Texas A&M, UT Arlington sign agreement to advance aerospace manufacturing in Texas

The Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station (TEES) and The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) have signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a framework for increasing collaboration to expand the aerospace defense manufacturing community in Texas.

UTA holds the cooperative agreement for Texas with the National Institution of Standards and Technology Manufacturing Extension Partnership (NIST MEP), which provides the funding for the Texas Manufacturing Assistance Center (TMAC), the MEP affiliate in Texas. TMAC connects manufacturers with technology, operations opportunities and solutions needed to compete in the global marketplace.

TEES powers a public-private research collaborative called the Secure America Institute (SAI). This institute converges industry, government and academia to integrate advancements in U.S. manufacturing resilience particularly within the U.S. defense industrial base.

“Working with our strategic partners at TMAC will enhance the development of the aerospace defense manufacturing community through the application of advanced technology and workforce training,” said Scott Terry, SAI director of community and small business initiatives. “By infusing smart manufacturing tools and processes into the manufacturing industrial base, we can solidify Texas' leadership role in the global manufacturing economy.”

SAI and TMAC are both working to empower the Texas manufacturing industrial base by introducing and implementing advanced manufacturing technologies and workforce training. This will help improve overall throughput, quality and delivery lead time for Texas manufacturers, which, in turn, improves their profitability and sustainability.

“TMAC will work with TEES to become an integral partner in driving the development of advanced manufacturing technology and workforce training for the aerospace and defense industrial base across the state,” said Rodney Reddic, TMAC interim executive director. “The partnership with TEES will allow TMAC to reach additional manufacturers across the state through the many workshops and seminars sponsored jointly. TMAC will provide boots on the ground field staff support for the delivery of advanced manufacturing technology services, cybersecurity services and workforce training.”

Through this agreement, SAI and TMAC will promote and host events for advanced manufacturing technology and workforce training across the state of Texas focused on the aerospace manufacturing community. The agency will also partner with various entities, including K-12 schools, colleges, universities and industry partners to drive the development of advanced manufacturing technology workforce training to help create the aerospace industrial base workforce of the future.

TEES is an active member of Manufacturing USA through key positions in America Makes, Advanced Robotics Manufacturing, BioFabUSA, Clean Energy Smart Manufacturing Innovation Institute, the National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals and the Rapid Advancement in Process Intensification Deployment Institute.