Obama Proposes 6 High-Tech Manufacturing Centers This Year

President Obama, in his State of the Union address Jan. 28, suggested the building of six new high-tech manufacturing centers in the United States this year to join existing hubs in Raleigh, N.C., and Youngstown, Ohio.

The President did not specify where the facilities, whose purpose will be to connect “businesses to research universities that can help America lead the world in advanced technologies,” would be located, what they would focus on, or the investment required to build them.

“We also have the chance, right now, to beat other countries in the race for the next wave of high-tech manufacturing jobs,” Obama said. “My administration has launched two hubs for high-tech manufacturing in Raleigh and Youngstown, where we’ve connected businesses to research universities that can help America lead the world in advanced technologies. Tonight, I’m announcing we’ll launch six more this year. Bipartisan bills in both houses could double the number of these hubs and the jobs they create.”

Two weeks ago, Obama announced the new high-tech manufacturing hub in Raleigh to develop high-powered electronic chips, as reported by Reuters. Backed by $70 million in federal money, the initiative is a consortium of 18 businesses and six universities to link electronic device manufacturers with new research on energy-efficient chips that could yield smaller and faster gadgets.

In his Tuesday speech, the President appeared to have pared down the number of high-tech manufacturing hubs he seeks—in the earlier mention of the Raleigh facility he said he’d like to create a network of 45 such facilities around the country but acceded to the realities of gaining Congressional approval.

“I don’t want the next big job creating discovery, the research and technology, to be in Germany, or China or Japan. I want it to be right here in the United States of America,” Obama said.

This isn’t the first reference Obama has made to high-tech centers in his State of the Union addresses. In fact, In last year’s speech he called for the building of three such hubs.

As recounted in a CNET report, in last year’s remarks the president praised the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute (NAMII)‚ located in Youngstown and backed by $30 million in federal funding and $40 million in private money, as the launching pad for 3D printing technology.

“Last year, we created our first manufacturing innovation institute in Youngstown, Ohio,” Obama said at the time. “A once-shuttered warehouse is now a state-of-the art lab where new workers are mastering the 3D printing that has the potential to revolutionize the way we make almost everything. There’s no reason this can’t happen in other towns.”

While still a relative novelty, 3D printing is gaining some traction in the IT industry. Last week, distributor Ingram Micro (IM) said it is testing the waters of the 3D printer market with two new supplier deals and an expanded presence for the technology inside its two-year old Document Imaging business unit. The distributor is featuring Rock Hill, S.C.-based 3D Systems’ and New York-headquartered MakerBot’s technology as its anchor offerings in a portfolio of 3D printer equipment priced at less than $5,000.