WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) Board of Directors kicked off its new two-year term on January 1. Following an election in which manufacturing issues and manufacturing voters were front and center, the new NAM leaders are poised to be influential voices with the incoming Trump administration, which has already turned to the NAM seeking policy advice and counsel.
In the coming months, NAM leaders will focus on defining modern manufacturing and advancing manufacturing priorities in the new Congress and administration. David Farr, chairman and CEO of Emerson, will serve as chair of the NAM Board of Directors, and David Seaton, chairman and CEO of Fluor Corporation, will serve as vice chair.
Drew Greenblatt, president and owner of Marlin Steel Wire Products LLC, will serve as chair of the NAM’s Small and Medium Manufacturers Group, and Chuck Wetherington, president of BTE Technologies, Inc., will serve as vice chair.
The members of the new board leadership team are proven champions for manufacturers in the United States and positioned to bolster cooperation between the business community and the government over the next two years.
“This is a critical moment in our history where U.S. manufacturing, working closely with the incoming administration and a new Congress, can have a powerful role in shaping policy to keep this nation strong and competitive well into the future,” said Farr.
The American public upended the status quo and are demanding change, and the NAM Board of Directors is primed as manufacturers’ voice for change on issues crucial to the success of manufacturing, including improving our infrastructure, reforming our tax system and addressing the regulatory burden. They are focused on policies that will allow manufacturers to create jobs at home and compete and win business overseas.
“As a small business owner, I’ve experienced firsthand the impacts of the rising cost of doing business. The vast majority of manufacturers in the United States are small businesses, and every day, they demonstrate the ‘Power of Small,'” said Greenblatt, who also announced the launch of “Competing to Win: Messages from the Shop Floor,” an initiative focused on letting manufacturers tell President-elect Donald Trump what they need to thrive. “I look forward to driving change for a sound future for manufacturing—rebuilding communities, improving lives and ensuring modern manufacturing is tomorrow’s story.”
“Manufacturers changed the direction of this country, and we’re raring to go to get our nation back on track by putting America and manufacturing first,” said NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons. “At the NAM, we have the leaders and builders of opportunity, in the mold of President-elect Trump, to chart a new way forward to lift everyone up and leave no one behind. These are the right leaders for the right time in our history. This is manufacturing’s moment, and we’re ready to lead. Manufacturers have an incredible opportunity before us, and the NAM intends to seize it.”
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