U.S. Senator Jack Reed will tour manufacturing plants in North Smithfield, Cranston, East Greenwich and Newport on Tuesday, Oct. 19 to discuss benefits of the federal Manufacturing Extension Partnership program in Rhode Island.
The MEP program is a nationwide network of experts who provide help to small manufacturers to improve productivity, identify new products and markets, strengthen competitiveness and increase profits, according to a release.
Last month, the senator helped convince the Bush administration to transfer $8.5 million from the Department of Commerce to the program. According to Reed, the administration acted after an amendment he proposed that would have required the transfer was included in the Defense Appropriations bill.
The Bush administration proposed cutting funding to the MEP program by more than 80 percent this year to $13 million. Congress restored funding to $39 million, but the lack of adequate funding forced MEP Centers to reduce business services to small manufacturers and close regional offices.
The local MEP center is in the Rhode Island Manufacturing Extension Services at Quonset Point. Reed plans to visit Polytop Corp. in Slatersville at 9:30 a.m., Taco, Inc. in Cranston at 11 a.m., CAS America in East Greenwich at 12:30 p.m., and Armadani in Newport at 2 p.m.
