Small
manufacturing clients of the nationwide Manufacturing
Extension Partnership are saving money, creating new
jobs, and increasing and retaining sales at a higher rate
than ever before as a result of working with MEP, according
to the results of a new survey released today. MEP is a
program of the National Institute
of Standards and Technology, an agency of the Commerce
Department's Technology
Administration.
In
a survey of NIST MEP clients served between January and
September of 1999, 2,942 companies around the country reported
that, as a result of NIST MEP services, they:
-
increased or retained $1.4 billion in sales;
-
realized $364 million in cost savings;
-
invested $576 million in modernization, including plant
and equipment, information systems, and workforce and
training; and
-
created 5,796 jobs and retained 12,357 jobs.
Sixty-three
percent of the clients responding to the survey reported
improvements in productivity and 71 percent said their company
was more competitive as a result of the services they received
from NIST MEP.
The
survey also found that 71 percent
of the MEP clients reported that employee skills had improved
and 68 percent said the work environment for employees had
improved as a result of MEP services. Eighty-five percent
said they were very satisfied or satisfied with the quality
of the services they received and 86 percent said they would
definitely or probably use NIST MEP services again.
The
survey was conducted between March and November 2000 by
Market Facts Incorporated located in Arlington Heights,
Ill. MEP has conducted national surveys of its clients since
1996, but this is the most comprehensive survey to date.
Only clients that had completed a substantive activity with
an MEP center from January through September 1999 were surveyed.
(A different instrument was used to survey clients in the
first quarter of fiscal year 1999, so those results are
not included.)
Clients
responding to the survey completed an average 2.2 projects
with a center representing 123 hours of service. Clients
were asked to consider the entire set of services a center
provided over the past two years and comment on how their
business performance had been affected in the past 12 months.
Other
independent studies also have shown solid evidence of performance
and economic benefits to NIST MEP clients. For example,
researchers at The Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census
Bureau, found that 1,559 manufacturing extension clients
experienced between 3.4 percent and 16 percent more growth
in labor productivity over a five-year period than similar
non-client firms. This productivity growth translated into
$484 million in additional value-added for these MEP clients.
The
NIST MEP is a nationwide network of resources assisting
the nation's smaller manufacturers in becoming more competitive
by addressing their most critical and often unique needs.
At the heart of the MEP is a network of more than 400 manufacturing
extension centers and field offices located throughout the
country. Started in 1989, today's network delivers services
to manufacturers in all 50 states and Puerto Rico. Centers
represent a blend of federal, state and local resources.
Numbering
more than 361,000, small and mid-sized manufacturers make
vital contributions to the economy. About 99 percent of
the nation's manufacturers are small to medium-sized, defined
as having fewer than 500 employees. They account for over
half the total value of U.S. production and employ nearly
12 million people. That accounts for more than two-thirds
of all U.S. manufacturing employment. These jobs are high-skilled
and high-wage, paying an average 50 percent more than retail
salaries.
As a
non-regulatory agency of the U.S.
Department of Commerce's Technology
Administration, NIST strengthens the U.S. economy and
improves the quality of life by working with industry to
develop and apply technology, measurements and standards
through four partnerships: the NIST
Laboratories, the Baldrige
National Quality Program, the Manufacturing
Extension Partnership and the Advanced
Technology Program.
Note
to editors: A copy of the survey is available on the
World Wide Web at www.nist.gov/public_affairs/survey.htm
or by faxing a request to NIST Public and Business Affairs
at (301) 926-1630.
To explore
a century of NIST partnerships with U.S. industry, benefits
to the public and impacts on economic growth, go to the
NIST centennial (1901-2001) web site at www.100.nist.gov.
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