{"81321":{"#nid":"81321","#data":{"type":"news","title":"\u0022Perfect Storm\u0022 Combination of State and Federal Budget Cuts Reduces Technical Assistance to Georgia Manufacturers","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe cumulative effect of the cuts is being felt a time of heightened need as the state\u0027s manufacturers compete with foreign companies that often have significant cost advantages.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn addition to the 18.5 percent budget reductions imposed over the past four years by declining state revenues, Georgia Tech\u0027s Economic Development Institute (EDI) was recently hit by a 75 percent cut in funding from the federal Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP), a national program designed to help manufacturers become more productive and competitive.  Since 2001, the state and federal cuts together have cost 38 positions in EDI\u0027s statewide network of regional offices and its Atlanta headquarters.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe combined effect of the cuts will be to significantly reduce the number of manufacturers that EDI can serve.  Compared to its service capacity in 2001, EDI today is able to serve an estimated 300 fewer companies per year.  The cuts will also force EDI to suspend operations in at least three regional offices: Carrollton, Newnan and Rome.  \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFor the federal 2005 budget, the White House had proposed the total elimination of the MEP program, but Congress restored partial funding for it.  Nationally, that has meant the total closure of some programs and substantial reductions in others.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022The Manufacturing Extension Partnership has been tremendously successful at meeting the needs of manufacturers, enjoys strong bipartisan support in the U.S. Congress, has been widely praised by manufacturers - and is needed more now than ever before,\u0022 said Rick Duke, EDI\u0027s director.  \u0022We don\u0027t understand why funding was cut for a program that has been successfully helping to keep manufacturing jobs in the United States.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn Georgia, the Economic Development Institute provides technology-driven solutions to help the state\u0027s manufacturers in such areas as information technology, quality and international standards, lean manufacturing, energy and environmental management and new product development.  The assistance helps companies reduce costs, improve efficiency, boost productivity and increase sales. Those services will continue to be provided, but at a reduced capacity that will hurt manufacturers when they need help the most. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Through our reduced state funding, we will continue to provide services to manufacturers throughout Georgia, but these cuts put us even farther behind in meeting the needs of our state\u0027s small- and mid-sized companies,\u0022 Duke added.  \u0022These firms need technical assistance to help them become more efficient and able to compete in the world economy.\u0022  \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOf the 38 positions lost in the budget cuts, 18 were engineers, scientists and research associates who provided direct services to companies through the statewide network of regional offices.  Another nine positions were support staff in the regional offices.  The remainder included service providers and support staff in the Atlanta headquarters. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe 38 positions lost include both staff vacancies that could not be filled over the past four years due to declining budgets, as well as cuts made in two rounds of layoffs this spring.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022These cuts will significantly reduce our ability to help manufacturers adopt the technology-based solutions they need to keep jobs in Georgia,\u0022 said Larry Alford, manager of EDI\u0027s Manufacturing Services.  \u0022With our reduced support, we will continue to do all we can to help companies.  But we know this will mean that more critical needs will go unmet, particularly in rural areas of the state where there are few economic development alternatives.\u0022 \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn Georgia during 2002, MEP assistance helped companies create or retain more than 1,300 jobs, invest more than $33 million, cut $13 million in unnecessary costs - and increase or retain $61 million in sales.  Nationally, MEP assistance helped manufacturers create or retain nearly 42,000 jobs.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe Manufacturing Extension Partnership has enjoyed strong Congressional support, nationally and within Georgia.  Both Senators Saxby Chambliss and Zell Miller supported the program\u0027s continued funding, and six of Georgia\u0027s 13 representatives signed the \u0022Dear Colleague\u0022 letter circulated to members of Congress in support of the program.  Nationally, 58 senators and 203 representatives signed the letter, with an additional 43 representatives signing individual letters of support.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EEDI\u0027s budget comes from state appropriations, the federal government, and fees paid by manufacturers for the services they receive.  EDI is part of Georgia Tech\u0027s Office of Economic Development and Technology Ventures.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAbout EDI\u003C\/strong\u003E: Georgia Tech\u0027s Economic Development Institute (EDI) offers an array of services with a common objective: to grow Georgia\u0027s economy by providing technology-driven solutions to the state\u0027s businesses and communities. Whether the goal is attracting new companies to Georgia, expanding existing enterprises, providing technical expertise to help Georgia business and industry become more competitive, or helping communities plan for growth, EDI helps keep the state\u0027s economy moving forward. For more information about EDI, visit \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.edi.gatech.edu\u0022 title=\u0022www.edi.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ewww.edi.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E.\n\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"A \u0022perfect storm\u0022 combination of state and federal budget cuts over the past four years has eliminated nearly a third of the staff in Georgia\u0027s primary program of technical assistance for manufacturers.","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27304","created_gmt":"2004-06-16 00:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:03:38","author":"Matthew Nagel","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2004-06-09T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2004-06-09T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cstrong\u003E \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.gatech.edu\/contact\/index.html?id=\u0022\u003EContact  \u003C\/a\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}