QualiPedia: MEP

Manufacturing Extension Partnership, or MEP, is a national network of not-for-profit  centers that help small- and medium-sized manufacturers improve efficiency and bottom line results. MEP’s nearly 1,600 specialists have worked with thousands of manufacturers for the past 20 years helping companies deliver billions of dollars in cost savings and increased sales. 

As an effort of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), MEP's focus on increasing the competitiveness of the U.S. industrial base by bridging the productivity gap for manufacturers, identifying opportunities for growth, and encouraging technology deployment.

Its 392 centers serve all 50 states and Puerto Rico. They are funded by federal, state, local and private sources. Through local centers and by tapping into the linked national MEP network, companies are able to gain knowledgeable manufacturing and business expertise.

Today, MEP and its partners provide manufacturers the services it has developed over the years—while adding new offerings in growth services and technology adoption. The nation’s manufacturers, with MEP assistance, have streamlined their plant operations and improved their bottom-line. As a result, MEP and its partners are poised to capitalize on these results by creating opportunities for growth via new sales, new markets, and new products.

In addition, MEP counts on almost 2,500 affiliated partners from private and nonprofit organizations with expertise in workforce development, economic development, technological applications, and manufacturing and business processes. The network of MEP’s service delivery partners includes:

• Small business development centers

• Community colleges, technical colleges, and universities

• Trade associations

• Chambers of commerce

• Economic development corporations

• Private consultants with specialized expertise in such areas as specialty engineering, sales, marketing, and information technology

• State agencies focused on economic development, commerce, the environment, workforce development, science and technology

As the main source for the nationwide MEP network, the NIST MEP office serves the network as its coordinator, catalyst, and manager. Specifically, NIST MEP:

• Coordinates the activities of the centers and provides vehicles for them to share knowledge and provide common services to customers across state lines

• Monitors performance and evaluates the effectiveness of the centers

• Collects performance and economic impact data from the centers, measuring the economic return on the services they have provided, in order to report back to federal stakeholders

• Leverages federal and state partners into support for manufacturers with state-of-the-art business and manufacturing information.

Sources:

www.mep.nist.gov/about-mep/index.htm [1]

www.mep.org/who.html [2]

www.mainemep.org/ [3]