Youngstown will once again become a hub for advanced manufacturing -- this time with the 21st century firmly in mind -- thanks to a $30 million federal grant that was announced last week.
Surrounded by White House officials, Congressman Tim Ryan and Senator Sherrod Brown,
M7 Technologies President and CEO Mike Garvey announced a $60 million 3D printing hub to be built on the campus of the Youngstown Business Incubator in downtown Youngstown.
Thirty million dollars of the project’s total budget will stem from a competitive White House grant, while public and private partners will pick up the other $30 million. The strategic partnership will develop additive manufacturing (3D printing) for the defense, aerospace and automotive industries. The 3D printing process consists of making three dimensional, solid objects from digital models.
“M7 Technologies was established in 2004 to build strategic partnerships and skillsets to enable our community to participate in 21
st century manufacturing,” Garvey told a room full of business owners, students and media. “Because of this mission, we have devoted ourselves to helping to transition the skillsets of one of our most important resources here at M7 – the people who work here.”
Senator Brown of Cleveland characterized the announcement as a “highly competitive” win, dubbing the Cleveland-Akron-Youngstown-Pittsburgh region as the Tech Belt.
“Youngstown wasn’t competing against Akron,” added Congressman Ryan of Youngstown. “We were all competing against Shanghai, Beijing, Mumbai, and if we didn’t all come together locally as a region, then we would never be able to compete globally.”
Ryan doubled down on Brown’s remarks, saying Youngstown beat out competitors at MIT and Georgia Tech. “I think it is absolutely a signal that this community and this region is back to play and play hard.”
Writer: Joe Baur