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Tomorrow, President Obama will travel to Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to discuss the importance of manufacturing to the U.S. economy, as well as key steps that government, industry and universities can take together to create new industries and new jobs.
Pittsburgh’s leaders give us a preview of what makes the manufacturing industry in Pittsburgh special:
Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl:
Manufacturing is in Pittsburgh’s DNA. Pittsburgh has never abandoned its manufacturing legacy, we have improved upon it. Now, as we celebrate Pittsburgh’s Third Renaissance, manufacturing remains vital to our economy, but now it’s one part of a more balanced, diverse economy that has helped our City maintain its competitive edge.
When the region’s industry-based economy collapsed some 30 years ago, businesses, government, and the universities all pulled together to engineer a comeback. We brought to bear the best of our past, including a propensity to make things, and the brightest of our future, the capacity to engineer and innovate through technology. From that marriage emerged advanced manufacturing.
We’re proud to say that we are still making things – lots of things – in Pittsburgh.
Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato:
While our nation experienced one of the worst recessions since the Great Depression, Allegheny County weathered the economic storm by creating a well-balanced and diversified economy. Two essential components of our successful equation: our world-class research and educational institutions and our traditional strength in advanced manufacturing.
We invest in our workforce, giving our residents the skills they need to compete for 21st Century jobs. Institutions such as Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh have been working together to capture the best and brightest students, train them for emerging fields, and encourage entrepreneurship here in our region.
We are fortunate to have many companies in our region involved in manufacturing and energy, and as the economy continues to change and move toward sustainable practices, we continue to adapt.
Dennis Yablonsky, CEO, Allegheny Conference on Community Development:
In Pittsburgh, we’ve taken our historic strengths in manufacturing and reinvented them for the 21st century. We’ve reinvented the role of universities to be active partners in bringing innovation to market. We’ve created incubators that fuse new ideas with established expertise to launch companies. Along the way, we’ve also reinvented our industrial sites to meet today’s needs – and provided places for new companies spinning out of our universities to land and become employers.
Check out the White House Blog tomorrow for more information on the President’s speech in Pittsburgh.
David Agnew is the Deputy Director of the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs