Herbert designates week to celebrate Utah's advanced materials industry

Gov. Gary Herbert has declared the week of Nov. 4-8 as “Utah Advanced Manufacturing Week” across the state. Throughout the week, activities will be held such as presentations, workshops, open houses and expos to recognize and celebrate Utah’s advanced manufacturing and materials industry, according to a declaration from the governor’s office.

“As an important economic cluster for Utah, advanced manufacturing incorporates the latest innovations in robotics, automation and advanced materials across a wide variety of Utah’s high-tech industries such as aerospace, medical, electronics, automotive, construction and outdoor recreation,” a release from the governor’s office said. “Many of these industries have demanding specifications that require the use of lightweight, strong and intricate processes and materials such as carbon fibers, ceramics, advanced polymers and new techniques such as 3D printing of metals. Utah has an important core of companies who manufacture, assemble or produce goods and services using these technologies.”  
The advanced materials industry began in Utah with the strategic missile programs of the 1950s. At that time, two Utah-based aerospace companies, Hercules and Thiokol, developed the expertise to build these systems along with space launch systems that eventually included carbon fiber manufacturing in Utah. In the 1990s, Hercules sold its carbon fiber business to Hexcel and then Thiokol and Hercules merged into ATK. ATK was then joined by Orbital Sciences, which is now all part of Northrup Grumman Innovation Systems in Clearfield. Since those early days, the industry has expanded to over 100 Utah businesses, each of which deploys unique skills and services to produce the specialized components of the advanced materials industry.

“Utah has moved well beyond the early applications of carbon composites to using these advanced materials in aerospace and defense, outdoor products, transportation equipment, medical products and more,” said Jeff Edwards, executive director of the Utah Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Initiative (UAMMI). “We have a wide variety of companies here that combine advanced manufacturing with advanced materials to make amazing products such as high-end carbon fiber bike wheels by ENVE Composites, the carbon fiber frame of the Airbus 350 airplane by Northrop Grumman and major composite components of the Boeing 787 built at Boeing facilities in Salt Lake. Utah is truly an advanced manufacturing hub.”

The idea to create an official recognition week for this industry was a joint collaboration among Davis Technical College, UAMMI, Composites One, local companies and the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED), the governor’s office said.

“We want to recognize and celebrate this important industry within Utah,” said Ginger Chinn, managing director for urban and rural business services for GOED. “Most people don’t realize how many high-tech manufacturers we have in the state and the great jobs there are within this sector. There are hundreds of high-paying jobs open right now waiting to be filled and we hope to shine a light on this industry and generate more interest, especially among the younger generation.”

Events scheduled for the week include:

Nov. 4: Northern Utah STEM Expo; SLCC Composites Lab open house and demonstrations.

Nov. 5:  UAMMI CrossTalk Dinner and Keynote Event.

Nov 6: Composites One “Fly Away with Composites” conference and workshops.

Nov 7: Local company tours.

Founded in 2014, the Utah Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Initiative (UAMMI) brings together public, private, community, industry and education partners to promote growth and sustainability of Utah’s advanced materials and manufacturing industry and maintain Utah’s leadership in the global industry.

The Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation (IACMI), managed by the Collaborative Composite Solutions Corporation (CCS), is a partnership of industry; universities; national laboratories; and federal, state and local governments working together to benefit the nation’s energy and economic security by sharing existing resources and co-investing to accelerate innovative research and development in the advanced composites field.