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The Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) has awarded CARES Act funding to its centers in all 50 states and Puerto Rico to help manufacturers increase production of products that support the response to the pandemic, such as personal protective equipment (PPE), and to reach new suppliers or markets, recover from workforce and supply chain interruptions, and achieve greater resilience.
GAITHERSBURG, Md. — The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has awarded a total of $50 million in emergency funding to support U.S. manufacturers in their response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The funding will allow the NIST Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) centers in all 50 states and Puerto Rico to offer services that help manufacturers increase production of products that support the response to the pandemic, such as personal protective equipment (PPE), and to reach new suppliers or markets, recover from workforce and supply chain interruptions, and achieve greater resilience.
“This administration is proud to support manufacturers across the nation as they face this unprecedented health and economic situation,” said Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. “The funding provided through MEP will also help to reinvigorate the economy and, in particular, improve the competitiveness of our small and medium-sized manufacturers and those in rural locations.”
The funding represents a one-time allocation from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act signed by President Donald Trump on March 27, 2020. Under the act, MEP centers may accept this funding without the private contribution match normally required by the MEP program. The centers may use these awards for new initiatives to help manufacturers increase production of PPE or establish new supplier relationships, or more broadly to support a national man ..
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