Tips for Manufacturers, from Trade Shows to Funding

Resources   |   Events   |   Search One Hot "Messe" 4.28.16 If you're a manufacturer, you already know that Hannover Messe, one of the hottest trade fairs devoted to manufacturing technology, kicked off this week. The U.S. sent the largest contingent of exhibitors yet, and President Obama delivered the opening keynote address. If you weren't able to attend this year, or are interested in attending next year, learn more about the conference and why it's such a great opportunity for connecting with investors and potential partners. The conference usually includes about 6,000 exhibitors from more than 60 countries with attendance in 2015 soaring to 220,000.  In light of Hannover Messe, we're devoting this week's newsletter to manufacturing, from trade show strategies to funding opportunities for manufacturers of all types. TRADE SHOW STRATEGIES Do you wait until a trade show begins before you start setting up appointments? Are you passive, hanging out at your booth? Do you typically cite estimated numbers in your presentations or conversations with potential customers? If you do any of these things, you're likely missing out on making the most of trade shows. This Forbes magazine article on 17 Skills for Highly Effective Tradeshow Events outlines how to change that. MORE tradeshow STRATEGIES NETWORK AND LEARN Conferences are fantastic opportunities to learn about the latest technologies in manufacturing and meet potential customers. One event you'll want to know about is the International Manufacturing Technology Show this coming September. Looking to find out more about this and other manufacturing-related events in your market? Check out our extensive BusinessUSA events calendar, keyword search "manufacturing". find UPCOMING EVENTS Up your game  Are you a U.S. manufacturer looking to become more efficient, bigger or more profitable? The National Institute of Standards and Technology's Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) is a collaboration between the federal government and a variety of public and private entities, including state, university and nonprofit organizations, that supports small to mid-sized manufacturers in this country.  In short, MEP centers work closely with U.S. manufacturers to help them improve using a range of tactics, from strategies for creating and retaining jobs to best practices for cutting costs and saving time.  LEARN MORE ABOUT MEP are you advanced?  Is your company involved in photonics, clean energy, advanced composites or some other area of advanced manufacturing? Be sure to check out manufacturing.gov for extensive information on funding opportunities and other industry-related programs that can help grow your company. Manufacturing.gov is an information portal for the National Network of Manufacturing Innovation (NNMI), a public-private partnership working to grow a research and development infrastructure for advanced manufacturing. Ever hear of Industry 4.0? The term refers to the latest wave of manufacturing advances and includes trends like big data, advanced analytics, 3-D printing and cutting edge improvements in robotics. You can learn more about Industry 4.0 in this McKinsey and Company article.  visit manufacturing.gov TWITTER HIGHLIGHTS Here are a few of our top tweets from the past week: #ICYMI Read about our @WhiteHouse Award-winning #veteran #entrepreneur portal. Census #Biz Builder: Regional Analyst Edition now has new #ACSData, dashboard, #Econ data & more. Save the date! National #SmallBusiness Week is May 1-7. 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