Contacts:
Anne Lupardus, Office of the Governor, 608-261-2162
A study released by the Wisconsin Manufacturing Extension Partnership (WMEP) recommends that Wisconsin build on its driver manufacturing industries by helping them adapt to a new manufacturing economy. Governor Jim Doyle said that his Grow Wisconsin: 2005 Agenda contains initiatives that directly address recommendations in WMEP study.
“The WMEP study confirms that manufacturing is a critical $46 billion component of our state’s economy,” Governor Doyle said, “and that this sector can not only survive, it can prosper.”
WMEP’s study of Wisconsin’s manufacturing industry identified the driver industries, assessed their competitive position and growth trajectories, and examined the opportunities in manufacturing in the state today and in the next five to 10 years. The results of this study make recommendations to support manufacturing growth and success in Wisconsin and ensure Wisconsin’s competitiveness in a global marketplace.
Governor Doyle’s Grow Wisconsin: 2005 Agenda includes a proposed $1.5 million Manufacturing Competitiveness Initiative to help manufacturers assess their ability to compete in the world market, adopt new technology, and take steps to increase efficiency.
“Manufacturing in Wisconsin is undergoing changes brought on by the pressure of a global economy, and we must invest in this segment of our economy now, more than ever,” Governor Doyle said. “This Manufacturing Competitiveness Initiative is an obvious first step in helping our small- and medium-sized manufacturers respond to those changes.”
The Wisconsin Manufacturing Study echoes the Governor’s proposal calling for structural changes to foster a sustainable focus on manufacturing, such as the creation of a task force.
Through the Governor’s Grow Wisconsin plan, several initiatives that support a positive manufacturing climate for the state have already been implemented. These include:
Reforming the tax code to implement the Single Factor Sales Tax for businesses, eliminating the tax on job creation;
Exempting energy used in manufacturing from the sales tax;
Implementing Green Tier legislation, permitting businesses to increase efficiency and productivity while maintaining high environmental standards;
Providing $2 million in funding to launch new worker training initiatives through Wisconsin’s technical colleges to help businesses meet their training needs and prepare Wisconsin’s workforce for jobs of the future;
Directing the Department of Commerce to focus at least 75 percent of its custom labor training funds on the manufacturing sector.
“We’ve made great progress in creating jobs and getting Wisconsin’s economy moving in the right direction, but now it’s time to take the next steps,” Governor Doyle said. “I am pleased that WEMP’s study confirms what we’ve known all along: that manufacturing is alive and well in Wisconsin and that with the investments I’ve proposed, we can ensure that this important industry continues to grow.”
Read either the WMEP Manufacturing Study in its entirety or the Executive Summary of the study at:
http://www.wmep.org/manufacturingstudy.html.
