Advancing
Manufacturing
Competitiveness:
A Practitioners' Guide
to Federal Assistance
Charles Bartsch, Senior Policy Analyst
Kerry Sutten, Regional Economist
Richard Purcell, Research Assistant

ISBN: 1-882061-58-6

Advancing Manufacturing Competitiveness was prepared with an award (#70NANB5H0012) from the National Institute of Standards and Technology within the U.S. Department of Commerce. The statements, findings, and recommendations are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the view of the National Institute of Standards and Technology or the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Reproduction of this report, with the customary credit to the source, is permitted.

Northeast-Midwest Institute
218 D Street, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
(202) 544-5200
(202) 544-0043 (fax)

Preface

The complete table of contents for the Northeast-Midwest publication, Advancing Manufacturing Competitiveness, is listed below. Each item is linked to a specific document and position within the document.

Foreword
How to Use this Guidebook
Analytic Framework

Chapter 1: Finance
Section 7(a) Loan Guarantees
LowDoc Loan Guarantees
Certified Development Company Guaranteed Loans (Section 504)
Small Business Investment Companies (SBICs)
Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)
Microloan Program
Industrial Development Bonds: Tax-Exempt Small-Issues
Business and Industrial (B&I) Loan Guarantees
Intermediary Relending Program (IRP)
Rural Business Enterprise Grants (RBEG)
Other Finance Programs

Chapter 2: Technology Development and Transfer
Technology Reinvestment Project (TRP)
DOE Laboratory Technology Transfer Efforts
National and Regional Technology Transfer Centers
Advanced Technology Program (ATP)
Energy-Related Inventions Program (ERIP)
Other Technology Development and Transfer Programs

Chapter 3: Technology, Business, and Management Assistance
Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP)
Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs)
Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE)
Minority Business Development Centers (MBDCs)
Trade Adjustment Assistance Centers (TAACs)
Government Contracting Program

Chapter 4: Export Assistance
U.S. & Foreign Commercial Service
Working Capital Guarantee Program of the Export-Import Bank
Export Working Capital Program of the Small Business Administration
Export Credit Insurance Policies of the Export-Import Bank
Project Finance Program of the Export-Import Bank
Financial Guarantees of the Export-Import Bank
Foreign Trade Zones
Other Export Assistance Programs

Chapter 5: Worker Training
Job Training Parternship Act (JTPA)
Apprenticeship Program
Targeted Job Tax Credit

Foreword

When we entered Congress in January 1993, we wanted to address the needs of this nation's manufacturers. Because congressional oversight of financing, technology development, and worker training are scattered among numerous committees, we formed a bipartisan Manufacturing Task Force to be the first comprehensive effort by federal lawmakers to examine and assist this critical industrial sector.

The Congressional Task Force on Manufacturing, initially based within the Northeast-Midwest Congressional Coalition, reviewed a vast library of literature, talked with scores of experts, visited dozens of shops and laboratories, and conducted six forums across the country. Again and again, we encountered — particularly from small and mid-sized firms — a deep sense of confusion about what federal programs are available to assist manufacturers. As lawmakers struggling to focus this array of initiatives, we clearly understand these frustrations.

The Northeast-Midwest Institute's guidebook, Advancing Manufacturing Competitiveness, responds to these frustrations. This resource profiles, for the first-time, the most important and useful federal programs available to small and mid-sized manufacturers. In clear and easily-accessible language, it lays out the purpose of 30 key initiatives and describes how they can be used by industry. Any manufacturer, or those who work with manufacturers, will find themselves referring to this publication as the source for federal program information.

The Northeast-Midwest Institute's guidebook will prove to be an invaluable resource to manufacturers, public-sector supporters, and lawmakers.

Rep. Bob Franks (R-NJ)
Rep. Marty Meehan (D-MA)
Co-Chairs, Northeast-Midwest Congressional Coalition
and Congressional Task Force on Manufacturing

How to Use this Guidebook

The federal government in recent years has devoted considerable effort and resources to confront the barriers and opportunities that face this nation's manufacturers. This book seeks to equip companies, service providers, and program officials with practical, thorough, and easy-to-use information on the diverse federal programs that could be tapped to meet manufacturers' various financial and technical assistance needs.

Some manuals provide exhaustive detail on federal rules and procedures. This guide, in contrast, profiles a series of programs that support manufacturing competitiveness. Policy analysts at the Northeast- Midwest Institute considered numerous federal initiatives that focus on manufacturing modernization, including those that provide finance, technology, training, and general business support. The featured profiles reflect their judgements as to which initiatives are most useful, applicable, and appropriate to meeting the financial and technical assistance needs of manufacturers, as well as the informational needs of service providers and public officials who work with manufacturers. The more than two dozen program profiles in the following sections underscore the importance and benefits of federal assistance to the manufacturing sector.

This guide was developed to:

inform manufacturing companies and technical service providers of the resources available from the federal government;
describe what those federal resources can be used to accomplish, and explain how they can be secured; and
inform policymakers and program administrators of other activities and services that could complement their own efforts.

Some of the profiled programs offer intensive hands-on technical assistance. Others provide the financing that makes manufacturing projects happen. Still others serve as networks to link manufacturers with facilities, equipment, prospective markets, and necessary technical information.

Analytic Framework

Advancing Manufacturing Competitiveness focuses on five types of federal programs that can help manufacturers modernize:

financing initiatives that fund various types of manufacturing modernization projects;
technology development and transfer activities that enhance a company's operational efficiency, update its production processes, and foster expansion into new product areas;
technology, business, and management assistance programs that help manufacturers operate more efficient companies;
export assistance that equips companies with the specific information and financial support they need to market abroad successfully; and
worker training initiatives that help manufacturers prepare their work forces to meet the skills challenges of modernization.

Each of these five categories is the subject of a separate chapter. A practical overview sets the context for each chapter, describing the category's importance to manufacturing and technology enhancement activities. Each chapter examines between four and 14 federal programs. For organizational purposes, every program profile begins with a "program-in-brief" that allows the reader to determine, in a glance:

program objective;
eligibility factors;
costs to recipient; and
available services.

Every profile contains the following nuts-and-bolts information.

Overview description — when the program was established, general goals of the program, how it is administered, staffing levels and expertise, and other relevant information.
Services offered — how help is provided, grants made, loan criteria followed, workshops or seminars offered, etc.
Costs — fee structures and the factors that influence them, the types of assistance provided, nature of the client, etc.
Application process — procedures that prospective beneficiaries are expected to follow, including the time frame for decision making and the acceptance rate.
Program impact — aggregate information on the number of projects undertaken, and the benefits attributable to program support (such as the number of jobs created or saved, level of investment stimulated, or tax revenues generated).
Success stories — specific examples of how the program has been used by industry and what was achieved.
Future prospects — a brief analysis of key policy, program, and appropriations issues affecting the program.
Contact — address, phone, and fax numbers of the program's headquarters office, as well local or regional program centers, where applicable.

Advancing Manufacturing Competitiveness is not a detailed technical compendium that is to be scanned and put on the shelf. Rather, this guide is meant to be used in an on-going fashion by plant owners and technical service providers. Some readers may find it useful to read the entire document. Others will focus on sections of special relevance to their business or agency operations. No matter what the approach, this guide should provide a solid framework of information about the types of federal assistance most suited to meet the diverse needs of manufacturers.

Back to Table of Contents
Back to Home Page