SMI

SMI VP John Major was proud to be on hand support the launch this month of a new home for the Macomb Automation and Robotics Zone (MARZ), a public-private partnership for students to explore robotics. MARZ established its center of at the Advanced Manufacturing Commercialization Center in Sterling Heights, Michigan, which is operated SAE Government Technologies. “SAE is excited about the impact this space will have on participating students," said Mark Pickett, technology transfer program manager at SAE GT. "For more than 30 years, SAE’s ‘A World In Motion’ STEM programs have been providing hands-on STEM experiences in classrooms around the globe." MARZ was created by Macomb County Government, Macomb Community College, the Macomb Intermediate School Dist and the City of Sterling Heights to enhance opportunities for K-12 students to discover careers in advanced manufacturing and robotics. MARZ is also supported by GM Foundation, Verizon, AT&T, and ITC Holdings Corp. https://lnkd.in/eKzakrMM #STEM #manufacturing #robotics #automation

SMI is proud to support Anthro's groundbreaking efforts and we’re looking forward to seeing them accelerate the scale-up of their advanced electrolyte technology, which has the potential to revolutionize the battery industry with enhanced safety, stability, and unprecedented performance. Anthro’s goal is to redefine battery innovation and contribute to a more sustainable energy future.   Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gXffBhfd

We have ample excess capacity under the nations forging presses. The same is true of our casting melt shops. In addition to aggressive efforts to advance future metals manufacturing processes we must unlock this surplus. Gaps in upstream critical materials and mold manufacture, and the downstream machining, welding, and product inspection; and the number of trained people, limit throughput and delivery to the warfighter. Today's industrial base is primed to deliver with advances and investments in convergent and advanced manufacturing to address these gaps. #Forging #Casting #FIA #IBAS #ICAM #OSD #IBP #METAL #DIBWorkForce

In case you missed it, catch up on SMI's latest and greatest in A Capitol View, our monthly newsletter highlighting how we are helping our clients in industry, academia, and nonprofits spearhead what's next in defense, energy, domestic manufacturing, life sciences, and more. Some highlights: SMI Director Aarzu Maknojia is taking the firm's efforts to the next level on the Pentagon's multibillion dollar Microelectronics Commons program, which is heating up with a new round of investments. SMI VP Samm Gillard was featured in a Chemical Engineering Magazine cover story on the lithium-ion battery supply chain. VPs Paul Gay and Damian Kunko have the inside track on the largest funding opportunity since the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Water Power Technologies Office was established in 2008. And our strategic comms practice led by VP Bryan Bender is spearheading a PR campaign for the Forging Industry Association. SMI also continues to build out its team, most recently with Associate Alex Charow, who has held a series of GOP policy roles on Capitol Hill, and Senior Advisor Jason B. Mello, a retired Air Force colonel and DoD acquisition and space industry leader. Read the October edition of A Capitol View: https://lnkd.in/gEDsmNpT #lobbying #advocacy #thoughtleadership #strategiccommunications #technology #innovation #cleantech #waterpower #workforce #supplychains #batteries #electricvehicles #electriccars #microelectronics #semiconductors

Thank you to all of our sponsors who came out and played golf with us at our 14th Annual Golf Tournament. It was a wonderful event. The raised funds will go a long way in benefiting Navy and Coast Guard wounded, ill, and injured Sailors.

Forging Industry Association CEO Jim Warren is issuing a new call to action to ensure Pentagon and defense industry leaders can more fully leverage a critical but often overlooked element of the defense industrial base. "There remains a prevailing bias in acquisition offices and among prime contractors to favor what are perceived to be the higher-tech sectors of the gig economy – think semiconductors or AI, or electric vehicles, which are the beneficiaries of historic taxpayer investments through recent bipartisan legislation," he writes in a new commentary and separate interview published today in Defense News. "But just as forging was a central ingredient of America’s leadership in the Industrial Revolution, so it remains in the digital age, where even some of the most automated equipment and weapons platforms require that mix of carbon, steel, aluminum, titanium, nickel, or alloys to perform their required functions." But Warren is warning that “the hard truth is that the nation is at serious risk of future shortages of many of the metal forgings that are central to our industrial might and national security." The commentary, along with a Q&A, are part of broader fall campaign to educate policymakers and defense acquisition leaders on the forging industry's untapped capacity to meet the Pentagon's urgent demands in this era of great power competition and trade and other policies that are undermining domestic preparedness. https://lnkd.in/eBNgsaaN Read and watch more about "Forgings for Defense: The Capacity to Meet The Moment": https://lnkd.in/eZd8bgYu And check out Jim Warren's Q&A: "It doesn't get much more basic": https://lnkd.in/eubi3dws #AUSA #aerospace #military #industry #forgings #Pentagon #weapons #workforce #automation

SMI was pleased to participate in the Forging Industry Association’s meeting this week in Cleveland, where dozens of forging companies and suppliers convened to plot strategy on the sector’s increasingly vital role in defense, space, energy, transportation, and more. COO Ken Wetzel delivered an update on the defense market and the historic opportunities for industrial base investments, as well as a presentation on how to navigate the annual defense appropriations process. VP for Communications Strategy Bryan Bender outlined for members FIA CEO Jim Warren’ proactive outreach campaign this fall to highlight the industry’s untapped capacity to meet Pentagon needs and to inform policymakers and prime contractors about how the industry is leveraging automation and nurturing the future workforce. Get briefed on “Forgings for Defense: The Capacity To Meet The Moment”: https://lnkd.in/e8mZxN6n #forging #casting #defense #DIB #workforce #weapons #Ukraine #transportation #energy #space #capacity

SMI was pleased to participate in the Forging Industry Association’s meeting this week in Cleveland, where dozens of forging companies and suppliers convened to plot strategy on the sector’s increasingly vital role in defense, space, energy, transportation, and more. COO Ken Wetzel delivered an update on the defense market and the historic opportunities for industrial base investments, as well as a presentation on how to navigate the annual defense appropriations process. VP for Communications Strategy Bryan Bender outlined for members FIA CEO Jim Warren’ proactive outreach campaign this fall to highlight the industry’s untapped capacity to meet Pentagon needs and to inform policymakers and prime contractors about how the industry is leveraging automation and nurturing the future workforce. Get briefed on “Forgings for Defense: The Capacity To Meet The Moment”: https://lnkd.in/e8mZxN6n #forging #casting #defense #DIB #workforce #weapons #Ukraine #transportation #energy #space #capacity

The forging industry consists of more than 152 plants in 38 states and employs more than 36,000 workers. Read on to learn more: https://lnkd.in/eBNgsaaN . . Sponsored by Forging Industry Association

The arsenal of democracy rests on America’s forging industry. Read on to learn more: https://lnkd.in/eubi3dws . . Sponsored by Forging Industry Association