Partnership Provides Resources for Small and Medium Food Manufacturers

Partnership Provides Resources for Small and Medium Food Manufacturers

Created in 1988, the Manufacturing Extension Partnership’s purpose is to provide small and medium sized manufacturers with the help needed to succeed by improving productivity, economic competitiveness and technological capabilities. In this AFDO podcast, we visit with Craig Doan, Chief Food Scientist with Impact Washington and part of the MEP network. Doan shares how the network works and who can benefit from it. For more information, visit https://www.nist.gov/mep .

MEP is a results-based national network of locally-operated and staffed non-profit, university-based, and state-based organizations leveraging federal, state and local, and private resources. The food industry is ubiquitous across the country and while the concentration of the food industry varies by states, all MEP centers have food industry clients. This partnership among the federal government, state and local governments, and the private sector provides hands-on assistance and services to U.S. manufacturers through manufacturing extension offices in every state across the country and in Puerto Rico. The nationwide network of MEP Centers operating approximately 400 service locations are managed at the federal level by DOC NIST. The NIST MEP National Network, over any given year, typically works with over 25,000 manufacturers across the United States, serving as trusted advisors, focused on solving manufacturers' process and product challenges and identifying opportunities for growth.