{"593559":{"#nid":"593559","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Minority business enterprise manufacturers to meet in Atlanta August 15-16 for second annual National MBE Manufacturers Summit","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EMore than 250 minority business enterprise (MBE) manufacturers from across the country will be in Atlanta August 15 and 16 for the second annual\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/mbemanufacturersummit.com\/\u0022\u003ENational MBE Manufacturers Summit 2017\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe Summit, which is hosted by the Atlanta Minority Business Development Agency\u0026rsquo;s (MBDA) Advanced Manufacturing Center at the Georgia Institute of Technology\u0026rsquo;s Global Learning Center, brings together world-class leaders in manufacturing and is the premier event that brings industry peers together, facilitates networking and procurement opportunities, and highlights innovation.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EBMW Group, Enhanced Capital, FORCAM, Grady Health System, Ingersoll Rand, Novant Health, Siemens, and WestRock are Summit sponsors.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAmong the highlights for attendees of the 2017 Summit:\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cul\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003EOne-on-one fast pitch meetings with corporations and original equipment manufacturers.\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003EExperiencing the most cutting-edge technologies through on-site \u0026ldquo;innovation pods.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003EHigh-level exposure for companies participating in the second annual \u0026ldquo;Poster Walk Competition.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\u003C\/ul\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EFeatured speakers include:\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cul\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EOpening Keynote:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;Theresa Carrington, CEO and founder of The\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.blessingbasket.org\/\u0022\u003EBlessing Basket Project\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Csup\u003E\u0026reg;\u003C\/sup\u003E.\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ELuncheon Keynote:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;WestRock CEO\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.westrock.com\/en\/company#leadership\u0022\u003ESteve Voorhees\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\u003C\/ul\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;We are building on the success of last year\u0026rsquo;s inaugural program, and a critical focus of this effort is innovation because it remains a key issue, according to our MBE manufacturers,\u0026rdquo; said Donna Ennis, Atlanta MBDA Advanced Manufacturing Center director. \u0026ldquo;Our Summit is designed to facilitate critical one-on-one meetings between our attendees and corporations, as well as provide the opportunity for our MBE attendees to network with one another.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe Atlanta MBDA Advanced Manufacturing Center is a program of the Enterprise Innovation Institute (EI\u003Csup\u003E2\u003C\/sup\u003E), Georgia Tech\u0026rsquo;s chief economic development and business outreach arm. A sister program to the Atlanta MBDA Business Center, the Atlanta MBDA Advanced Manufacturing Center was created via a grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce MBDA awarded to Georgia Tech in 2016.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EOne of four such centers across the country, Tech will receive $1.25 million over a five-year period to operate the Center, which is charged with providing targeted assistance to MBE manufacturers. The funding is designed to help identify, screen, promote, and refer MBEs to specialized advanced manufacturing programs, and provide technical and business development services and assist with access to capital, opportunities and markets.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAccording to data from the U.S. Census Bureau\u0026rsquo;s 2012 Survey of Business Owners, the number of minority-owned manufacturers increased 30 percent between 2007 and 2012 to nearly 107,000. These firms generated $80 billion in annual revenue in 2012. More than 25,000 minority manufacturers employ almost 332,000 workers.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe Summit is an outgrowth of the Atlanta MBDA Business Center\u0026rsquo;s Connecting Advanced Manufacturing Program (CAMP), which is now the Atlanta MBDA Advanced Manufacturing Center, Ennis said. \u0026ldquo;The vision behind CAMP and what led to us creating the Summit is to connect MBE manufacturers in the ecosystem to business opportunities, research, innovation, funding, and critical information they need to grow and thrive as businesses,\u0026rdquo; she said.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ETo register for the Summit and for more information, please visit\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/mbemanufacturersummit.com\/\u0022\u003Embemanufacturersummit.com\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAbout the Atlanta MBDA Advanced Manufacturing Center:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EFocused on building a national ecosystem of minority business enterprise (MBE) manufacturers, partners, and stakeholders, the Atlanta MBDA Advanced Manufacturing Center creates expansion opportunities for MBE manufacturers by facilitating their growth through innovation and technology, training and education, as well as advocating inclusiveness with corporate suppliers.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAbout the Atlanta MBDA Business Center:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAs part of a national network of 42 centers, the\u0026nbsp;Atlanta MBDA\u0026nbsp;Business Center\u0026nbsp;helps minority business enterprises access capital, increase profitability, create jobs, and become sustainable. It\u0026nbsp;is part of Georgia Tech\u0026rsquo;s Enterprise Innovation Institute (EI\u003Csup\u003E2\u003C\/sup\u003E), the nation\u0026rsquo;s largest and most comprehensive university-based program of business and industry assistance, technology commercialization, and economic development. For more information, please visit\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/mbdabusinesscenter-atlanta.org\/\u0022\u003Embdabusinesscenter-atlanta.org\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Held at Georgia Tech\u2019s Global Learning Center, this two-day event has grown into a hub for leading Minority Business Enterprises (MBEs) manufacturers to convene and exchange innovation-centered ideas."}],"uid":"28137","created_gmt":"2017-07-18 15:06:54","changed_gmt":"2017-07-18 15:14:27","author":"P\u00e9ralte Paul","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2017-07-18T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2017-07-18T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"593560":{"id":"593560","type":"image","title":"MBE Manufacturers Summit ","body":null,"created":"1500390782","gmt_created":"2017-07-18 15:13:02","changed":"1500390782","gmt_changed":"2017-07-18 15:13:02","alt":"MBE Manufacturers Summit attendees networking and discussing issues related to innovation.","file":{"fid":"226270","name":"12901069_1161777463841211_4751648557776980423_o.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/12901069_1161777463841211_4751648557776980423_o.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/12901069_1161777463841211_4751648557776980423_o.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":65574,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/12901069_1161777463841211_4751648557776980423_o.jpg?itok=AbQM1qc6"}}},"media_ids":["593560"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.mbemanufacturersummit.com","title":"MBE Manufacturers Summit"},{"url":"http:\/\/mbdabusinesscenter-atlanta.org","title":"Atlanta MBDA\u00a0Business Center"}],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[{"id":"139","name":"Business"}],"keywords":[{"id":"1406","name":"minority"},{"id":"96861","name":"minority business"},{"id":"815","name":"economic development"},{"id":"341","name":"innovation"},{"id":"174943","name":"MBDA"},{"id":"174944","name":"minority business development agency"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"106361","name":"Business and Economic Development"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFor media inquiries, contact:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ELaura Diamond\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E404.894.6016\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:laura.diamond@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Elaura.diamond@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFor information about Atlanta MBDA Advanced Manufacturing Center, contact:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ERolanda Powell\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E404.894.8150\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003Erolanda.powell@innovate.gatech.edu\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["peralte.paul@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}