AM Forward for American Supply Chain Resiliency: Neal Orringer, President of ASTRO America

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On this episode the AM Voices podcast, Adam J. Penna had a follow-up chat with Neal Orringer, President of ASTRO America,  after hearing him speak on a panel at ASME’s AM Industry Summit back in June 2022.

President Biden launched the ‘AM Forward’ initiative in May 2022.

“One of the best ways to lower the cost of the goods and services that families rely on is to make more things in America, with more secure, resilient supply chains.” – White House fact sheet from the May 6 launch of AM Forward –

AM Forward builds on that work and advances key Administration goals:

• More resilient and innovative supply chains, by investing in small and medium sized companies;
• Growing industries of the future, overcoming coordination challenges that limit adoption of new technologies like additive manufacturing; and
• Both inventing and making more in America, through investments in regional manufacturing ecosystems. 

Topics Include:

2:00 – Addressing Supply Chain Bottlenecks 

3:00 – Seven Lead System Integrators 

4:20 – AM Forward was born…talking with President Biden about AM adoption 

5:20 – “Whole of Corporation” – drive adoption of AM (casting & forging) 

6:10 –  Financing, Qualification, Education – how small & medium suppliers access capital markets, receive qualification, and  improve workforce development.

11:24 – Workforce Development 

14:07 – Starting at the customer base with lead system integrators that are driving digitalization of the American supply chain 

19:00 – ROI and bridging the gap & re-training the workforce 

24:10 – Next steps with ASTRO America and AM Forward

Neal Orringer is a leader in advanced manufacturing and
public-private partnerships. He has built research and development
organizations in corporations of all sizes, and served as a political
appointee, as Director of Manufacturing at the U.S. Department of
Defense (DoD), a senior manufacturing advisor to two U.S. Secretaries
of Commerce, and national security aide to three U.S. Senators.
He is a recipient of the Office of the Secretary of Defense Exceptional
Civilian Service Medal and the Secretary of Defense Excellence Award.
Today, Neal is president and co-founder of ASTRO America, a research institute and think tank supporting U.S. public interest through manufacturing technology/policy formulation.

About ASTRO America
The Applied Science and Technology Research Organization of America (ASTRO America) is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit, non-partisan Research Institute and Think Tank. It was established in 2018 to advance the public interest through manufacturing technology and policy. Led by manufacturing professionals with broad public and private sector experience, ASTRO America supports collaborations by government agencies and companies to address supply chain challenges in highly regulated industries, including aerospace and defense. 

Find out more: https://www.astroa.org/