SD Manufacturing & Technology Solutions – SD’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership: What IS that, though? And how does it help manufacturers in SD?

In my personal and professional life, the question I get asked most often is, “what do you do?” Generally, I chuckle and ask how much time they have, before saying, “basically, I work for an organization that provides services to manufacturers in SD.” While this answer is true, what SD Manufacturing and Technology Solutions (SDMTS) does – and how and why it exists – is a much longer answer, and I think, a story worth telling (if someone has the time to hear it, of course).

SDMTS is the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) center for SD. The MEP is administered by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and the program’s primary mission is to strengthen and empower small and medium-sized U.S. manufacturers… Centers in all 50 states and Puerto Rico operate under a cooperative agreement with NIST, with each Center operating either within a host organization (like a university) or on its own as a 501(c)(3). Or if you’re cool, like we are in SD, your host is an industry-focused technical college – specifically Lake Area Technical College (LATC).

SDMTS covers all of SD with a team of Business Advisors and 3^rd party partners, each with their own specialties, but all under the same mission, which is To Help SD Manufacturers Prosper and Grow. We have an Advisory Board made up of 7 manufacturers in SD, representing different industries, business sizes, and geographies. We also have representation from GOED; both SDSU and SD Mines; and Southeast Tech, as well as our host, LATC.

Unofficially, we maintain relationships with other business “resource partners” in the state like the SBA, SBDC, WBCs, local economic development offices and chambers, and others. With the “alphabet soup” of resources out there, it helps to be able to give our manufacturing clients a warm introduction to someone who can provide them with services outside our scope.

To provide the capacity to deliver our services, we are supported financially by our cooperative agreement with NIST, which we are required to match. We get some help on that match from the State of SD, and the rest comes from program income and in-kind funds. And when we say program income, that does mean we are a fee-for-service organization. But the federal and state support that we get helps keep our services accessible to small and medium manufacturers and allows us the opportunity to grow our services in the subjects that are most relevant to manufacturers in SD.

The structure of our program focuses our work in SD. We are here to support SD’s manufacturers, and if someone from outside of SD calls us, we engage the MEP Center in their state. Sometimes, we perform the work on behalf of another Center. Sometimes, it’s the other way around. Bottom line, what’s great about being an MEP is that our manufacturers have the support of the SDMTS team – and the SDMTS team has the support and the knowledge of the MEP National Network. Centers in neighboring states don’t compete; they support each other. And that’s special. And even more importantly, it’s a benefit to SD’s manufacturers.

What happens without the MEP program? This is not an outcome I like to consider, but facing this fear reinforces the importance of what we do here. Without MEP, small and medium manufacturers lose access to services they need to help them reduce waste, increase revenue, take on new projects and clients, and the list goes on…. Sure, we’re not the ONLY ones in the world doing what we do. But we’re able to be at the SD manufacturer’s doorstep and present them with a solution that makes sense for their business. Without that, services will tend to settle around the metros in other states, and businesses in rural areas end up having to compete with those metros for access.

To help show our gratitude for the federal support of the MEP program, I attended the American Small Manufacturers Coalition (ASMC) Hill Day in Washington, D.C. in early March. While there, I was able to connect with the incredible staffers from SD’s congressional delegation, provide an update on SDMTS and the MEP Program in general, and thank them for their support. I also got the chance to connect with my colleagues from other MEP Centers, sharing meals and conversations with friends old and new; learning from them; and returning home revitalized by the experience, and deepening my understanding of just how much relationships matter – especially when you’re united in your cause – that being supporting the MEP Program, and more importantly, supporting US manufacturing.

To learn more about our services, visit https://sdmanufacturing.com/solutions/. Or better yet, reach out to me at Mi**************@*************ng.com or any one of our Business Advisors. We’d love to visit about who we are and what we do, and we hope you have the time for the long answer…