Project Supports Defense Industrial Base Expansion in Western Pennsylvania

The Barnes Global Advisors (TBGA) has been awarded $1.975 Million to demonstrate a self-sustaining advanced manufacturing production campus tied to critical part needs for the Department of Defense (DoD).

This award, funded through the DoD Industrial Base Analysis & Sustainment (IBAS) Program’s National Imperative for Industrial Skills (NIIS) initiative, will focus on workforce development programs through training and hands-on applications in a production environment. TBGA will leverage its strategic public-private partnership with the Allegheny County Airport Authority to utilize the Neighborhood 91 Advanced Manufacturing Production Campus to support these efforts.

Expanding upon TBGA’s industrial experience and involvement in IBAS-funded regional industrial workforce development investments in Texas, Connecticut, Michigan, and California, TBGA will:

Leverage proven advanced manufacturing technologies and solutions to drive secure technology and knowledge, or “Tech-Know”, transition into an existing U.S. advanced manufacturing production campus;
Demonstrate “Tech-Know” transition through a pilot program to address production for DoD supply chain issues while simultaneously up-skilling the regional workforce to meet current and projected needs; and
Create a blueprint for a Resilient Manufacturing Ecosystem that can be readily duplicated within other regions of the U.S., or exported outside the U.S., to support DoD mission and supply chain requirements abroad.

TBGA Director of Government Programs, Andy Davis, details the project scope: “We are very excited to be supporting the Department of Defense with this effort. This Resilient Manufacturing Ecosystem award kicks off what we anticipate will be a multi-year effort, with Phase 1 focusing on initial planning, capacity expansion, and sample part demonstrations at Neighborhood 91. Long term, we are committed to delivering a comprehensive advanced manufacturing solution encompassing the entire additive manufacturing value chain for the DoD.”

TBGA President John E. Barnes offered this insight, “The past few years have demonstrated that the United States has an urgent need to develop a secure and resilient manufacturing supply chain, with emphasis on resilient. The development of the Neighborhood 91 production campus was a step forward in this goal and this new workforce development effort will move us to the next phase of implementation. You can’t have advanced technology without the knowledge to design for it and use it”.

This Resilient Manufacturing Ecosystem (RME) project is contracted through Texas A&M’s Engineering Experiment Station (TEES) Secure America Institute. Key partners include Catalyst Connection, and the Neighborhood 91 Industrial Base, including Wabtec, Cumberland Additive, Metal Powder Works, and HAMR Industries.

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The Barnes Global Advisors is the largest independent Advanced Manufacturing engineering consultancy. Headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, TBGA has a presence on six continents and across the United States. TBGA helps companies work through their AM adoption via strategy, design, leadership, training, metallurgy, economics, and media and is comprised of seasoned specialists with well over 200 years of combined experience in Advanced Manufacturing.

https://www.barnesglobaladvisors.com/blog/resilient-manufacturing-ecosystem