Following 10 years of successfully bringing people together to work individually and collectively to improve the conditions for successful manufacturing in the Great Lakes region, the board of directors of the Great Lakes Manufacturing Council (GLMC) has decided to cease the GLMC’s operations and pass the torch to the Council of the Great Lakes Region (CGLR).
Established in 2007 as a bi-national 501(c)3 organization, the GLMC was formed to promote, preserve and enhance manufacturing in the Great Lakes Region. Since then, the GLMC has created and disseminated an image of the importance of the region that is now widely used by public sector and private sector leaders: Specifically, that the Great Lakes economic region, rooted in manufacturing, would represent the third largest economy in the world if the eight U.S. states in the trading region and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec were a country.
“The GLMC has fostered a number of initiatives and forums to help organizations with a commitment to successful manufacturing to connect with, to work with, and to learn from one another,” says Sherm Johnson, President of the GLMC. “The Council helped to create a much deeper understanding among policy makers and many organizations of the vital, foundational role of manufacturing in the Great Lakes.”
The non-profit was started and led by Ed Wolking, then the Executive Vice-President of the Detroit Regional Chamber, with support from the Government of Canada. “We fostered innovative partnerships, identified best practices, enhanced resources and increased exposure to new ideas, all at a time when the sector needed a boost,” says Wolking, past President of the GLMC. “Today the sector and the economy are stronger and many groups and companies are touting strong, positive messages about manufacturing in the region. We met our goals!”
However, as Great Lakes manufacturing strengthens, there are a range of issues, from the region’s regulatory environment and demographic headwinds, to trade policy, automation, infrastructure renewal, and supply chain resiliency that will need to be monitored, understood and acted on. Therefore, as the GLMC ceases operations, the Council of the Great Lakes Region (CGLR) is pleased to announce that it will take up the GLMC’s focus on manufacturing and many of its outreach activities and dialogues.
“The Great Lakes Manufacturing Council has been a strong leader and voice for Great Lakes manufacturing since 2007, especially during the recent Great Recession which created significant downward pressure on the manufacturing sector globally,” said Mark Fisher, President and CEO of the Council of the Great Lakes Region (CGLR). “Looking ahead, as the competitiveness of this important sector improves, CGLR will ensure there is a venue to consider the issues facing manufacturing in the Great Lakes to ensure its long-term success within a robust and diversified Great Lakes economy.”
Formed in 2013, CGLR (https://councilgreatlakesregion.org) was established to create a stronger and more dynamic culture of cross-border collaboration in harnessing the economic strengths of the Great Lakes Region while improving the well-being of the region’s citizens and protecting the environment for future generations. It achieves this mandate by conducting evidenced-based research on the biggest economic, social and environmental policy issues facing the region, convening regional leaders and diverse perspectives at events like the Great Lakes Economic Forum, and carrying out advocacy campaigns to raise awareness about the region. As part of today’s announcement, members of the GLMC will automatically become members of CGLR.
BACKGROUNDER
About the Great Lakes Manufacturing Council
The Great Lakes Manufacturing Council is a bi-national organization dedicated to the success of manufacturing in the Great Lakes Region. Membership in the Council is open to all who share that goal. The Council covers the provinces of Quebec and Ontario, and the states of New York,
Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota. It is organized as a 501(c)3 non-profit and includes manufacturing organizations, chambers of commerce, economic development organizations, government agencies, colleges and universities.
The Council’s vision is that the Great Lakes Region will be one of the top two manufacturing centers in the world. Its mission is to maintain and increase the competitive advantage for manufacturing and preserve the prosperity of the Great Lakes Region. The Council focuses on image, innovation, talent and workforce, borders and logistics, and public policy and is the originator of the description of the Great Lakes trading area as the third largest economy in the world.
GLMC Summary of Accomplishments
- Spoke out for manufacturing when no one cared – or dared
- Originated recognition of the Great Lakes region as the 3rd largest economy in the world – now widely used by leaders and commentators
- Is recognized as a good example for much needed regional collaboration
- Has represented the viewpoint of Great Lakes manufacturing in meetings and conferences
- Has educated U.S. lawmakers about the integrated bi-national nature of the Great Lakes, U.S. and Canadian economies
- Has gotten the US Chamber to engage a bi-national stakeholders group for Beyond the Border and Regulatory Cooperation Council follow up
- Has created many network opportunities for sharing and learning
- Sponsored seven Great Lakes Manufacturing Forums
- Recognized 30 talent and workforce development initiatives throughout the region – Talented Workforce Initiative
- Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center assisted Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters (CME) with a business self-appraisal system
- Provided a data base of intermodal terminals for leaders developing a national freight strategy
- Provided another data base of manufacturing resources in the states and provinces
- Forged bi-national connections between aerospace sectors in Ohio and Quebec
- Introduced Timken to potential new collaborators
- Introduced Purdue University to the Council of Great Lakes Industries
- Ohio provided the solution to a workforce issue in Minnesota
- Has generated numerous other opportunities for individual and group exchange
RESOLUTION, passed Wednesday, June 21, 2017
Whereas,
The Great Lakes Manufacturing Council was formed in 2007 to operate for charitable and educational purposes within the meaning of Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code to benefit the communities of the Great Lakes region by promoting, developing, and disseminating information, best practices and regional collaboratives that will enhance manufacturing and manufacturing related job growth within the Great Lakes region;
and Whereas,
The Great Lakes Manufacturing Council has fostered a number of initiatives and forums to help organizations with a commitment to successful manufacturing to connect with, to work with, and to learn from one another;
and Whereas,
The Great Lakes Manufacturing Council has helped to create a much deeper understanding among policy makers and many organizations of the vital, foundational role of manufacturing in the Great Lakes;
and Whereas,
The Great Lakes Manufacturing Council created and disseminated an image of the importance of the region that is now widely used by public sector and private sector leaders – “the third largest economy in the world,” rooted in manufacturing;
and Whereas,
Manufacturing in the Great Lakes region has emerged from the Great Recession in a stronger, more visible, and more competitive position and has also experienced a secular resurgence;
and Whereas,
Many organizations are now working individually and collectively to improve the conditions for successful manufacturing in the Great Lakes;
Now therefore be it resolved that,
The Great Lakes Manufacturing Council declares its purpose to be largely fulfilled and will prepare to cease its operations or to combine operations with a similar, like-minded group, as soon as practicable, including sharing its assets with a similar, like-minded organization;
And be it further resolved that,
The Board of Directors hereby instructs its officers to prepare a plan to achieve this resolution and bring the plan back to the directors for final action.
