NIST Hollings Manufacturing Extension Program

The National Institute of Standards and Technology's Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) works with small and mid-sized U.S. manufacturers to help them create and retain jobs, increase profits, and save time and money. The nationwide network provides a variety of services, from innovation strategies to process improvements to green manufacturing. MEP also works with partners at the state and federal levels on programs that put manufacturers in position to develop new customers, expand into new markets and create new products. MEP field staff has over 1,300 technical experts -- located in every state -- serving as trusted business advisors, focused on solving manufacturers' challenges and identifying opportunities for growth. As a program of the U.S. Department of Commerce, MEP offers its clients a wealth of unique and effective resources centered on five critical areas: Technology Acceleration, Supplier Development, Sustainability, Workforce Continuous Improvement. Innovation is at the core of what MEP does. Manufacturers that accelerate innovation are far more successful and realize greater opportunities to participate in the global economy. By placing innovations developed through research at federal laboratories, educational institutions and corporations directly in the hands of U.S. manufacturers, MEP serves an essential role sustaining and growing America's manufacturing base. The MEP program has 60 Centers that work with manufacturing clients to help bring innovative products to the marketplace. Industrial physicists can access this national system as they develop new ideas and explore how best to bring these opportunities into manufacturing applications. Many of the MEP Centers are partnered with universities and other institutions that provide leverage to the resources available within the MEP Center. This leveraging of resources provide clients with expanded opportunities in market development, technology development and supplier identification.