Remarks by the President on Manufacturing Innovation Institutes

Our manufacturing sector is adding jobs for the first time since the 1990s. today, our manufacturers have added more than 620,000 new manufacturing jobs over the last four years. That’s the first sustained manufacturing growth in over 20 years. But the economy has changed. So if we want to attract more good manufacturing jobs to America, we’ve got to make sure we’re on the cutting edge of new manufacturing techniques and technologies.

And I just have to emphasize here that — because you’ll hear some people say, well, why are manufacturing jobs so special, and this is a service economy. Nobody believes that we’re going to duplicate all the manufacturing jobs that existed back in the ‘40s and the ‘50s just because the economy has changed.

And that’s why we’re here today. Already, my administration has launched two hubs for high-tech manufacturing. One is in Youngstown, Ohio and is focused on 3-D printing, an entirely new way by which the manufacturing process can accelerate and supply chains get stitched together, and you integrate design and all the way through production in ways that can potentially be revolutionary. We’ve also focused on energy-efficient electronics in Raleigh, North Carolina.

And today, we’re announcing the next two advanced manufacturing hubs. One is in the Detroit area, and the other is in Chicago, Illinois.

… all these hubs are … partnerships that bring together companies and universities to develop cutting-edge technology, train workers to use that technology, and then make sure that the research is translated into real-world products made by American workers.

Michigan, is going to focus on developing advanced lightweight materials. Detroit has already helping lead the American comeback in manufacturing.

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