Connecting with the New Jersey Manufacturing Extension Program (NJMEP) means benefiting from its team’s vast experience in the likes of working with a variety of manufacturing businesses and also supplying strategies shaped by personalized partnerships.
NJMEP’s customized consulting services are designed to advocate for each business’ unique path to success while focusing on those clients’ core areas and principles.
“We're held accountable by our results,” says Michael Womack, director of marketing and communications at NJMEP. “Consulting sometimes has a connotation to it [in which] clients are given the information that they need, walk away and hope they get done what they need to get done—we're a little different. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) works with us to help offset some of our overhead so we can give small- to medium-sized manufacturers access to affordable consulting projects that normally wouldn't be obtainable if they go elsewhere.”
That accountability measure is substantiated by surveying clients through an independent organization that measures success in both retaining and increasing sales, saving costs and employees, and creating jobs. NJMEP has an inherent interest in the companies it consults: Its existence relies upon high customer satisfaction, so its approach focuses on actionable strategies rather than just offering advice.
“We can't take a one-size-fits all approach. We rely on our internal team to ensure that we're keeping up with the industry. We have an advocacy department that works directly with the state and federal governments, so we stay akin to the biggest changes. We work closely with our partners—NJBIA (New Jersey Business & Industry Association), the Chamber of Commerce of Southern New Jersey, the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce—to ensure that the manufacturers' voices are heard,” Womack explains.
“The fact that we have all of those eyes looking for the state and federal changes, regulations and rules, allows NJMEP to pay attention to what's happening in the industry, compile that information, and ensure that we are keeping up with the changes and trends that we're seeing on the ground floor. We are on the front lines when it comes to both of those.”
Such an in-depth, multifactorial analysis of the manufacturing industry ensures methodology that reaches beyond the surface. NJMEP combines an impartial perspective with passionate experts to best support each business it works with and the employees within it. The impact of these actionable strategies is measured and proven by its ability to level the playing field for small and medium enterprises to keep up with larger competition. Due to its distinction as a training and consulting provider and not an association, NJMEP addresses any cost barriers that businesses may face elsewhere through its partnership with NIST and the State.
“You don’t have a monthly fee for just having a relationship with us. You can reach out at any time, and we host networking events all over the state. Our core business is for-fee consulting and training but another benefit of that state and federal support that we receive, is we can do these extra things besides just worrying about making as much money as we can off a single client,” Womack says.
With such high stakes and standards, NJMEP always looks ahead while simultaneously considering the past and present. That dual perspective has inspired a number of programs, including its annual ‘MADE in New Jersey’ Manufacturing Day spotlighting opportunities within the manufacturing industry with up-close sessions and education.
Reaching the future workforce is a critical mission for NJMEP. Its dedication to cultivating student interest led to hands-on, interactive outreach programs like the Future Makers & Creators Tour it runs in partnership with the NJEDA, which includes local industry leaders making themselves available at those visits that provide students with access to industry education and opportunities they might otherwise not have.
“We have this new, beautiful, 38-foot RV decked out as a hands-on training classroom that we take to schools like the Scholastic Book Fair, to show advanced manufacturing technologies. Instead of books, we show them how all of this education can turn into a viable career path. We're getting local manufacturers actually on-site at those schools to show the students what they make,” says Womack. “There's so many ways to engage, beyond just the consultative and training programs that these manufacturers have access to just because of our existence.”
NJMEP has partnered with schools in almost every county so that the next generation can receive training, certifications, machinery knowledge, employment opportunities and more. Never forgetting to account for industry changes, NJMEP also recognizes the importance of longevity regardless of innovation.
“We're watching automation and people work together. With AI, there needs to be a human there to make the programs and software run, and to tell the robot what to do and how,” says Womack. “That human element is inherent. The doomsday articles of 2010 saying ‘automation is coming to take your jobs’ never panned out to be true. If anything, it's created more jobs.”
Through expertise, education, advocacy and humanity, NJMEP tirelessly works to support the new jobs that innovation creates while maintaining engagement and growth for the industry’s seasoned professionals. Each client working with the organization receives the essential support necessary to compete and the tools for prolonged success.
NJMEP
South Jersey: Bellmawr
North Jersey: Cedar Knolls
(973) 998-9801
NJMEP.org
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Published (and copyrighted) in South Jersey Biz, Volume 15, Issue 4 (April 2025).
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