The US Dept. of Defense has issued a RFP for the creation of an industry institute focused on discovery and commercialization of new lightweight modern metals, related products, and manufacturing processes. The goal is to deepen and strengthen the U S defense supply chain of modern lightweight metals products and production capabilities, while ensuring the same technologies and capabilities have commercial application for US industrial competitiveness.
The location of the Institute headquarters and center of manufacturing and acceleration operations in the Cedar Valley would attract the interest of those engaged in all aspects of metals design, use and production in the U.S. Iowa, and the Cedar Valley, will become a center of thought and action on development of the leading edge lightweight metals for a myriad of applications. It also cements a number of relationships with technical, business, and STEM centers and programs across Iowa and the Midwest that are beneficial to the Iowa Advanced Manufacturing Center development and operation, also located in the Cedar Valley.
Iowa Innovation Corporation (IIC) is leading a team that is competing for that designation. As I write this, the IIC team led by its President Jack Harris, is completing the Concept Paper.
To assemble the components of the concept paper, the IIC assembled a team representing metals and production technologies, corporate partners, Midwestern manufacturing extension programs, industrial technical centers, trade associations, and community college representatives from the Cedar Valley, Iowa and the US for a workshop in the Cedar Valley on July 30. If the Dept. of Defense selects the IIC proposal, the LM3I Institute, which would be national in scope, would be headquartered in the Cedar Valley at TechWorks Campus Tech 1 building, utilizing the assets of the Iowa Advanced Manufacturing Center (IAMC) and additional space.
Along with the “headquarters” of the Institute, the Cedar Valley would also be the location of the manufacturing innovation center of operations – where the manufacturing processes used with the new materials are refined and commercialized. The Institute would also utilize and support accelerator services for new manufacturing businesses emerging from the work of the Institute.
Contact Alliance & Chamber CEO Steve Dust for additional information regarding the IAMC and LM3I initiatives.