Manufacture Nevada – Rebranded and steadfast in supporting, attracting and growing Nevada’s manufacturing industry
The University's Director for Manufacture Nevada, Tom Simpkins, discusses the rebrand and what it means for the future of the outreach program
My name is Tom Simpkins and I’m the director for Manufacture Nevada, an outreach program of the University of Nevada, Reno Research & Innovation. Our mission is to help Nevada’s manufacturers navigate their path to success. We recently rebranded from Nevada Industry Excellence, NVIE, to Manufacture Nevada. I’d like to take the opportunity to share with you a bit about our program, our rebrand and what the manufacturing sector in Nevada is capable of.
As the go-to resource for ensuring Nevada manufacturing is resilient and a leader in innovation, we seek to increase the contribution of manufacturing to Nevada’s economy by leveraging University resources to support manufacturing innovation and connecting manufacturers, students and faculty to workforce and research opportunities. We take great pride in serving as Nevada’s affiliate within the NIST MEP National Network (National Institute of Standards and Technology, Manufacturing Extension Partnership). Comprising of 51 MEP Centers across the nation, the network strives to lead manufacturing expertise and support. Our strategic partnership with the Nevada Center of Applied Research (NCAR) helps us leverage the physical assets and intellectual expertise at the University to support manufacturers. In addition, our main office housed at the Innevation Center in MidTown Reno helps us connect manufacturers to the innovation ecosystem. Through our partnership with the Governor’s Office of Economic Development, we support the state’s effort to attract and grow manufacturing companies. With offices in Las Vegas, Reno and Carson City, we support manufacturing across the entire Silver State.
Why did we decide to rebrand? We had reached a point where we needed to synchronize our name and brand with who we are – champions for: Nevada Manufacturers. Our vision is to forge a stronger future by creating a connected, thriving manufacturing industry for this generation and the next. We look forward to continuing working on our current relationships with partners and creating new ones while empowering manufacturers with strategic solutions.
The word Manufacture speaks directly to the audience we are serving while Nevada makes it clear that the University is positioned as the leading supporter of innovation and growth in the manufacturing community of the state. Manufacture Nevada represents an active, real-time effort to provide today’s solutions and tomorrow’s vision for manufacturing in the Silver State. The name change from Nevada Industry Excellence to Manufacture Nevada will allow us to more directly serve this growing and strategically important sector for Nevada’s economic future.
We believe this name change will help our efforts to contribute to the University’s strategic plan and Nevada’s manufacturing sector in the following ways:
- Manufacture Nevada helps Strengthen the Pack by engaging students and faculty directly with manufacturers. This creates opportunities for research in areas of technology, process, quality, safety and more. A study conducted by the University’s Nevada Career Studio showed that 60% of undergraduate engineering students were interested in exploring research and placement opportunities with manufacturers. The name change brings much needed clarity that our organization is the go-to resource to foster these collaborations.
- Manufacture Nevada helps Lead for Nevada by collaborating with the Nevada Career Studio and Undergraduate Research at the University to introduce students to manufacturers for current and future employment opportunities. Manufacturing careers offer a sustainable wage and career advancement opportunities in many different areas of expertise including engineering, business administration, finance, marketing, information systems and more.
- Manufacture Nevada will Make Silver and Blue the New Green by collaborating with the Research & Innovation division and NCAR to provide valuable relationships with battery tech companies and innovators. This is an integral sector of Nevada’s manufacturing future and Manufacture Nevada has meaningful relationships with several of these companies.
In summary, changing the name from NVIE to Manufacture Nevada will help establish the University as the leader in thought, growth and innovation for the manufacturing sector of Nevada. As this sector continues to gain prominence and support with state leaders, Manufacture Nevada will be at the forefront in ensuring the University is leading this effort.
About the author
Tom Simpkins brings more than 18 years of manufacturing, sales and marketing experience to Manufacture Nevada having held senior management roles with a variety of companies and industries. Tom holds certificates for Leadership, Sales Excellence, Perfect Execution and Project Management along with manufacturing experience in areas of industrial automation, injection molding, process control systems, CNC machining, welding, fabrication and more. In addition, he has broad international business experience with products such as turbochargers, valves and pumps, PCBs, consumer electronics and tools.
