In NC speech, Obama cites 'great work' at Youngstown manufacturing hub

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

In a speech in Raleigh, N.C., naming that city as a manufacturing hub, President Barack Obama mentioned the “great work” being done at Youngstown’s America Makes — the first manufacturing innovation institute created during his administration.

“So a little over a year ago, we launched America’s first manufacturing innovation institute in Youngstown, Ohio,” Obama said Wednesday. “And what it was is a partnership; it includes companies and colleges. They came up with a joint plan. They were focusing on developing 3-D printing technology and training workers with the skills required to master that technology.”

Obama also praised the Youngstown location — previously known as the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute — in his Feb. 12, 2013, State of the Union address.

The $70 million Youngstown facility uses 3-D software that draws up a detailed blueprint, which is then transmitted to a specialized machine that uses plastics, metals or resins to print a product layer-by-layer, cutting out costly materials and labor in the process.