This month, members of the Smart Manufacturing Executive Council (SMEC)—co-led by CESMII and SME—traveled to Washington, D.C. to champion policies that will strengthen U.S. manufacturing competitiveness through the acceleration of Smart Manufacturing.
In a series of meetings with bipartisan lawmakers across both chambers of Congress—including the offices of Rep. Jan Schakowsky, Sen. Peter Welch, Sen. Maggie Hassan, Rep. Burgess Owens, Rep. Gus Bilirakis, Rep. Bobby Scott, and Rep. Tim Walberg—the SMEC presented a clear and urgent message:
The time is now for a national Smart Manufacturing strategy.
📷 1: From the left: Ken Creasy (Invio Automation), Audrey St.Onge (Lallemand), John Dyck (CESMII), Congressman Gus Bilirakis (Florida), Jeannine Kunz (SME), Rick Bullotta, Simon Jacobson (Gartner), Larry Megan (Baldwin Richardson Foods)
Why it Matters
As productivity declines and global competitors advance, U.S. manufacturing faces a critical inflection point. The SMEC, comprised of industry leaders from manufacturing, automation, workforce development, and digital transformation, outlined three key policy pillars essential to reversing this trend and restoring America’s industrial strength:
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💵 Tax Incentives to accelerate and reward investments in Smart Manufacturing technologies
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👷 Workforce Upskilling Programs that develop Digital Natives on the frontline—Citizen OT/IT Technologists who can drive transformation from the ground up
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🌐 A Standards-Based Digital Infrastructure to enable a national Manufacturing Supply Chain Data Exchange
Representing the Voice of Industry
The SMEC is not just advocating for change—it’s delivering practical strategies and real-world insights to guide national policy. By representing the collective voice of the manufacturing ecosystem, the Council is helping shape the guardrails and capabilities necessary to secure America’s manufacturing future.
📷 2: From the left: Larry Megan (Baldwin Richardson Foods), Ken Creasy (Invio Automation), Congressman Tim Walberg (Michigan), Jeannine Kunz (SME), John Dyck (CESMII)
About CESMII
CESMII – the Smart Manufacturing Institute – has a total current investment of $140M (with an additional $61M under negotiation) from Department of Energy funding and public/private partnership contributions, with a mandate to create a more competitive manufacturing environment here in the US through advanced sensing, analytics, modeling, control and platforms. CESMII is one of 17 Manufacturing USA institutes on this mission to increase manufacturing productivity, global competitiveness, and reinvestment by increasing energy productivity, improving economic performance and raising workforce capacity. University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) is the program and administrative home of CESMII. For more information about CESMII, its history and Smart Manufacturing, visit cesmii.org.
About SME
We believe in the power of technology and the innovation of people to advance our nation and solve some of the world’s greatest problems. For 90 years, SME has been leading the manufacturing ecosystem to elevate manufacturers, academia, professionals, and the communities in which they operate. We build the bridge from today to the future by developing the next generation of manufacturing talent and informing industry on technology advances that can propel their operations into excellence. Learn more at sme.org, follow @SME_MFG on Twitter or facebook.com/SMEmfg.