On Tuesday, the University of Louisville was awarded a $13 million grant and announced it will be the new home of Kentucky’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership. The Kentucky Manufacturing Extension Partnership (KMEP) is part of the NIST Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) and provides valuable resources and support to local manufacturers, helping them grow and thrive in today’s competitive market.

As a leading research institution, the University of Louisville is uniquely positioned to help manufacturers access the latest technology and research, as well as connect with a network of experts and other businesses. Supporting this partnership has been a top priority of GLI’s NOW Louisville strategic plan and GLI was proud to support UofL throughout the process.

In Kentucky alone, there are 4,978 registered manufacturers that employ more than 235,000 Kentucky residents. According to the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development, this industry accounted for 68% of growth projects in our region in 2021.

Even with their outstanding growth in 2021 with $91M in new and retained sales, $49.9M in new investments, and $16.5M in cost savings, the MEP still only reached 4% of the industry. With the University of Louisville as the new host of this program, there is endless potential for what it can accomplish with the increased resources, exposure to the university, and proximity to so many companies in the industry.

Some of the additional benefits that will result from this expansion are the following:

• Increased Outreach allowing more individuals and companies in the industry to have access to the resources the KMEP will provide
• State alignment in the comprehensive goals for the manufacturing industry
• Partnership development as the KMEP leverages the various partnerships already solidified by U of L, the state, and other influential organizations in the region
• Academic support as they involve educational institutions across the state with the common goal of bringing streamlined resources to all our manufacturing partners in the industry

KMEP’s initial strategy and target goals will be to empower manufacturers, leverage and connect manufacturers to resources available in Kentucky, and do what they can to keep our supply chain in the state as much as possible.

For more information on the MEP, reach out to GLI’s Natalie Bonura.