A History of Manufacturing (MFG) Day
Tasked with Inspiring the Next Generation of Makers, Builders, and Innovators—Manufacturing Day Has Become a Movement in Recognizing the Value and Need for Domestic Production
WHAT IS MFG DAY?
Manufacturing Day (MFG Day), held annually on the first Friday in October, has become a nationwide phenomenon. The purpose of MFG Day is to show the reality of modern manufacturing careers by encouraging thousands of companies and educational institutions around the nation to open their doors to students, parents, teachers, and community leaders. Each year thousands of manufacturers open their doors to give a glimpse of what today’s manufacturing really looks like and to inspire the next generation of skilled workers. Manufacturing Day helps foster learning and collaboration between manufacturing companies, young creators, and future innovators. It offers an opportunity to promote the importance of manufacturing on a local, national, and global level. Companies across the industry come together to dedicate time and effort to connect with young professionals and educate the next generation of manufacturers.
THE ORIGINS OF MFG DAY
In the fall of 2011 at the then location of the Fabricators and Manufacturers’ Association (FMA) building in Rockford, Illinois, Dileep Thatte, the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology – Manufacturing Extension Partnership (NIST MEP) was visiting Ed Youdell, President and CEO of FMA. Mr. Thatte was there to discuss how NIST MEP is focused on helping U.S. manufacturers when the discussion led to a new idea—exposing more people to manufacturers. Out of the discussion, they decided that they should have a special day when they could get FMA members involved with NIST MEP, and in the process get manufacturers involved on a broader scale. “The idea came to me out of a conversation with Dileep Thatte of NIST MEP, that we should have a special day when we should get FMA members involved with NIST MEP. But then we thought that this platform would be much broader than just for FMA members. So, we went on a broader scale and created Manufacturing Day,” says Ed Youdell. “The idea was to allow the manufacturers to open their doors in any way they see fit to invite the community, their schools, their educators, the legislators, and others, so that they see what modern manufacturing is and the value of manufacturing for the community.” And so Manufacturing Day was born, with the first Manufacturing Day being planned for the first Friday in October 2012. The idea was to have the FMA approach their members in Illinois, and for NIST MEP to approach MEP Centers in the Midwest, and bring them all together to celebrate and showcase everything that manufacturing has to offer. By exposing the community to manufacturing, they hoped to change the public’s perception and demonstrate that modern manufacturing is not what you’d expect—they wanted to showcase that manufacturing involves computers, robotics, and other advanced technologies and tools, and that manufacturing is all about creativity, innovation, teamwork, and technical skills.
CREATING A MOVEMENT
According to the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), in 2019, more than 325,000 students, teachers, and parents participated in MFG Day, which consisted of more than 3,000 events held across all 50 states and Puerto Rico. What began simply as a special day in recognition of domestic manufacturing has now become a movement. MFG Day provides a clearer picture and understanding of modern manufacturing and is helping to change the perception of educators, parents, and the nation’s youth—helping to showcase that there is a future in advanced manufacturing if that’s the career path one chooses.
HELP CELEBRATE ‘MADE IN NJ’ MANUFACTURING DAY
NJMEP is carrying on this tradition, hosting the ‘MADE in New Jersey’ Manufacturing Day event every National Manufacturing Day. This year is the 12th Annual ‘MADE in New Jersey’ Manufacturing Day which will bring together nearly a thousand industry professionals, partners, influencers, and advocates. Make sure you take the time to help illustrate the importance of domestic manufacturing and inspire the future generation of manufacturers the first Friday of every October!