In 2012, The Manufacturing Institute launched the Science, Technology, Engineering and Production (STEP) Ahead initiative to honor and promote the role of women in the manufacturing industry through recognition, research, and leadership. The STEP Ahead initiative will not only celebrate the accomplishments of outstanding current leadership in manufacturing again with our annual Awards Dinner, but also to inspire the next generation of female leaders.
Watch the video here

The NAM has produced a video to show young people across America that there is a future in manufacturing.

Bright House Regional Business Awards took place on Feb. 27 and BAMA member iDatix received the most prestigious award of the evening “Innovator of the Year.”
Read more about Bright House Networks Regional Business Awards.

Topics include:

• Advanced Manufacturing Research Matching Grants
• Export Assistance
• Tax on Commercial Leases/Rentals
• STEM Workforce Training
• Capital Investment Incentive Tax Credit
• Quick Response Training Funds
• Industry Certification Funding

The entire report can be found here.

Join us for Manufacturing Days at the Capital on February 4-5, 2014 in Tallahassee, FL. We have a great event planned - legislative briefing, legislative reception and pre-set appointments with key legislators.

Speaking at the briefing on February 4 are: Education Commissioner Pam Stewart, DEP Secretary Herschel Vinyard, Enterprise Florida President Gray Swoope, Workforce Florida's April Money, Florida Chamber, AIF, Florida Ports Council, Career & Technical Educators, and more. For the reception on February 4, all the legislators have been invited. We have a full morning of appointments at the Capitol on February 5 for participants to talk with legislators about the MAF legislative priorities.

Our host hotel is the aloft Tallahassee Downtown Hotel - phone 850.513.0313. Please call the hotel directly for room reservations in the Manufacturers Association of Florida room block. Rooms are going fast!

You may register for the event online at www.mafmfg.com. You may also sign up to sponsor the event online. The registration form to attend or sponsor and the preliminary agenda may be downloaded from the MAF registration page. Contact becky@nstephens.com or 850.402.2954 with questions. We look forward to seeing you at this popular event for manufacturers in Florida!

Contact: Nancy D. Stephens, CAE, IOM, DPL
Executive Director
Manufacturers Association of Florida
850.402.2954 Phone
nancy@nstephens.com

As part of the Florida TRADE grant, we are looking for manufacturers that would like to offer internships, tours for students, offer job development services, and be part of a committee to offer help with this grant.

If you would like to offer help, please contact Becky at BAMA, 727-536-5809.

On Nov. 21, Clay Gambetti, Manager of Research & Analysis, Workforce Projects at Tampa Bay WorkForce Alliance spoke on the Hillsborough-Pinellas Manufacturing Skills Gap Analysis.

More information on the Manufacturing Skills Gap Analysis can be found here.

At the Enterprise Florida quarterly Board and Stakeholders Meetings in Coral Gables last week, Enterprise Florida adopted a legislative agenda, including a research proposal. This research agenda item has developed into a proposal that would allow the very successful High Tech Corridor Research Matching Grants Program to spread to the rest of the state.

This allows Florida manufacturers, no matter where they are in FL, to have their money matched by the state universities for manufacturing-directed research projects.

If you would like to read more, you can find it.

The Florida Chamber has provided us with some interesting news bytes about the importance of growing Florida’s role in international trade:

• Bloomberg: Mexico’s growth will slow, and Brazil’s growth will increase at a slower rate than predicted
• Miami Herald: Florida real estate transactions by foreign nationals increased 3.8%, with Canada leading the pack, and China entering the group.
• Global Trade Magazine: Export values from the 174 Free Trade Zones (FTZ) operating in the U.S. increased 147.9% from 2009 to 2012.
• The Economist:“The pace of global growth increased during the second quarter of 2013 – only the third quarterly acceleration in three years. But the world is dangerously dependent on China, which continues to grow at a clip. Since the beginning of 2010 it alone has contributed over one-third of global GDP growth, with another 40 percent coming from the rest of the emerging world.”

The newly released Florida Trade and Logistics Study 2.0, identifies the potential to create 150,000 new trade and logistics jobs over the next 5 years. This study, commissioned by the Florida Chamber Foundation, recommends developing a trade, logistics and manufacturing talent pipeline, creating Centers of Excellence and the Southeast’s first merchant marine training institute. MAF partnered with the Florida Chamber Foundation on the report by providing review and editing time.

To see the entire report visit: http://www.flchamber.com/wp-content/uploads/MadeForTrade-FINAL-Single-1.pdf

Hear more about the content of the study at the 10th Annual Manufacturers Summit.