ORLANDO, FL-The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) awarded grants totaling $4.5 million to five organizations affiliated with NIST's Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) to assist manufacturers in Gulf Coast regions hard hit by last year's hurricanes.
"Smaller manufacturers are critical to the competitiveness of the entire manufacturing sector and to the health of the U.S. economy. This funding to MEP-affiliated centers in the Gulf Coast region will help manufacturers whose businesses were affected by last year's hurricanes recover and rebuild," said Roger Kilmer, director of NIST's MEP at the 2006 MEP National Conference in Orlando, FL, on May 23.