Partnering on the National Strategy for Advanced Manufacturing

To remain a leader in advanced manufacturing, the U.S. must reshore industrial production, and industry must implement smart and transformative technologies. Like every big-picture initiative, this sweeping set of imperatives faces equally big challenges, including talent shortages, economic trends and the need for enhanced knowledge. In harmony with the National Strategic Plan for Advanced Manufacturing, SME leadership is committed to continual investment in advancing manufacturing technology and developing the workforce for the future of our industry.

SME’s input and recommendations to the White House Subcommittee on Advanced Manufacturing focused on a multifaceted approach to revitalizing the North American manufacturing sector. In addition to our direct contributions, SME partnered with the National Institute of Standards and Technology — part of the U.S. Department of Commerce — to convene our extended network to directly inform the national strategy development. To achieve our recommendations, SME convened a 40-member work group for NIST to solicit suggestions at AeroDef Manufacturing 2021 in Long Beach, California, SME’s biennial aerospace manufacturing and defense manufacturing conference and trade show. SME and NIST also held a workshop with more than 100 members of our North American Manufacturing Research Institution (NAMRI), which provided additional input.

The 2022-26 National Strategic Plan for Advanced Manufacturing is consistent with SME’s vision of a diverse, thriving and valued manufacturing ecosystem to ensure national security and global manufacturing competitiveness.

SME in the 1940s

During World War II, ASTE members helped convert U.S. industries into the “arsenal of democracy,” the Allies’ primary military supplier. Postwar membership neared 18,000 as production converted back to consumer goods. The ASTE Handbook Committee, headed by Edward W. Ernst, published its first book in 1948: the “Tool Engineers Handbook,” a reference book on all phases of planning, control, design, tooling and operations in the mechanical manufacturing industries.