Advancing Technology and Improving Equity
While NJMEP works to primarily provide direct support to New Jersey manufacturers through improving technology and training, they also work with lawmakers to help improve the legal and tax landscapes businesses operate in.
Being in any business can be a challenge, especially for those that run and operate companies in key industries like manufacturing that represent an important portion of the state’s economy.
This is why the New Jersey Manufacturing Extension Program, Inc. (NJMEP), works to provide training and consulting services to make the latest innovations in technology, standards and practices available to small- and medium-sized manufacturers throughout the state.
The private, non-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization, part of a federal program, has been in operation for three decades, helping to keep manufacturers within the state competitive, especially in South Jersey where opportunities in the industry are seeing rapid growth.
One of the major ways NJMEP is able to successfully aid local manufacturers is through their strategic partnerships with various organizations, part of a larger effort to build a sustainable manufacturing ecosystem throughout New Jersey.
NJMEP has offices in Cedar Knolls and Rowan University’s South Jersey Technology Park, allowing the organization to focus on workforce development, cybersecurity and operational efficiency in both the South and North Jersey regions.
One recent example includes efforts to help expand the Cumberland County Tech Education Center in Vineland. “We gave them their initial funding to begin to procure equipment to put that together. We are teamed with the Chamber of Commerce of Southern New Jersey and Rowan College to help them facilitate and put equipment in that facility,” says CEO Peter Connolly.
NJMEP also has a mobile training facility that includes advanced manufacturing equipment, allowing them to travel throughout the state and visit different county colleges to provide students with hands-on experience utilizing real world technology and equipment.
Connolly helps to foster, build and maintain several of these key partnerships with the likes of the aforementioned Chamber of Commerce of Southern New Jersey and Rowan University, as well as with other organizations such as the Statewide Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey (SHCCNJ) and the African American Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey (AACCNJ).
“With Rowan University, we’ve developed a partnership on workforce development and engineering programs, especially photonics programs. We do a lot of their workforce development, teaching students the manufacturing end of it, not just the engineering end of it,” says Connolly.
The partnerships with Rowan University and its Tech Park are particularly important, as they position South Jersey as a leading space for the next generation of manufacturing and innovative technology that will help push the industry forward.
As Rowan’s Tech Park creates the opportunity to advance manufacturing and expand the industry’s growth, NJMEP works to connect the resources provided through the park to manufacturers in the region, anchoring industry growth in South Jersey and allowing local manufacturers to remain globally competitive.
Workforce development is also a key part of their partnership with the AACCNJ.
“We’re doing the same thing with the African American Chamber. They have a new facility in Trenton, right across from the State House. It’s a 50,000-square-foot facility and we will put a 10,000-square-foot workforce development section there, teaching manufacturing techniques [that will allow individuals] to be able to get certified and enter the workforce. This way, we’re covering the whole state with workforce development,” says Connolly.
Besides working directly with manufacturers to advance technology, training and other services, NJMEP also fights to make state laws affecting businesses more equitable between North and South Jersey.
One example of this is the Corporate Transit Tax and how it’s allocated across the state, with many South Jersey manufacturers concerned about the imbalance between regions. A much larger portion of funding supports North Jersey transit infrastructure, while South Jersey businesses do not see the same level of direct returns.
“North Jersey has a lot of train systems throughout [the region], but it ends at Trenton. … They are proposing the Camden-to-Glassboro light rail, which I think helps, but there are no bus routes, there’s no train service. There is a corporate transit tax that everybody pays into, but more funding definitely goes to North Jersey. All the companies are funding it, taxpayers are paying into it, but I would say 90% of it is going to North Jersey. So what we’re proposing to the governor is that there’s an equal share of where that money goes,” explains Connolly.
Connolly emphasizes that through the variety of services and support NJMEP puts into the manufacturing ecosystem of the state, their value to New Jersey cannot be overstated.
“We are one of those good programs. We do get funding from the state also, but our return on investment, for every dollar invested with NJMEP, it’s probably a nine-to-one ratio of payback,” says Connolly.
New Jersey Manufacturing Extension Program, Inc.
Cedar Knolls and Mullica Hill
(973) 998-9801
