YOUNGSTOWN, OH – U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) joined local business owners to call for passage of his bipartisan jobs bill that would help businesses in the Mahoning Valley. Following a press conference at Youngstown Business Incubator (YBI) today, Brown toured Bravura 3D – a 3-D printing company housed at YBI – which has benefited from the manufacturing hub at America Makes. Brown’s Revitalizing American Manufacturing and Innovation Act (RAMI) would fund more of these hubs around the country.

“It’s no surprise that the model for regional, industry-led hubs is here in Youngstown,” Brown said. “With the Valley’s rich steel history, workers here have the knowledge and experience to take manufacturing into the 21st century. The public-private partnership between America Makes, the YBI, Youngstown State, and companies like Bravura 3D has put Youngstown on the map as a world leader in additive manufacturing.

“And we can replicate this success around the nation by passing my legislation,” Brown continued. “Now is the time to focus our strengths toward a common goal: revitalization of American manufacturing and innovation.”

RAMI – which passed the House of Representatives last month – would bring together industry, universities and community colleges, federal agencies, and all levels of government, to accelerate manufacturing innovation in technologies with commercial applications. These public-private institutes would leverage resources to bridge the gap between basic research and product development to create thousands of high-paying, high-tech manufacturing jobs while enhancing the United States’ role as the world’s leader in advanced manufacturing.

Using this model, the Administration recently announced two new advanced manufacturing innovation institutes. One, the American Lightweight Materials Manufacturing Innovation Institute (ALMMII), will establish a unique public-private partnership jointly led by The Ohio State University, the University of Michigan, and the Columbus-based Edison Welding Institute (EWI). The project is projected to create more than 10,000 jobs in the next five years. NNMI’s pilot is Youngstown’s “America Makes,” formerly the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute (NAMII).

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