expansions and new product development. SCMEP will not provide grant money to companies; instead, it will use the funds to lower or erase the usual consulting and implementation fees charged to manufacturers.
In Phase One of the ARC funding, SCMEP defined the growth opportunity of composites in South Carolina and created a forum for small, struggling entrepreneurial manufacturers to create partnerships with large manufacturers needing suppliers. In Phase Two, SCMEP visited small composites manufacturers in the state and conducted in-depth assessments to increase operational, business, and production capacities.
The high-strength composites targeted in this program are fiber-reinforced plastics. Different from traditional molded plastics, advanced composites combine thermoplastic or thermoset with high-performance reinforcing fibers, creating materials of much higher strength and stiffness than their individual constituent materials. Composites offer the strength of traditional metal structures with less weight, lower lifecycle costs, and more durability. Because of their superior performance, composites now have applications in aerospace, communications, infrastructure, sporting goods, transportation, heavy industry, and the energy industry.
Read more about advanced composites work in South Carolina at www.compositessc.com.
About SCMEP
The South Carolina Manufacturing Extension Partnership (SCMEP), headquartered in Columbia, SC, is a not-for-profit organization that helps manufacturers throughout the state solve business and supply chain process problems. Supported by the state legislature and an affiliate of the National Institute of Standards and Technologies (NIST), SCMEP offers business and technology assessments, engineering expertise and lean manufacturing solutions to South Carolina manufacturers in search of a single solution for supply chain synchronization and internal optimization processes. SCMEP provides this business and technology support to manufacturers through onsite consultations, partnerships with state technical colleges, research universities, and the S.C. Department of Commerce to provide educational programs, online assessment, an e-services portal, and other business tools. Using SCMEP’s services enables manufacturers to see business benefits at a faster rate and enhances economic development in South Carolina. To learn more about SCMEP, call 803.252.6976 or visit the web at www.scmep.org.
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