IMEC Launches "Grow Your Future" Initiative for Illinois Manufacturers

PEORIA, Ill., Feb. 14, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, IMEC, the Illinois affiliate of the U.S Commerce NIST Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) National Network, launched the Grow Your Future Initiative. This initiative provides Illinois' small and mid-sized manufacturers the with tools, trainings, and assistance to drive growth within their business. These projects were developed based on insights and immediate needs reported from over 3,000 Illinois manufacturers.

Illinois manufacturing is a major contributor to the Illinois economy and many of the firms surveyed conveyed an urgent priority to find ways to grow their business, especially after navigating through the pandemic. In fact, the smaller the firm by employment, the more urgent this need was reported.  

"Illinois Manufacturers are ready to move forward from the disruptions of the last 2 years and emerge more competitive. Projects that focus on finding new customers, new markets, and new innovations in the way they produce will lead the way for manufacturers across the globe" – David Boulay, Ph.D. President - IMEC.

The Grow Your Future Projects are fully funded and valued between $5,000 and $10,000 each.  They emphasize growth needs like: Website Design, Search Engine Optimization, Lead Generation Campaigns, Sales Pitch Training, Social Media Implementation, and Ecommerce Set-up. Existing small and mid-sized Illinois manufacturers with less than 500 employees are encouraged to apply. Selected projects must be conducted in Illinois and completed by June 2022.  Projects are limited to one project per company.

"We are a growing company with an ambitious mission: to change the way the world heals. These programs help manufacturers like us develop and launch a strategy to achieve big growth objectives. These successes galvanize our communities and helps create and retain jobs."
– Ashley S. Moy, CEO – Cast21 and IMEC Board Member

For more information about the program and to apply for a Grow Your Future project, visit https://www.imec.org/growyourfuture/

About IMEC

IMEC is a team of improvement specialists who are dedicated to changing lives and creating a positive impact on Illinois' workforce and economy. With a mission to drive growth through enterprise excellence, they help organizations become more effective and efficient by identifying issues, developing and implementing solutions and providing the necessary support that will allow them to excel in areas of leadership, strategy, customer engagement, operations, workforce, and measurement and results. In 2021, they assisted over 1,600 companies and help create or retain over 5,679 jobs, resulting in over $450M aggregate impact to the Illinois economy. IMEC has seven offices statewide and 48 full-time industry improvement specialists. For more information, visit www.imec.org.

IMEC is one of the 51 MEP Centers in the US and Puerto Rico. MEP Centers are part of the MEP National Network, which includes the National Institute of Standards and Technology Manufacturing Extension Partnership (NIST MEP) and over 1000 manufacturing experts at over 400 service locations, with the tools and resources to help US manufacturers succeed and advance US Manufacturing. Being that each Center is a public-private partnership, they are able to connect manufacturers with government agencies, universities and research facilities, trade associations and many more resources that foster growth and innovation. In 2021, The MEP National Network helped manufacturers created and retain over 125,000 jobs. Find your local MEP Center here.

SOURCE IMEC