Council Kicks Off 2013 “Out of the Blue” Manufacturing Dialogue Series at Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Lisa Hanna
Vice President, Communications
Council on Competitiveness
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(Oak Ridge, TN) - The Council on Competitiveness today held its first “Out of the Blue” manufacturing dialogue of 2013 at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), where top American leaders convened to explore additive manufacturing—a system of highly advanced technologies being used more often today by many companies to differentiate in the global manufacturing competitiveness race—as well as the opportunities and challenges for advancing its development and economic impact.

The “Out of the Blue” Dialogue Series, which began in 2011, is part of the Council’s comprehensive United States Manufacturing Initiative (USMCI) and continues to build off the Council’s seminal national strategy, Make: An American Manufacturing Movement, which presented recommendations and action items to stimulate manufacturing excellence in the U.S.

USMCI has held more than 15 strategic manufacturing dialogues across the country to date and is scheduled to hold several more this year.

Today leaders from industry, academia and government participated in the additive manufacturing dialogue and discussed opportunities and challenges for businesses seeking to incorporate sophisticated computing resources and advanced machinery for the improvement of their product and process capabilities.

“We are excited and proud to bring together such an illustrious group of leaders who can put their heads together to come up with creative solutions so that America can fully unlock the potential of additive manufacturing and come one step closer to winning the global manufacturing competitiveness race,” said Deborah L. Wince-Smith, President & CEO, Council on Competitiveness.

The breadth of additive manufacturing applications is broad, from design visualization and rapid prototyping across industry to redefining repair processes and product customization in the medical field.

The dialogue is co-hosted by Jeffrey J. Wilcox, Vice President of Engineering, Lockheed Martin Corporation; Ed Morris, Director, National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute (NAMII), Vice President, National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM); and Dr. Thom Mason, Director, Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

“Innovation is critical to the future of U.S. industry for reducing barriers and enabling affordable, rapid, adaptable, energy-efficient manufacturing,” said Dr. Mason. “Here at ORNL we are constantly working on distinctive world-leading capabilities in manufacturing, but it’s the creative thinking and partnerships created during these dialogues that will drive manufacturing innovations, spur job creation, and enhance U.S. competitiveness.”

More than 100 leaders participated in the additive manufacturing dialogue, including Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (TN-3) and Department of Energy Assistant Secretary David Danielson, who is leading an energy and manufacturing competitiveness partnership between the Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) and the Council.

The EERE-Council Partnership was announced last month at ORNL during a ribbon cutting ceremony for the lab’s new Carbon Fiber Technology Facility, which is working with industry on ways to produce stronger, lighter carbon fiber at a larger scale and lower cost. The American Energy Manufacturing Competitiveness (AEMC) Partnership is a three-year effort to bring together national leaders to address a rapidly shifting national and global energy landscape.   

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ABOUT THE COUNCIL ON COMPETITIVENESS

The Council on Competitiveness is the only group of corporate CEOs, university presidents and labor leaders committed to the future prosperity of all Americans and enhanced U.S. competitiveness in the global economy through the creation of high-value economic activity in the United States. The Council is a non-partisan and non-governmental organization.