News

Graphic with the logos for AFFOA, University of Oregon, and BEMIS
AFFOA
Fabrics, Workforce
AFFOA Collaborates with University of Oregon’s Sports Product Design Program and Bemis Associates to Launch Innovative Interdisciplinary Textile Initiative

Advanced Functional Fabrics of America ( AFFOA ) is thrilled to announce the expansion of its Transdisciplinary Workshop model to the West Coast, in partnership with the University of Oregon’s Sports Product Design graduate program and Bemis Associates. This pioneering initiative invites students to collaborate in studio teams to prototype advanced...

SXSW 2025 Thumbnail Image
AFFOA, ARM, CESMII, EPIXC
Automation, Collaboration, Digital Manufacturing, Event, Fabrics, Innovation, Manufacturing Jobs, Reshoring, Robotics, Smart Manufacturing, Workforce
Envisioning the Future of Manufacturing at SXSW

How do you predict the future without a crystal ball? With data, insight, and experience. At least, that’s how a panel of experts from the Manufacturing USA network recently tackled the topic of “factories of the future” at the renowned SXSW conference in Austin, Texas.

ARM Institute’s Suzy Teele moderated the session titled “ Smart, Sustainable...

External News

Graphic with headshots of Suzy Teele, Maria Curry-Nkansah, Kathie Leonard, and Jeff Winters from the SXSW panel
Smart Industry
Automation, Digital Manufacturing, Event, Fabrics, Manufacturing Jobs, Smart Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Workforce
SXSW Quartet Contends With Last Five Years of Change in Manufacturing

Experts with diverse manufacturing backgrounds from the Manufacturing USA network, presenting at the South by Southwest Conference in Austin, Texas, last month, explored U.S. manufacturing, what technologies the next few decades will bring, and what steps manufacturers big and small can take to future-proof their business.

While manufacturing has...

Smart Industry
Biomanufacturing, Fabrics, Facilities, Manufacturing, Materials, Photonics, Workforce
How Collaborative Manufacturing Facilities are Impacting Industry’s Future

Manufacturing keeps evolving—and the facilities that house manufacturing in the U.S. are also changing and innovating. Given that 54% of domestic R&D occurred in manufacturing in 2021, according to the National Science Foundation, it makes sense for industrial facilities to be the places that enable experimentation and encourage product development...

Our Network @ Work

ARM Workforce Development
AFFOA, AIM Photonics, America Makes, ARM, CESMII, CyManII, IACMI, NextFlex, PowerAmerica
Additive Manufacturing, Education, Fabrics, Flexible Hybrid Electronics, Materials, Photonics, Power Electronics, Robotics, Sustainable Manufacturing, Workforce
Building Momentum in Regional Ecosystems

Manufacturing evolved in the United States through geographic clusters that produced competitive advantages in expertise, scale of operations, research prowess, and skilled labor. The origin of the automotive sector is an example of a regional cluster, with vehicles assembled in the Detroit area from parts and components manufactured in the upper...