The Barnes Global Advisors receive Defense funding for resilient manufacturing ecosystem
April 21, 2023
The Barnes Global Advisors (TBGA), headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, has been awarded $1.975 Million to demonstrate a self-sustaining advanced manufacturing production campus tied to critical part needs for the US 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 programmes through training and hands-on applications in a production environment. TBGA will leverage its strategic public-private partnership with the Allegheny County Airport Authority in Pennsylvania to utilise 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 transition into an existing US advanced manufacturing production campus
- Demonstrate technology & technology transition through a pilot programme to address production for DoD supply chain issues while simultaneously up-skilling the regional workforce to meet current and projected needs
- Create a blueprint for a Resilient Manufacturing Ecosystem that can be readily duplicated within other regions of the US – or exported outside the US – to support DoD mission and supply chain requirements abroad
“We are very excited to be supporting the Department of Defense with this effort,” stated Andy Davis, Director of Government Programs, TBGA. “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.”
John E Barnes, TBGA President, added, “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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