The Southeastern Advanced Machine Tools Network (SEAMTN) held its kickoff meeting on Saturday, October 30, 2021, at the University of Tennessee’s Neyland Stadium East Skybox. Seventy-eight representatives from across the manufacturing industry attended.
The meeting included a welcome by SEAMTN Director and MABE Professor Tony Schmitz, a keynote address by UT’s Associate Vice Chancellor for Research, Innovation and Economic Development Marc Gibson, introductory presentations by attending SEAMTN partners, and a tour of the Machine Tool Research Center located in the Dougherty Engineering Building.
In-person and virtual presentations were given by representatives from the following SEAMTN partners: Be Global Safety, Bertelkamp Automation, California Advanced Supply Chain Analysis & Diversification Effort (CASCADE), Consolidated Nuclear Security Y-12, Custom Tool, Inc., Federal Express, Flexial Corporation, Fort Defiance Industries, IACMI, IBAS, Ingersoll Machine Tools, Local Motors, Loci Robotics, MSC Industrial Supply, Micro Craft Inc., Oak Ridge High School, Oak Ridge National Laboratory Intelligent Machine Tools Group, Oshkosh Defense, Pellissippi State Community College, P Robert C. Byrd Institute, Tennessee Manufacturing Association/Tennessee Chamber of Commerce & Industry, and University of Tennessee Center for Industrial Services, and Volunteer Aerospace.
Led by UT, SEAMTN (pronounced “see mountain”) is a consortium of companies, colleges and universities, national laboratories, non-profit organizations, and the Tennessee state government seeking to strengthen the US industrial base by investing in machine tool research and development, education, workforce development, and supply chain support.
SEAMTN is part of the 2021 cohort for new defense manufacturing communities established and funded by the Defense Manufacturing Community Support Program (DMCSP).