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Washington, D.C.– Today, Walmart U.S. President and CEO Bill Simon joined 280 of the nation’s mayors in Washington, D.C., at the U.S. Conference of Mayors Meeting to announce a new fund for innovation in American manufacturing and a new supplier commitment to bring production of bikes and jobs to South Carolina.

The $10 million fund for innovation:
Walmart and the Walmart Foundation will fund the five-year program and work in collaboration with the U.S. Conference of Mayors to launch it in March. The fund will provide grants to innovators in the manufacturing sector and seeks to create new processes, ideas, and jobs that support America’s growing manufacturing footprint.

“If we want to grow manufacturing and help rebuild America’s middle class, we need the brightest minds in our universities, in our think tanks, and in our towns to tackle obstacles to U.S. manufacturing,” said Simon. “The $10 million fund will identify and award leaders in manufacturing innovation and help us all work together to create opportunity.”

Last year Walmart announced that it will buy an additional $50 billion in American products. That’s $50 billion more than it does today 10 years from now. Walmart estimates that its $50 billion pledge, in the 10th year, will result in Walmart buying an additional $250 billion cumulatively over the next 10 years. This pledge is in an effort to grow U.S. manufacturing and encourage the creation of U.S. jobs.

The Boston Consulting Group predicts that this $250 billion investment will create one million jobs, when you include the jobs in manufacturing and related services.

Kent Bicycles:
Kent Bicycles announced it is moving production from overseas to Clarendon, S.C. According to Kent, when at full capacity in 2016, they will have added at least 175 jobs and will be assembling 500,000 bikes annually. The company, based in Parsippany, N.J., expects to start production in the fall of 2014.

“We look forward to bringing production to South Carolina,” said Arnold Kamler, owner of Kent Bicycles. “Our company moved all manufacturing overseas in 1990 because it was so much more cost effective. When Walmart made its commitment to U.S. manufacturing last year, it opened our eyes to restarting some manufacturing here. We attended Walmart’s August manufacturing summit and were able to focus our efforts quickly and make things happen with South Carolina.”

“Those that have already taken the risk to move or expand manufacturing in the U.S. tell us they are experiencing a first-mover advantage—a significant leg-up in terms of market-share and momentum,” added Simon. “Kent Bicycles is taking the opportunity to become one of those first-movers with its facility in South Carolina.”

“It’s exciting to see a leading manufacturer, like Kent Bicycles, choose South Carolina to manufacture bicycles, a mainstay of an American childhood. We celebrate the company’s decision to create at least 175 new jobs and produce a half a million bicycles annually in Clarendon County, and we are pleased that Walmart’s commitment to domestic manufacturing is accelerating real progress on the issue,” said South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.

Walmart also announced that it will host its second U.S. manufacturing summit in Denver, Colo., in August 2014. One focus of this year’s summit will be connecting manufacturers in need of component parts to factories with excess capacity.

“Many factories aren’t operating at full capacity. By working together, we have an opportunity to repurpose or help add production to some of these communities,” said Simon. “This will help rebuild the American supply chain to support U.S. manufacturing and create more jobs.”

Walmart’s first summit in August 2013 brought together more than 1,500 attendees, including 500 suppliers, 34 states and government officials to discuss opportunities to create jobs, restore communities and drive economic growth.

This Press Release is courtesy www.walmart.com

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Carbon monoxide (CO) is an invisible killer, and portable gas generators emit a lot of CO. Portable generators were involved in the majority of carbon monoxide deaths involving engine-driven tools from 1999 through 2012. At a carbon monoxide safety event in Chicago today, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission Acting Chairman Robert Adler announced that a new agency report finds that portable generators were linked to more than 85 percent of non-fire CO deaths associated with engine-driven tools, or 800 out of 931 deaths, during that 14-year period. Most of the deaths have occurred since 2005, when Hurricane Katrina and a series of winter ice storms hit the U.S.

CPSC’s report also found that African Americans died at nearly twice their proportion of the population. CPSC staff found that 23 percent of generator-related fatalities involved African Americans. African Americans make up about 12 percent of the U.S. population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Men of any race were most likely to die from CO poisoning from generators, accounting for 73 percent of the deaths.

Most of the generator fatalities, or 74 percent, occurred at fixed-structure homes. Many of these incidents involved generators that were operated in the home’s living space.

Portable generators have fuel-burning engines. Engine exhaust contains high levels of poisonous carbon monoxide, which can be fatal within minutes if used indoors, or in enclosed spaces, such as garages, crawlspaces, sheds, or too close to the home.

CPSC urges consumers to use generators only outside, and at least 20 feet from the home, away from windows and vents, to allow proper ventilation. Generators should never be used inside the house, basement, garage, shed or crawlspace, even if there is ventilation.

Half of the generator-related deaths happened in the four coldest months of the year, November through February, because of generator use during power outages. Electricity turned off by the power company due to a bill dispute or non-payment also was a factor in some generator-related deaths.

CPSC is working to make generators safer. In 2006, the Commission issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) to address the carbon monoxide poisoning hazard associated with portable generators.

In 2007, the Commission voted to require manufacturers to place a prominent “danger” label on newly-manufactured or imported portable generators with a warning, “Using a generator indoors can KILL YOU IN MINUTES.”

Last fall, a study by CPSC found that a generator’s CO emission rate could be cut dramatically by using closed-loop fuel injection and a small catalyst—the same emission control technology used on motor scooters and small motorcycles. This emission control technology was found to increase significantly a consumer’s escape time when running a generator in a garage from the current eight minutes to 96 minutes. CPSC staff is considering the results of this study, other research and stakeholder feedback, as the staff develops recommendations for next steps in the rulemaking proceeding.

CPSC urges consumers to use caution with all engine-driven tools. CPSC’s report also looked at carbon monoxide-related incidents and deaths involving other engine-driven tools, such as lawnmowers, power washers and yard trimmers. CPSC staff found 126 CO deaths with engine-driven tools—other than generators.

Non-Hispanic whites died from CO poisoning from non-generator engine-driven tools at a much higher rate (89 percent) than their proportion of the population (67 percent). Men accounted for 97 percent of the CO deaths from engine-driven tools.

Proper usage of CO-emitting tools is just one vital safety step. For this reason, CO alarms are critical lifesaving devices. They should be installed on each level of the home and outside sleeping areas.

CPSC staff found that a CO alarm was present in only about eight percent of the cases involving a CO death with engine-driven tools, and most of the CO alarms were not working at the time of the fatal incident involving engine-driven tools. Proper installation and maintenance of CO alarms saves lives.

This Press Release is courtesy of Consumer Product Safety Commission www.cpsc.gov

To compete in an increasingly global economy, the United States must come up with innovative strategies that will lead to economic growth and job creation around the country. The ‘Investing in Manufacturing Communities Partnership’ (IMCP) seeks to enhance the way we leverage federal economic development funds to encourage American communities to focus not only on attracting individual investments one at a time, but transforming themselves into globally-competitive manufacturing hubs.

An administration-wide initiative led by the White House and the U.S. Department of Commerce, the ‘Investing in Manufacturing Communities Partnership’ will encourage communities to devise comprehensive economic development strategies that strengthen their competitive edge in attracting global manufacturers and their supply chains. IMCP specifically brings together the resources of multiple federal departments and agencies involved in economic development.

In Phase One of the of the ‘Investing in Manufacturing Communities Partnership,’ 44 communities were awarded a total of $7 million to support the creation of economic development strategies that recognize the community’s comparative advantages as a place to do business, invest in public goods, and encourage collaboration between multiple entities to expand the area’s commercial appeal to investors.

Today, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker announced that the competition for Phase Two of the ‘Investing in Manufacturing Communities Partnership’ is now open, and the Federal Register Notice will be posted in the coming days. In this phase, communities will have an opportunity to compete for a special designation that will elevate them in consideration for $1.3 billion in federal dollars and assistance from 10 cabinet departments/agencies. These communities could also potentially receive catalytic additional federal investments to further support their economic development strategies. The IMCP is a critical component of the Department of Commerce’s “Open for Business Agenda,” which prioritizes trade and investment.

Phase Two of the Investing in Manufacturing Communities Partnership

In Phase Two of the IMCP, up to 12 communities that come up with winning strategies will receive a designation of “Manufacturing Community” that gives them elevated consideration for $1.3 billion in federal dollars and assistance from 10 cabinet departments/agencies. These communities would also potentially receive additional catalytic federal investments to support their economic development strategies. In order to earn the designation, communities must present strategies that identify technologies or industries in which they would be competitive in the future and would make investments in the following areas:

workforce and training;
advanced research;
infrastructure and site development;
supply chain support;
export promotion;
and capital access
These communities will receive:

Elevated consideration for federal dollars and assistance across 10 cabinet departments/agencies, totaling $1.3 billion;
A dedicated federal liaison at these agencies who can act as their concierge to the specific services they need;
Subject to funding availability, challenge grants may become available to some awardees from the pool of designated manufacturing communities;
Recognition on a government website, accessible to prospective private investors (foreign and domestic alike) looking for information on communities’ competitive attributes

This Press Release is courtesy of www.commerce.gov

HIGH POINT, N.C. – U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission Chairman Inez Tenenbaum told furniture manufacturers this week to “aim for the highest level of safety” in their designs to minimize health and safety risks to consumers.

Tenenbaum addressed members of the American Home Furnishings Alliance Board of Directors during the group’s May meeting in Arlington, Va. The annual event includes visits with key legislators on Capitol Hill.

Tenenbaum recalled visiting several furniture factories and showrooms at AHFA’s invitation in 2011. “To see the manufacturing process from start to finish provided me with valuable insights,” she remarked.

Those insights are helping to inform the CPSC’s work toward a mandatory flammability standard for upholstered furniture. “Throughout my tenure as chairman, I have made it clear that we are committed to developing an upholstered furniture standard that does not require the use of harmful chemicals,” she said.

“I want to see progress on this rule this year and want all stakeholders, including all of you, to stay engaged with CPSC as we move forward,” she told the AHFA directors.

Tenenbaum thanked AHFA’s Vice President Bill Perdue for his leadership of the ASTM subcommittee on furniture safety and commended the committee for its work on updating the furniture tip-over standard.

“I hope that each of you – whether you make adult furniture, children’s furniture, or both – will use all of the communication tools at your disposal to encourage your customers to anchor their furniture and televisions,” she added.

Tenenbaum concluded her remarks by explaining the CPSC’s concept of “safety by design.”

“As I have travelled around the United States and the world, I have shared with companies that it is vital to design out potential health and safety risks in each and every model – before manufacturing and assembly even starts,” she said. In the residential furniture industry, that means ensuring that products are made without lead, cadmium, antimony, chromium and other toxic metals.

“I believe that safety by design – which includes meeting current standards and anticipating and preventing new hazards – can be a winning approach for all industries to incorporate.”

In addition to the CPSC Chairman, the AHFA Board was addressed by Senators Ron Johnson (R-WI), Mark Warner (D-VA), Richard Burr (R-NC) and Kay Hagan (D-NC), as well as Representatives Lee Terry (R-NE) and Alan Nunnelee (R-MS).
Courtesy of American Home Furnishings Alliance

ROSSLYN, VA., A new study released today confirms the growing importance of the domestic aluminum industry to the U.S. economy. Research conducted by economic research firm John Dunham & Associates found that the U.S. aluminum industry directly employs more than 155,000 workers and generates $65 billion in economic output in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

According to the study, for each aluminum industry job an additional 3.3 jobs are created elsewhere in the economy for a total of 672,000 jobs. When supplier and induced impacts are taken into account, the industry has an economic footprint of more than $152 billion – nearly 1% of Gross Domestic Product.

Other key findings from the report include:

Workers directly employed by U.S. aluminum industry earned more than $12 billion in wages and benefits in 2013.
Indirect employment by the industry creates another $29 billion in wages and benefits.
When all employment supported by the industry is taken into account, these jobs generate nearly $16 billion in federal, state and local taxes.
These workers earn average compensation of more than $60,000, far exceeding the national average of $43,000.
“As an integral part of the U.S. manufacturing base and overall economy, the aluminum industry supports hundreds of thousands of high quality manufacturing jobs in communities of all sizes,” said Layle “Kip” Smith, President and CEO of Noranda and Chairman of the Aluminum Association. “Aluminum is a vital material for the modern era and a bellwether for domestic manufacturing.”

The Aluminum Association last released an economic impact study based on 2009 data that reported 106,000 jobs directly supported by the aluminum industry. The new study uses an improved methodology in order to more fully capture the industry’s footprint. The new methodology is based on company specific microdata rather than aggregate data from the Bureau of the Census. Microdata captures the actual physical locations of all the firms in the different facets of the industry, whereas Census Data only captures the broad-based employment numbers, generally only from the largest firms. The new results show significant job growth in a number of key areas:

4X increase in secondary smelting and alloying jobs (4,500 vs. 16,800)
73% increase in sheet, plate, foil and extruded products jobs (32,500 vs. 56,200)
23% increase in foundries jobs (29,600 vs. 36,400 jobs)
“It’s encouraging to see that, as an industry, we’re growing,” said Heidi Brock, President of the Aluminum Association. “As the country recovers from the recession, we’re seeing demand for our product bouncing back – up 30 percent since 2009. Lightweight, durable and highly recyclable, aluminum is a metal uniquely suited to the 21st century.”

The study was completed by economic research firm John Dunham & Associates and is based on data provided by Dun & Bradstreet, Inc., the federal government and the Aluminum Association. The analysis uses the Minnesota IMPLAN Model to quantify the economic impact of the aluminum industry on the overall U.S. economy.

For the purposes of the report, the aluminum industry is defined to include alumina refining; primary aluminum processing; secondary aluminum smelting and alloying; manufacturing of aluminum sheet, plate, foil, extrusions, forgings, coatings, and powder; aluminum foundries; metals service centers, and wholesalers. The study measures the number of jobs in this industry, the wages paid to employees, total economic output, and federal and state business taxes generated.
Courtesy of The Aluminium Association

WASHINGTON, D.C. – To prevent deaths and injuries to children, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has approved a new federal mandatory standard to improve the safety of bassinets and cradles. The vote was 4 to 1.

The new federal standard incorporates provisions in the voluntary standard (ASTM F2194-13), Standard Consumer Safety Specification for Bassinets and Cradles. CPSC staff recommended five modifications to F2194-13 standard. These modifications address risks not adequately covered by the voluntary standard. The modifications include:

A clarification of the scope of the bassinet/cradle standard;

A change to the pass/fail criterion for the mattress flatness test;

An exemption from the mattress flatness requirement for bassinets that are less than 15 inches across;

The addition of a removable bassinet bed stability requirement; and

A change to the stability test procedure, requiring the use of a newborn CAMI dummy rather than an infant CAMI dummy.

CPSC received notice of 426 incidents involving bassinet/cradles, including 132 fatalities from November 2007 through March 2013. The new standard defines “bassinet/cradle” as a small bed designed primarily to provide sleeping accommodations for infants, supported by free standing legs, a stationary frame or stand, a wheeled base, a rocking base, or swing relative to a stationary base. In a stationary (non-rocking or swinging) position, a bassinet/cradle is intended to have a sleep surface less than or equal to 10 degrees from horizontal.

A bassinet/cradle is not intended to be used beyond the age of about 5 months or when a child is able to push up on his hands and knees. Bassinet and cradle attachments for non-full-size cribs or play yards are considered to be part of the bassinet/cradle category, as are bedside sleepers that can be converted to four-sided bassinets not attached to a bed.
Courtesy of U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

The Investing in Manufacturing Communities Partnership (IMCP) is a new Administration-wide initiative that will accelerate the resurgence of manufacturing and help communities cultivate an environment for businesses to create well-paying manufacturing jobs in cities across the country.

Through the IMC, the President is directing Federal agencies to provide coordinated assistance to manufacturing communities through a new partnership that will align Federal economic development resources and help U.S. localities make coordinated, long-term investments in their public goods in partnership with universities and industry. These investments will ultimately help regions become more attractive for manufacturers and supply chains. The Partnership will be led by the Commerce Department with support from other federal agencies.

Five to six U.S. communities in 2014 would be competitively selected as pilots, each receiving up to $25 million from the Commerce Department’s Economic Development Administration, in addition to funding from other government agencies. Federal agencies will also align and coordinate their funding opportunities to maximize the effectiveness of Federal expenditures and ensure that localities are able to more seamlessly access the Federal resources they need to fund strategies for attracting long-term business investment.

The IMCP is aimed at accelerating the nationwide resurgence in manufacturing investment driven by U.S. competitive advantages, such as new energy sources, productivity, and rising costs abroad. This initiative also represents a significant improvement in the way the federal government supports local economic development strategies.

A new way to drive economic development and investment in the United States

Smart companies decide where to locate facilities and hire workers based on the quality of a community’s infrastructure, institutions, and human capital – its industrial ecosystem.

However, communities all too often rely on the practice of “smokestack chasing” to attract investment. That is, they offer subsidies and tax breaks to attract a single firm. Evidence shows that this approach results in a low return on taxpayer investment.

To capitalize on current U.S. economic strengths and maximize return on taxpayer investment, we must instead help communities launch strategic plans to strengthen their industrial ecosystems. They can do this by investing in the human and physical infrastructure that will appeal to and strengthen entire industries—thereby more effectively attracting, retaining, and expanding commercial activity.

This is where the IMCP comes in.

The IMCP will support and reward communities that:

Recognize their comparative advantages and develop implementation-ready plans.

Invest in public goods and institutions through public and private funding.

Encourage community links that reinforce and expand their commercial appeal to investors.
The IMCP, which is a part of President Obama’s 2014 budget proposal, will also make it easier for well-coordinated communities to get public investment by radically improving the alignment of federal assistance. The program would coordinate multiple federal agencies, including the Departments of Agriculture, Labor, Transportation, Energy, and Defense—as well as the National Science Foundation, Environmental Protection Agency, and Small Business Administration.

By making the federal government work better and by boosting taxpayer returns, the IMCP will help communities create an environment for businesses to create good, well-paying manufacturing jobs—a key engine of innovation and overall economic growth.

How it works

The IMCP will launch in four phases:

A consortium of federal agencies will hold 6-8 listening sessions throughout 2013, raising awareness around the country of the immediate grant opportunities, and seeking input on the 2014 pilot competition.
As many as 25 communities in 2013 will be awarded $200,000 each to create so-called implementation strategies, which will initiate public-private partnerships tailored to local expertise and assets. Solicitations for the 2013 awards will be released in the coming weeks, and we expect making the awards by the fall.
The Fund would support five to six U.S. communities for competitively-selected awards in 2014, each receiving up to $25 million from the Commerce Department’s Economic Development Administration, and the Fund would be supplemented by funding from other government agencies.
Meanwhile, the Commerce Department will lead an interagency effort that aligns economic development programs across the government. This effort will bring together federal programs covering workforce training, technical assistance, specialized research and commercialization centers, infrastructure, and energy efficiency, among others.
Courtesy: DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Underscoring President Obama’s Climate Action Plan to cut harmful emissions and double energy efficiency, the Energy Department is taking action to develop the next generation of combined heat and power (CHP) technology and help local communities and businesses make cost-effective investments that save money and energy. As part of this effort, the Department launched today seven new regional Combined Heat and Power Technical Assistance Partnerships across the country to help strengthen U.S. manufacturing competitiveness, lower energy consumption and reduce harmful emissions.

Last year, President Obama established a new national goal of 40 gigawatts of new CHP capacity by 2020 – a 50 percent increase from today. Meeting this goal would help American manufacturers and companies save as much as $100 billion in energy costs over the next decade and reduce emissions equivalent to taking 25 million cars off the road. View an Energy Department infographic on how CHP technology works and its environmental and economic benefits.

Launching Seven New CHP Technical Assistance Partnerships

Since 2003, the Energy Department has supported a set of regional centers to help organizations understand how CHP can improve their bottom lines and lower energy bills.

Today, the Department is launching seven regional CHP Technical Assistance Partnerships – the next generation of these centers – to help further grow America’s CHP market for commercial, institutional and industrial businesses, state agencies, utilities and trade associations. Located in California, Colorado, Illinois, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Washington state, these organizations will offer best practices for CHP project financing, management and state policies, market analysis tools and resources, and technical site evaluations.

Find more information on how the CHP Technical Assistance Partnerships are helping U.S. businesses and communities get the information they need to make smart, cost-effective investment decisions.

Strengthening Infrastructure Reliability and Resilience

Combined heat and power technologies can also help make our nation’s infrastructure smarter, stronger and better equipped to maintain power against increasingly severe weather events. During and after Hurricane Sandy, CHP helped hospitals, fire stations and multifamily housing in New York and New Jersey continue their operations when the electric grid went down.

The Energy Department, the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Environmental Protection Agency recently issued a guide to help state and local officials determine if CHP is a good option for Sandy rebuilding efforts. The guide includes practical information on financial, site and technical decision-making as well as how to operate and maintain these systems.

The Energy Department is also helping critical facilities across the country invest in CHP – providing affordable, reliable power and heat and ensuring that life-saving operations keep running. For example, in 2010, Thermal Energy Corporation installed a new high-efficiency 48 megawatt CHP system to power and heat the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Texas Children’s Hospital and 16 other institutions at the Texas Medical Center. The Energy Department invested about $10 million in this project, matched by $62 million in private funding. Last year, the Midwest Clean Energy Application Center helped Gundersen Health system complete installation of a CHP system at its medical campus in Onalaska, Wisconsin – completely offsetting its electricity and steam needs and saving about $100,000 each year.

Developing Innovation CHP Technologies

In addition to technical assistance efforts, the Energy Department is supporting research, development and demonstration projects to help grow the CHP market, including finding CHP solutions that fit small- and medium-sized facilities and accelerating new product commercialization.

Industries with high and continuous demand for both electrical and thermal energy – such as food processing, paper manufacturing and metals production – are well suited for CHP installations but often face market and technical barriers to deployment. With that in mind, the Department is supporting demonstration projects to test how these systems impact plants’ operations and energy use and help identify financing and maintenance best practices. For instance, the Department partnered with Frito-Lay to install and test a CHP system at its Killingly, Conn.-based food processing facility. In addition to providing reliable, efficient power, the gas-fired system reuses excess heat to warm Frito-Lay’s chip fryer oil – cutting costs and reduce harmful air pollution.

The Department is also supporting new CHP technologies that are cleaner, more efficient and can use a variety of fuel sources. The Gas Technology Institute is developing a new CHP burner technology that cuts greenhouse gas emissions while improving overall system efficiency. Capstone Turbine Corporation is designing a combined 65 kilowatt CHP system and biomass gasifier that can use stalks, grass and other material to generate gas and power a turbine. Capstone is also developing a 370 kilowatt CHP system that can save about 44 percent more energy over a traditional system while reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 60 percent and nitrogen oxide emissions by 95 percent.
Courtesy Department of Energy

The recent drive to improve conditions for the export of US manufactured products is having a significant impact on the level of US exports. Statistics from the the US Department of Customs has indicated that in the last year alone, exports have jumped to over 250 percent in volume.