Manufacturing Council to Meet November 13th in Houston

The Manufacturing Council will hold a meeting to discuss the work the Council will focus on for the remainder of its term. At the meeting, the Council will hear updates from its four subcommittees on workforce development and public perception of manufacturing; manufacturing energy policy; tax policy and export growth; and innovation, research and development. The Council will discuss current workforce development efforts by the federal government, the importance of alternative energy technologies for manufacturers, the effects of current tax policies on manufacturers, and the importance of continued research and development for the manufacturing industry. A final agenda will be available on the Council's Web site one week prior to the meeting. The Council was re-chartered on April 5, 2012, to advise the Secretary of Commerce on government programs and policies that affect U.S. manufacturing and provide a means of ensuring regular contact between the U.S. Government and the manufacturing sector.

DATES: November 13, 2013, 9 a.m.-12 p.m. Central Standard Time (CST).

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Hilton Americas--Houston, 1600 Lamar Street, Houston, TX 77010 in the Lanier Grand Ballroom. Due to building security, all attendees must pre-register. This meeting will be physically accessible to people with disabilities. Seating is limited and will be on a first come, first served basis. Requests for sign language interpretation, other auxiliary aids, or pre-registration, should be submitted no later than November 6, 2013, to Elizabeth Emanuel, the Manufacturing Council, Room 4043, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230, telephone 202-482-1369, elizabeth.emanuel@trade.gov.

The Manufacturing Council serves as the principal private sector advisory committee to the Secretary of Commerce on the United States manufacturing sector. The Council is charged with ensuring regular communication between the federal government and the manufacturing sector, advising the Secretary of Commerce on government policies and programs that affect United States manufacturing and provide a forum for discussing and proposing solutions to industry-related problems and to ensure that the United States remains the preeminent destination for investment in manufacturing throughout the world.

The members of the Council, as listed on the Department of Commerce website are:

• Michael Laszkiewicz, Vice President and General Manager, Rockwell Automation, Chair (WI)
• Mary Isbister, President, GenMet, Vice Chair (WI)
• Joseph B. Anderson, Jr., Chairman & CEO, TAG Holdings LLC (MI)
• Christie Wong Barrett, CEO, Mac Arthur Corporation (MI)
• Gregory W. Booth, President & CEO, Zippo Manufacturing Company (PA)
• Stephan G. Braig, President & CEO, Trexel Incorporated (MA)
• J. Joseph Burgess, President & CEO, Aegion Corporation (MO)
• Michael J. Cadigan, General Manager, Microelectronics Systems and Technology Group, IBM (NY)
• Carlos M. Cardoso, Chairman, President & CEO, Kennametal Incorporated (PA)
• Mark Chandler, Senior Vice President, Cisco Systems Incorporated (CA)
• Cody Friesen, President and Chief Technical Officer, Fluidic Energy (AZ)
• Hiroyuki Fujita, President & CEO, Quality Electrodynamics, LLC (OH)
• Dr. Albert M. Green, CEO, Kent Displays Incorporated (OH)
• David Hastings, President & CEO, Mount Vernon Mills Incorporated (SC)
• Eric L. Kelly, President & CEO, Overland Storage (CA)
• Joel Lorentzen, CEO, Genesis Systems Group (IA)
• Claudine Martinez, President & General Counsel, MCT Industries (NM)
• Shirish Pareek, Founder & CEO, Hydraulex Global (MI)
• Andra Rush, CEO, The Rush Group (MI)
• Susan Smyth, Director - Manufacturing Systems Lab, General Motors Company (MI)
• Roy Sweatman, President, Southern Manufacturing Technologies Incorporated (FL)
• Jeff Wilcox, Vice President – Engineering, Lockheed Martin Corporation (MD)
• Carol Williams, Executive Vice President – Manufacturing & Engineering, Supply Chain and Environmental, Health & Safety Operations, The Dow Chemical Company (MI)
• Bill Yeargin, President & CEO, Correct Craft (FL)
• Bill Zahner, President & CEO, A. Zahner Company (MO)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A limited amount of time, from 11:30-12, will be made available for pertinent brief oral comments from members of the public attending the meeting. To accommodate as many speakers as possible, the time for public comments will be limited to 5 minutes per person. Individuals wishing to reserve speaking time during the meeting must contact Ms. Emanuel and submit a brief statement of the general nature of the comments, as well as the name and address of the proposed speaker, by 5 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) on Thursday, November 7, 2013. If the number of registrants requesting to make statements is greater than can be reasonably accommodated during the meeting, the International Trade Administration may conduct a lottery to determine the speakers. Speakers are requested to bring at least 25 copies of their oral comments for distribution to the members of the Manufacturing Council and to the public at the meeting. Any member of the public may submit pertinent written comments concerning the Manufacturing Council's affairs at any time before or after the meeting. Comments may be submitted to Elizabeth Emanuel, the Manufacturing Council, Room 4043, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC, 20230, telephone: 202-482-1369, email: elizabeth.emanuel@trade.gov. To be considered during the meeting, written comments must be received by 5:00 p.m. EST on Thursday, November 7, 2013, to ensure transmission to the Manufacturing Council prior to the meeting. Comments received after that date will be distributed to the members but may not be considered at the meeting.