Guest producer of Manufacturing Day hosts opportunities to highlight state’s manufacturing potential

As guest producer for Manufacturing Day, a national movement including more than 770 events throughout the United States on October 4, Tennessee-based Industrial Strength Marketing has provided Tennessee Chamber of Commerce & Industry and the University of Tennessee Center for Industrial Services (CIS) with a platform for statewide initiatives aimed at increasing visibility for the thriving manufacturing sector in Tennessee.

“As the state manufacturing association for Tennessee, we celebrate manufacturing as a vital economic engine,” said Catherine Glover, president of Tennessee Chamber of Commerce & Industry. “With the resurgence of manufacturing, myriad industry job openings, and strong pay levels, Tennessee manufacturers have positioned our state for success at all levels.”

Coinciding with the Governor’s Conference on Economic & Community Development (TN ECD) in Nashville on October 3–4 and the 50th anniversary of the Center for Industrial Services, Manufacturing Day has become a rallying point for a host of manufacturing-related events across the state throughout the month of October. Highlights sponsored by CIS include plant tours at Nucor Steel and Memphis Bioworks in Memphis on October 16, and a Tri-Cities Manufacturing Day facilities tour that covers an array of companies in Gray, Kingsport, and Church Hill on October 24.

“We salute Industrial Strength Marketing for its guest producer role in Manufacturing Day 2013,” said Paul Jennings, executive director for the University of Tennessee Center for Industrial Services. “It is both impressive and exciting to have a Tennessee firm play such a significant role in this national event that promotes the value of manufacturing. As a Tennessean, I’m proud that a Tennessee-based firm is helping to lead national Manufacturing Day.”

Manufacturing Day is an annual national event, executed at the local level, that supports hundreds of manufacturers across the nation to host students, teachers, parents, job seekers and other local community members at open houses designed to showcase modern manufacturing technology and careers. A panel of co-producers comprised of the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association, the National Association of Manufacturers, the Manufacturing Institute, the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership, and guest producer Industrial Strength Marketing provide the centralized support necessary to coordinate this nationwide array of simultaneous events. The national media partner for the event is the Science Channel.

“We are proud to be a part of Manufacturing Day, both across the country and here in our home state of Tennessee,” said James Soto, founder and CEO of Industrial Strength Marketing. “It’s been a thrilling experience to see so many manufacturers open their doors and share what they do with their communities. There can be no doubt: Manufacturing is an exciting field that is on the rise in the United States.”

Information about more Manufacturing Day events in Tennessee can be found at www.mfgday.com/events. Specifics, including registration options, for the Tennessee Manufacturing Day events sponsored by CIS, are available on the Center’s website.