�Ӱ�ԭ��

Manufacturing partnership comes to �Ӱ�ԭ��

January 7, 2016

Deborah Mercy
907-274-9698

A new five-year federal grant to the Southwest �Ӱ�ԭ�� Municipal Conference will support the development of small manufacturing businesses in �Ӱ�ԭ��, starting with the seafood industry.

SWAMC will work with �Ӱ�ԭ�� Sea Grant on the initial stages of the project. Other partners include two �Ӱ�ԭ�� regional development organizations: the Southeast Conference and the Anchorage Economic Development Corporation.

“We are beginning with our manufacturing strengths. In �Ӱ�ԭ�� that is fisheries and seafood processors,” said Erik O’Brien, the SWAMC economic development specialist who directs the new Manufacturing �Ӱ�ԭ�� Extension partnership, MAKE. “Initially we will focus on services provided by the �Ӱ�ԭ�� Sea Grant Marine Advisory Program.”

�Ӱ�ԭ�� Sea Grant will teach seafood processor training at the University of �Ӱ�ԭ�� Fairbanks Kodiak Seafood and Marine Science Center.

“We have a pilot processing plant and seafood laboratory where we conduct hands-on training, education and technical assistance,” said Quentin Fong, seafood marketing specialist in Kodiak. “Courses include HACCP (hazard analysis critical control point), �Ӱ�ԭ�� Seafood Processing Leadership Institute, Smoked Seafood School and quality control classes.”

MAKE joins a national network representing all 50 states. Its priorities are to diversify economic activity and increase revenue in the private sector, as well as apply efficiency improvements and develop new value-added initiatives. The $270,000-per-year matching grant comes from the Hollins Manufacturing Extension Partnership, which is supported by the National Institute of Standards and Technology in the U.S. Department  of Commerce.

“�Ӱ�ԭ�� manufacturers face challenges such as rural and geographically isolated populations, infrastructure gaps, expensive energy, distance to markets and costs of doing business,” said O’Brien. “However, given the abundance of raw resources, energy potential, abundant land and geostrategic location, there is ample capacity to move up the value chain. Seafood processing is ideal with its established history, diversity and integration into the �Ӱ�ԭ�� economy.”

The grant also links �Ӱ�ԭ�� to the entire Manufacturing Extension Partnerships program, O'Brien added. “We have an external network that we can lean on and potentially increase the speed of taking up new processes, new technologies and new ideas in the �Ӱ�ԭ�� market."

ADDITIONAL CONTACTS: Erik O'Brien, 907-562-7380, eobrien@swamc.org; Quentin Fong, 907-486-1516, quentin.fong@alaska.edu

ON THE WEB: