Manufacturers Getting Federal Funds

A federal grant totaling $4.5 million has been awarded to assist manufacturers throughout the Gulf Coast region for their recovery and rebuilding from last year's hurricanes, according to Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) and Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.)

Of this grant, $2.2 million will fund a joint partnership between the Mississippi and Louisiana affiliates of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership.

The funding will be used to identify distressed manufacturers in the Gulf Coast area requiring immediate and critical attention. The initial focus will be on helping those manufacturers fill workforce shortages, and then helping firms deploy modern manufacturing methods so they may restart and recover their operations.

The MEP of Mississippi and Louisiana will jointly administer this program for the two-state region and share resources and capabilities. "This grant also provides the opportunity to transform and modernize manufacturers and their supply chains in the Gulf Coast region, which will have impact throughout Mississippi," said Dr. Jay Tice, director of MEP of Mississippi, which is a line of business of the Mississippi Technology Alliance in Jackson.