Team Pennsylvania Receives Grant for Pennsylvania Manufacturing Competitiveness Collaborative to Focus on Accelerating Technology Adoption
Team Pennsylvania, the non-profit committed to accelerating Pennsylvania’s economy, announced that it has been awarded a grant of nearly $380,000 from The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) for its Pennsylvania Manufacturing Competitiveness Collaborative. The grant will be supplemented by state and private funding that will result in a total investment of $750,000 in this work, enabling the public-private network of partners to make manufacturing in the Commonwealth more competitive.
“Team Pennsylvania is excited and galvanized by the support of the Appalachian Regional Commission,” said Abby Smith, President & CEO of Team Pennsylvania. “Ensuring the continued strength and growth of the manufacturing sector requires working together at the highest levels of business and government, along with leaders in academia, organized labor, and the nonprofit sector, to position Pennsylvania as a leader in the U.S. and globally.”
Pennsylvania’s manufacturing sector has a strong legacy as a critical driver of economic growth and has served as the heart of the commonwealth’s economic engine for over 250 years. Manufacturing comprises 13% of Pennsylvania’s economic output and the sector employed 9.5% of Pennsylvania workers in May 2022. Ensuring this sector’s continued strength and growth is essential to the economic success of Pennsylvania residents and the economic health of the commonwealth more broadly.
“Manufacturing is one of the Commonwealth’s foundational industries, essential to our workforce and our communities,” said Rick Siger, Secretary of the PA Department of Community & Economic Development (DCED). “This grant will enable Team Pennsylvania to provide the state-level coordination necessary to grow the economic potential of this sector while enhancing our manufacturing competitiveness. DCED is committed to serving as a close partner and leader in this work to maximize benefit for all Pennsylvanians.”
The Collaborative will build on the work of the Pennsylvania Manufacturing Advisory Council and the Council’s Manufacturing Competitiveness Playbook, which was released in September 2022.
“Team Pennsylvania provides a forum for all manufacturers and champions of manufacturing to come together to catalyze and encourage state-level actions that advance the overall competitiveness of the industry,” said Shannon Massey, Senior Vice President & General Manager of Lycoming Engines, Team PA Board Vice Chair, and Manufacturing Collaborative Leader located in the Appalachian region. “I’m excited for Team Pennsylvania to put these grant dollars to work on behalf of Pennsylvania manufacturing and in support of the Factory of the Future.”
Team Pennsylvania will continue to convene a cross-sector leadership team to drive the work of the Collaborative. The leadership team, which will include strong representation from the Commonwealth’s Appalachian counties, will meet regularly to oversee and guide the work of the full Collaborative and its action teams.
“At ARC, we know that it is imperative that we prioritize workforce support for Appalachians in order to help the region gain parity with the rest of the country,” said ARC Federal Co-Chair Gayle Manchin. “This grant will not only help expand Appalachian Pennsylvania’s manufacturing industry, but also provide sustaining jobs that will allow Pennsylvanians to thrive in their careers while continuing to live in the place they love.”
Enabled by Appalachian Regional Commission funding, the Manufacturing Competitiveness Collaborative will elevate priorities through cross-sector collaboration and activate them in public-private partnership to tackle the issues in manufacturing that no one sector, company or organization can address alone. ARC’s grant of $379,325 was matched by $220,675 in private funds and $150,000 in state funds.