Manufacturing’s enduring relationship with America’s defense establishment has again reached a pivotal moment. Against the backdrop of recovering supply chains, cyber threats, and a ground war in Europe, today a crisis in attracting qualified, capable suppliers into the defense ecosystem threatens to substantially degrade America’s ability to arm and sustain its service branches and allies.

But this perfect storm has awakened the beast. Those charged with developing and maintaining the sprawling, trillion-dollar defense ecosystem seem clear-eyed about the challenge. The National Defense Logistics Agency’s (NDIA) recent Vital Signs report — Posturing the U.S. Industrial Base for Great Power Competition — begins with this gloomy assessment:

“There is a mismatch between what our national strategies aim to achieve and how our defense industrial base is postured.”

It’s downhill from there.

“Key industrial readiness indicators for great power competition are going in the wrong direction,” the report concludes, citing lower budgets and less predictability in how dollars are allocated.

But the report makes clear the Department of Defense’s (DoD) seminal challenge: industrial readiness measured by participation in the defense supply chain. The numbers are eye-opening:

• Fewer People. In 1985, the U.S. had 3 million workers in the defense industry. By 2021, the U.S. only had 1.1 million workers in the sector.

• Fewer Companies. In the last five years, the defense ecosystem has lost a net 17,045 companies, and the Department of Defense estimates the number of small businesses participating in the defense industrial base has declined by over 40 percent in the last decade.

There’s also consensus for what’s needed to reverse the trend: make it easier for small manufacturers to participate in defense contracting. Full stop.

NDIA member surveys drive home the point: companies make it clear that it’s “easier to work with non-government customers than DoD,” and, that “defense companies find it harder to do business with DoD than other federal customers.”

And if perception is reality, companies don’t see the situation improving:

If part of the solution is understanding the problem, mission accomplished. That said, what’s the path forward?

“I don’t think there are any silver bullets here,” says Sustainment president and retired Brigadier General Chris Hill. (Read more from Chris Hill in Part I of this series.) Hill’s job today is, in part, to help the government tap the untapped potential of small- and medium-sized manufacturers.

“For companies, the truth is that they’re going to have to put more into it the first three to five years than they’re going to get out of it,” Hill says. “That’s a tough order for somebody to do. Even given the scale of the challenge, the Defense Department is not going to come knocking on their door.”

Hill’s thinking is shaped by several years managing the largest repair station in the DoD and United States Air Force at the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Complex. And for every step companies can take to improve their operational posture relating to DoD opportunities, many more must be taken at the federal level.

“What we’re really talking about here is a whole-government approach to supporting SMMs,” adds Hill. “This is bigger than just the DoD, and there are more tentacles [within the federal government] that may be better positioned to support this. For example, it’s not really the DoD’s sole job to support small business — that’s the role of the [Small Business Administration centers]. MEPs, [which are NIST-sponsored manufacturing extension partners], are out there supporting manufacturing through the Department of Commerce in more of a functional role. All that is to say that I think the imperative is to knit together the disparate government resources to help SMMs.”

And to reform others. One significant change currently underway is the relaunch of the national network of PTACs — Procurement Technical Assistance Centers — to the APEX Accelerator network. Lori Haozous is program manager at the Arizona APEX Accelerator and is already seeing an improvement in the program’s ability to partner with appropriate resources to better serve SMMs, along the lines of Hill’s suggestion.

“Going to the DoD Office of Small Business (OSB) program gives us more flexibility,” says Hazous. “Now, I can partner with the Arizona Commerce Authority and have autonomy in creating programs to fit Arizona companies.” (Illinois manufacturers can find more information on local PTACs through the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO). California manufacturers find your local PTAC here.)

She continues, “Today, we need to increase participation in the Defense supply chain. And I know we have clients we can get involved. We can now do what’s necessary to find the resources to get these clients up to that level — or refer them to a reliable resource partner that can help in this area. It’s just educating them and letting them know that we’re here to help them through those parts that they are unsure of or they think is a barrier for them.”

In the end, defense contractors will decide who’s qualified and who’s not, and it would seem that any meaningful reform would include primes and tier-ones that ultimately control the DoD supply chain. They’re on Hazous’ radar — but not yet engaged. “We actually don’t have those strong relationships, yet. I know that moving forward, we need to incorporate these voices to discover processes or whatever requirements our clients need. That’s where we’re headed.”

It’s good news for an ecosystem that needs it. Sustainment’s Hill sees another precedent that bodes well. “There are organizations like the National Security Council, for example, that coordinate these whole-government approaches,” he says.

But as we await the systemic, overarching change in how the government does business, industry has a responsibility as well.

“There has to be some sort of meeting in the middle,” says Hill. “The nation recognizes that we have a gap. We’ve heard about it the last two years since COVID, and through the supply chain woes, inflation, and now geopolitical trade, tariffs, and all the different instruments that are putting pressure on supply chains.”

How, then, to meet a calling that private business has met for years? “The companies I worked with that are successful, they hustle,” says Hill. “That’s how they get it done. Just like every SMM in the country, does. They work their tail off trying to be competitive, agile, and build relationships.”

There’s an indication that in the future, they’ll be rewarded by more receptive DoD suitors. We’ll explore more changes being contemplated at their level in Part III of the series.

Bart Taylor is publisher of CompanyWeek. Email him at btaylor@companyweek.com.

The Arizona APEX Accelerator program (formerly Arizona PTAC) is hosted by Maricopa Community Colleges and funded in part by the DoD Office of Small Business Programs (formerly under the Defense Logistic Agency).

The finalist group has taken shape for the 2023 Colorado Manufacturing Awards, and this year’s roster of nominees and finalists again represent Colorado and CMA alumni with distinction.

The CMAs were founded in 2016 to showcase manufacturing like it hadn’t been seen before — a mix of makers and manufacturers and dreamers and doers across a range of industries. As we celebrate the 2023 Finalist class (ten winners from six categories will emerge this year), here’s a few highlights from seven prior years — years in which so much has happened to amplify the importance of U.S. manufacturing and the companies we recognize.

The CMAs have done their part. The list of past winners is a Colorado Manufacturing Hall of Fame.

The program has always been about small and medium manufacturers, and the early events were marked by genuine appreciation among companies for the opportunity to meet manufacturers from other industries — a cacophony of “I didn’t know you made that here” — a halo that carries on to today.

The inaugural 2016 event brought together beer makers (Ska Brewing won the first Beer & Brewing CMA) with medical device OEMs (Mountainside Medical) and aerospace contract manufacturers (Faustson Tool). Companies in eight industries overall joined together in the same room, at the same time. There was palpable curiosity and collegiality. Ross Reels and RK began storied CMA runs.

In 2017, Marcia Coulson was awarded the first Colorado Manufacturing Woman of the Year CMA, a class that was, for me, also defined by deft technicians in nanoscience (Forge Nano – a finalist this year), 3D printing (Aleph Objects), brewing (Crooked Stave), and food (MycoTechnology).

2018 had a true statewide feel, with winners from Crested Butte (Montanya Distillers – the first CMA Craft Distiller of Year), Fort Collins (Manes Machine), Woodland Park (Blue Moon Goodness) and Loveland, home of Lightning eMotors, who would go on to be the first CMA winner to IPO. Aerospace manufacturing began a blue-chip run with Manes Machine. An all-star roster including Barber-Nichols (twice), SG Aerospace, and Special Aerospace Services has followed.

The 2019 CMA was a raucous affair with memorable acceptance speeches from winners like Wild Zora, Boyer’s Coffee, WeldWerks Brewing, Tharp Cabinet Company, Wana Brands, and yes, Infectious Disease Research Center at CSU. The class as a whole was thriving; manufacturing was truly back, and Colorado companies were leading the charge.

2020 was the first of two consecutive virtual COVID-era CMAs — and was memorable for profound commentary as companies navigated wretched conditions that were especially onerous for small businesses. Nevertheless, entire teams from Dry Dock Brewing in Aurora, Meier Skis in Denver, and StickerGiant in Longmont accepted CMAs. Littleton’s Carboy Winery won the first CMA Winery of the Year.

We tried twice to celebrate in person in 2021, but finally succumbed to the inevitability of meeting virtually to recognize another standout class — a reality that didn’t faze Steamboat’s Moots, who tapped off its 40th anniversary celebration with the Consumer Brand CMA. 2021 was notable for its compelling mix of established industry standouts — like Sundyne and Encore Electric — alongside up-and-coming brands led by ambitious entrepreneurs at Storm King Distilling in Montrose, City Star Brewing in Berthoud, and Titan Robotics in Colorado Springs.

Back in person and on stage in 2022, the assembled crowd seemed to revel in being together, but also in celebrating significant accomplishments. It was a stellar class — driven home by fun and compelling speeches from Karen Hertz (Holidaily), Tim Fry (Mountain Racing Products), Patrice Matysiewski (Sauvage Spectrum), Diana Hall (ActiveArmor), Meghan Marsden (Veil Intimates), and generally, every winner.

Here we go, 2023.

This year is already distinguished by the Finalist class (judges will select one winner from each of five categories) including national and global standouts like Windsor’s Walker Manufacturing, Colorado Springs’ dpiX, Thorton’s Forge Nano, and Grand Junction’s Leitner-Poma. RK is looking to become the first three-time CMA winner. This list is longer — and equally compelling.

As we recognize past winners, it’s important to say again that every CMA nominee is valued, and every second taken to submit a nomination is appreciated. The CMAs have always been about the entire community. ALL manufacturing is mission-critical: innovation, ethos, ideas, energy — all flow freely across manufacturing industries.

Support each other by attending the 2023 Colorado Manufacturing Awards gala and winners reveal, Thursday afternoon, May 11, a kick-off to the first Colorado Manufacturing Summit on May 12.

And contact me anytime.

Bart Taylor is publisher of CompanyWeek. Email him at btaylor@companyweek.com.

One measure of manufacturing’s improbable decade-long comeback is the list of Colorado Manufacturing Awards (CMA) past finalists and winners, from the inaugural event in 2016 to last year. Today it’s a roster of recognizable companies and brands that collectively, has become a national model for manufacturing’s new industrial mix.

Colorado companies and people continue to shine. In this 8th annual CMA program, manufacturers were nominated in four broad industry categories that at once capture Colorado’s distinctive diversity, but at the same time recognize both sides of the supply chain — contractor and supplier.

Here then, are the list of finalists in two categories: Technology Manufacturing and Industrial & Equipment Manufacturing. Two winners will emerge from each category, a Manufacturer of the Year and Contract Manufacturer of the Year.

In the next CO Mfg. Report, we’ll showcase finalists in Consumer Manufacturing and Craft Food & Beverage Manufacturing, Colorado Manufacturing Woman of the Year finalists, and Colorado Manufacturing Advocate of the Year finalists.

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Industrial & Equipment Manufacturing | Finalists

Windsor’s Walker Manufacturing inspires a passion for its products reserved for a select group of American companies. The quiet company stays focused on customers and employees, but the loyalty and enthusiasm for its bulletproof mowers speaks volumes. Grand Junction’s Munro Companies manufactures and assembles professional-grade valves and other irrigation equipment, but also is an important anchor in the Western Slope’s underpublicized industrial sector. It also includes GJ’s ski-lift icon Leitner-Poma, a company known for its rugged mountain-based solutions even as it eyes growth in urban transportation systems.

Denver’s LTM Plastics is transforming injection molding into a high-tech affair, with outcomes that promise to improve U.S. global competitiveness. Louisville’s AMP Robotics is utilizing AI at scale in equipment that sorts and processes millions of disparate recyclable products and pieces to improve the “global recycling system.” Denver’s RK Mission Critical taps a history of regional infrastructure contributions to build more sustainable modular building solutions to crypto-mining and other growth industries.

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Technology Manufacturing | Finalists

Colorado Springs-based Blue Line Engineering is a key contributor in Lockheed Martin’s aerospace supply chain and a standout player in Colorado’s rich ecosystem. Neighboring dpiX gives the Springs two standout finalists, and the global leader in a-Si technology is also a semiconductor foundry and rising star in America’s industry push. Loveland’s Vergent Products is a design-to-manufacturing contract specialist with multi-industry ties and a growing regional facility footprint.

Thornton’s nanoscience standout Forge Nano continues its rapid global rise providing key materials at microscale for a cross-section of industrial clients. Also in Thornton, Intrex Aerospace is bringing advanced machining and fabricating acumen to aerospace OEMs alongside standouts like Blue Line Engineering. And Berthoud’s Ursa Major Technologies‘ rocket engines hold promise in resetting America’s lagging global position in propulsion systems for space launch and emerging hypersonic defense systems.

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View the Finalists in Consumer Product and Craft Food & Beverage Manufacturing here>>

Join us on the afternoon of Thursday May 11 for the CMA Gala & Winners Reveal to celebrate one of America’s most compelling manufacturing outposts.

President Biden’s enthusiasm for U.S. manufacturing in the final days of the election belied a simple truth for Democrats: As important the message, it constitutes much of what passes for the party’s economic agenda. Biden’s Dems rode a mix of issues to a surprising outcome last night; one can imagine a far different result if a vision for American prosperity had been more of a focus early on.

With a Congressional red lean still likely, alongside a blue president, U.S. companies are facing legislative gridlock for the next two years, a prospect that appeals to some but certainly not to those invested in seeing through pro-manufacturing federal initiatives that Biden’s Department of Commerce has teed up, in part through its NIST-sponsored Manufacturing Extension Partnership, or MEP, national network.

Biden’s team, including MEP national director Pravina Raghavan, have been at work aligning the 51 state- and territory-level MEP centers around uniform messaging and programming aimed to tackle manufacturing’s twin tormentors — workforce and supply-chain issues. At the MEP national network conference in Chicago in late September, Raghavan spelled out to me the common themes — in her words, the “connective tissue” — that will flow from the federal level through state MEP centers to local and regional manufacturers.

Raghavan highlighted a trio of obstacles that are front and center for most domestic manufacturers. “Supply chain — reshoring and filling supply-chain gaps — and MEP is named in Biden’s plan,” she said. “Workforce — I’ve yet to find a manufacturer that doesn’t have a workforce problem. And technology and innovation. Thousands of companies are still unsure it’s right for them. How do we help them understand how to take advantage of a cobot or AI on their line? That’s the mission of every MEP center with regard to technology — helping manufacturers do it but being there every step of the way, to make sure they’re not left on their own. Then, we take those best practices and share them across the national network.”

To Raghavan and Biden’s credit, this administration has successfully distilled manufacturing’s challenges to the seminal issues of the day: the acute need to uptool American manufacturers and upskill its labor force.

What’s critical, however, is that manufacturing’s technology agenda advances to the next level, where outcomes from tech and automation manifest not only in production outcomes and improved manufacturing processes, but in workforce outcomes, where STEM grads perceive a tech-fueled 21st century manufacturing sector as equivalent to a career in tech.

We’re a ways off. Our point of reference today is that automation will help overcome workforce challenges by filling in for hard-to-find employees, or else enable current workers to focus on more value-add roles as cobots, robots, and other tech assets tackle menial jobs. It’s a meaningful development in the sense that technology isn’t viewed as a threat to manufacturing employment anymore, but a stopgap, a means to counter the sector’s well-documented employment woes.

The future is much more exciting, where a new generation of tech-informed manufacturing equipment and infrastructure become a catalyst for growth — and a magnet for engineering graduates and entrepreneurs (like Summit Peak Manufacturing in today’s UT Mfg. Report) that transforms the public perception of a manufacturing career. One outcome would be a wave of new manufacturing companies inspired by, yes, tech nerds!

Gridlock or not, the good news is that the planning and innovation sure to accelerate momentum in America’s reawakened sector doesn’t originate in Washington D.C. — it’s in the DNA of companies and business leadership. That said, we’ll assume the best and hope that U.S. manufacturing continues to be a bipartisan cause celebre, with an outcome so clear and unvarnished that dysfunction in D.C. can’t derail its mission to uptool and upskill.

We’ll keep the pressure on.

Bart Taylor is publisher of CompanyWeek. Email him at btaylor@companyweek.com.