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May 18, 2004 Purdue announces center to advance future of Indiana manufacturingWEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue President Martin C. Jischke on Tuesday (May 18) announced that the university plans to establish a Center for Advanced Manufacturing in an effort to boost the largest sector of Indiana's economy into a leading role in the global marketplace.
The Center for Advanced Manufacturing will be launched as the seventh component in Purdue's Discovery Park, the university's central hub for strategic, interdisciplinary research. "Advanced manufacturing has been identified as one of the economic sectors with the greatest potential for growth in Indiana," Jischke said. "Manufacturing has long been an important piece of Indiana's economy, and if our state is going to continue to compete in the international marketplace, we must take the steps necessary to remain on the cutting edge of new technologies." Jischke made the announcement as part of Summit III: Advancing Manufacturing in Indiana, an all-day meeting of manufacturing leaders from around the state to discuss the future of the sector in Indiana and policies and partnerships that will strengthen the state's manufacturing economic base. A feasibility study and needs assessment sponsored by the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership last year found that Indiana needs an advanced manufacturing center, not only as a resource for existing companies, but also to help attract new businesses to the state, create opportunities for citizens and help to alleviate the state's "brain drain" problems.
"Based on the CICP study, Purdue has been exploring potential ways to establish such a center, and we have found a financially feasible way to do it," Jischke said. "Securing new funds in the current economic climate is difficult, but this is a job that needs to be done for Indiana, and Purdue is going to do it. Our plan is to create a focused center that will take advantage of facilities and other resources already available on the Purdue campus. "The goal continues to be to provide a resource to help the state's economy. We will provide an interface between basic academic research and the applied needs of the manufacturing industry." Purdue intends to seek funding from a variety of sources to establish and operate the new center, said John A. Schneider, assistant vice provost for industry research and outreach. Purdue will contribute facility space in its Discovery Park and provide start-up expenses over the center's first three years. U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., is leading a bipartisan effort by the Indiana congressional delegation to secure an additional $3 million from federal sources. Purdue is developing a proposal for $2 million in funding from the state's 21st Century Research and Technology Fund. Purdue also expects to leverage those funds to attract additional investment from federal agencies and industry partners. "During a time when manufacturing jobs are declining, the creation of these facilities will help spur the discovery of innovative ways to produce new goods and ensure the development of new job opportunities for future generations of Hoosier workers," Bayh said. The CICP study concluded that advanced manufacturing technology needs to be instituted in large and small companies in all of the state's manufacturing sectors, including automotive, food processing, electronics, steel and pharmaceuticals. Indiana Gov. Joe Kernan said the steps taken by Purdue will provide those industries with the assistance they need to help the Indiana economy grow. "Indiana has taken significant steps over the past few years to strengthen our position in the global economy, and one of the key partners in those steps has been our higher education institutions," Kernan said. "This new center is just the latest example of that, and it is one that helps us more specifically target one of our key job growth sectors, advanced manufacturing. In fact, the research and development, and more importantly, the innovation coming out of this center, will set the bar for this industry and place Indiana on the leading edge of an industry that is key to state's economy and the growth of our work force." Pat Kiely, president and chief executive officer of the Indiana Manufacturers Association, praised the Purdue initiative. "The Center for Advanced Manufacturing will create tremendous synergy between our universities and the manufacturing firms that are the backbone of our economy," Kiely said. "There are tremendous mutual benefits to be gained by creating an interface between higher education and Indiana manufacturing." CICP President and CEO David Goodrich said the center is an important step in enhancing the state's competitive position. "If we are going to keep our manufacturing firms strong, attract companies from other regions and encourage new enterprises to start, we need the kind of initiative Purdue is taking," Goodrich said. "We must position Indiana as a state that has all the pieces in place to support business, and an advanced manufacturing center is one of the key pieces. I am grateful for Purdue's leadership on this front. " Jischke outlined four ways in which the new center would contribute to Indiana's economic growth: • Provide an infrastructure to facilitate the relationships between fundamental research, technology transfer efforts and startup companies. • Support existing companies around the state that require significant applied product research help or product and process improvement. • Attract additional manufacturing companies to Indiana, increasing the number of jobs available in the field. • Bring emerging technologies to Indiana and foster the creation of new technologies. "Indiana's manufacturing sector has been hit particularly hard by the recent economic downturn, losing more than 90,000 jobs," Jischke said. "We have to accept that the nation's economy is changing and most of those jobs are not coming back. It is important to the state that there be new types of manufacturing jobs to take their place. As Indiana's land-grant university, we have the resources in place to help shepherd the changing economy." Approximately 20 percent of Indiana jobs are in the manufacturing sector, with an average annual wage of more than $42,000, compared to $27,000 annually in all other sectors. "Manufacturing jobs pay well, so we want to retain them," Schneider said. "The challenge is to update our manufacturing processes to make them more competitive. "By making the center an integral part of Purdue University, we are able to dramatically decrease the costs of starting and sustaining the effort. Making use of the university's existing resources will allow us to more efficiently provide the research and assistance needed by Indiana's citizens and industries." In conjunction with work at the center to boost manufacturing, the university also will ask the Indiana General Assembly to help fund collaborative research, expand Purdue's Technical Assistance Program, involve regional campuses and expand the School of Technology's industrial technology bachelor's degree programs at Statewide Technology locations. Schneider said the center will serve as an umbrella for existing and future centers and projects that support manufacturing, including product lifecycle management research; the Advanced Pharmaceutical Technology Institute; and the Transportation, Distribution and Logistics Institute. Located at the corner of State Street and Intramural Drive in West Lafayette, Discovery Park, which is now under construction, will include six centers: Birck Nanotechnology Center, Bindley Bioscience Center, Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship, Discovery Learning Center, e-Enterprise Center and the Center for Advanced Manufacturing. The new Biomedical Engineering Building also will be located in Discovery Park. Writer: Matt Holsapple, (765) 494-2073, mholsapple@purdue.edu Sources: Martin C. Jischke, (765) 494-9708, mcjischke@purdue.edu John A. Schneider, (765) 494-5532, jas@purdue.edu Gov. Joe Kernan's office, (317) 232-4578 Sen. Evan Bayh's office, (202) 224-1062 Pat Kiely, (317) 632-2474 David Goodrich, (317) 638-2440 Charles O. Rutledge, Discovery Park executive director, (765) 494-7766, chipr@purdue.edu Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu PHOTO CAPTION: A publication-quality photo is available at http://news.uns.purdue.edu/images/+2004/jischke-center.jpg PHOTO CAPTION: A publication-quality photo is available at http://news.uns.purdue.edu/images/+2004/shin-grinding.jpg
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