It is no mere coincidence that I am in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania today with Ray Yeager, CEO, DMI Industries. Today, on National Manufacturing Day, we confirm our commitment to this Nation serving as a global manufacturing leader, through cutting-edge research and development, to deliver to our citizens and to our trading partners the highest quality manufactured products in the world.  Our commitment is paying off. 

Manufacturing is vital to the American economy, and it is a large part of what makes our middle-class thrive.  Manufacturing drives economic growth, accounts for the majority of exports, funds a majority of the nation’s research and development, and fosters the creation of millions of jobs in American factories, in supply chains, in professional services, and throughout the heartland of our great country.  Moreover, manufacturing provides the resources needed by pioneers of innovation and discovery to bring their ideas to fruition and be used by millions of people around the globe.

American manufacturing is staging a tremendous come back. A few years ago, most manufacturing companies were moving production offshore and exporting jobs rather than their products. Today, with new policies, that situation is turning around, and we are rebuilding the American industrial base and the global economy.

The US Department of Commerce is reducing the regulatory burden on manufacturing companies.  We have helped eliminate the weight of taxes on American producers.  And, just the other day, we reversed decades of U.S. trade policy that favored foreign producers by standing up for American industries and for American workers to create good-paying American jobs.

Manufacturing Day (MFG DAY) addresses common misperceptions about manufacturing by giving manufacturers an opportunity to open their doors and show, in a coordinated effort, what manufacturing is — and what it isn’t. By working together during and after MFG DAY, manufacturers will begin to address the skilled labor shortage they face, connect with future generations, take charge of the public image of manufacturing, and ensure the ongoing prosperity of the whole industry.

MFG DAY is designed to amplify the voice of individual manufacturers and coordinate a collective chorus of manufacturers with common concerns and challenges. The rallying point for a growing mass movement, MFG DAY empowers manufacturers to come together to address their collective challenges so they can help their communities and future generations thrive.

Created by Founding Partner Fabricators and Manufacturers Association, International in 2012, MFG DAY has enjoyed support from many organizations aligned with its mission of positively changing the public perception of modern manufacturing. Organizations that have played a vital role in working with FMA to successfully grow this national celebration of all things manufacturing include the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), the Manufacturing Institute (MI), and the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP).