Minnesota Technology Inc. Partners

NIST Manufacturing Extension Program (MEP)
http://www.mep.nist.gov/

The national MEP network is funded through the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and assists small and medium-sized manufacturing companies by providing products and services designed to help them succeed. MTI has successfully leveraged this federal support for more than thirteen years by administering the cooperative agreement that provides for the MEP center in Minnesota.

MEP nationwide network of resources transforms manufacturers to compete globally, supports greater supply chain integration, and provides access to technology for improved productivity.

In the last few years alone we accomplished the following:

• 1600 Minnesota companies received critical business assistance.

• These companies realized a positive economic impact of $47.5 million to their bottom line in increased sales, reduced production costs, and improved employee utilization.

• They also invested $39.5 million in new technology.

• More than 2,350 jobs have been created or retained.

Learn more about our successes...

Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED)
http://www.deed.state.mn.us/

Minnesota companies have benefited from the efforts between DEED and MTI to identify areas of common mission and objectives. Some examples include:

• The Minnesota Manufacturer’s Advocate helps resolve regulatory issues, advises on state policies, and promotes the state’s varied manufacturing industry.
  Contact the Advocate at: diane.knutson@state.mn.us

• The Minnesota Job Skills Partnership (MJSP) program allows for cooperative training projects that provide new-job training or retraining for existing employees. Many of these grants support Minnesota’s manufacturing and technology companies – the same companies that are the focus of MTI’s business services and products.
  Learn more at: http://www.deed.state.mn.us/programs/mjsp.htm

• Together, MTI and DEED are working on a supplier development project, which began early in 2005. The project teams will conduct interviews with Minnesota’s key OEM companies to learn more about their supplier background, supplier issues, and value chain management needs.

http://www.citaschools.org

Minnesota Technology, Inc programs and services are recognized and accredited by the Commission on International and Trans-Regional Accreditation (CITA).

Founded in 1994, CITA brings together the premier American educational accrediting agencies into one organization. Members of the CITA Alliance have been accrediting American institutions for over 100 years and know well what it takes to deliver quality education. Today, members of the CITA Alliance accredit more than 30,000 public and private educational institutions in 100 countries, touching over 10 million students.

http://www.mnscu.edu/

MTI and MnSCU seek to capitalize on one another’s strengths at working with companies. MnSCU institutions develop customized training opportunities to enable employers to advance the skills of their workforce. MnSCU can help companies utilize state job skills funds for training projects that support Minnesota’s manufacturing and technology companies.

MTI continues with its long-standing relationship with the Initiative Foundations throughout Minnesota. The Minnesota Initiative Foundations—independent, nonprofit philanthropic organizations created by The McKnight Foundation in 1986—work to make the six regions outside the metropolitan area stronger and more prosperous. Each foundation's priorities are decided by people in its own region, with grants and loans supporting economic development, leadership development, community building, and families, youth, and seniors.

	http://www.wcif.org/
	http://www.smifoundation.org/
	http://www.swmnfoundation.org/
	http://www.ifound.org
	http://www.nwmf.org/
	http://www.northlandfdn.org/

The Minnesota Manufacturing Coalition represents a third opportunity to provide direct support to economic development interests within the state. MTI is a charter member in this organization, whose mission is to raise the visibility of the importance of manufacturing to Minnesota’s economy and serve as the unified voice of Minnesota manufacturers on those issues that impact their competitiveness.

The Regional Economic Development Group represents a collaboration of business groups, foundations, education entities, public sector agencies, and non-profit organizations interested in creating a more interactive infrastructure to be more responsive to business needs regionally. RED has funded six demonstration projects designed to draw on community resources in the delivery of regionally specific services. MTI provides advisory support to two of the projects – both focused on supporting industries in their respective areas.