MEPs nationwide had been targeted for elimination by the Trump administration

Tony Fernandez, president and director of the New Hampshire MEP (Courtesy photo)

New Hampshire’s congressional delegation June 26 announced nearly $925,000 in federal funding to the New Hampshire Manufacturing Extension Partnership (NH MEP), saving it from closure.

The NH MEP will receive the funding from the National Institute of Standards and Technology to help local small and medium-sized manufacturers join the MEP National Network’s new National Supply Chain Optimization and Intelligence Network.

“Investing in American manufacturing is critical in order to grow our economy, advance American national security and out-build competitors, like China,” said Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee that funds NIST, in a press release. “New Hampshire is a small business state, and this funding will help ensure that Granite State manufacturers have the support they need to drive that progress.”

The NH MEP is one of 51 that operate in each state that provide services to small manufacturers, including access to public and private resources. The program was established in 1988 and was expanded in 1996 to cover all 50 states. The appropriation for this year’s program that Trump aimed to eliminate was $175 million.

One of the most important roles of the MEP is being a matchmaker and connecting businesses with resources, says Tony Fernandez, president and director of NH MEP.

“Our mission itself is really just to coordinate the manufacturing effort and be the conduit,” Fernandez told NH Business Review in April after he learned the MEP would not have its funding renewed.

Among the contacts Fernandez confers with regularly are representatives of the Small Business Administration and the Advanced Regenerative Manufacturing Institute, the Manchester Millyard-based nonprofit spearheading a biofabrication effort expected to create thousands of jobs.

“Thanks to the advocacy of the leaders of NH MEP, we overcame attempts by the Trump Administration to dismantle the Manufacturing Extension Partnership in New Hampshire and across the country and got this funding restored,” Sen. Maggie Hassan said.

Congressman Chris Pappas added: “Smart investments in American manufacturing can grow our economy, create jobs, increase our global competitiveness and bolster national security. The Manufacturing Extension Partnership National Network is one effective way we do this.”

Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander called the announcement “a good day for the future of New Hampshire manufacturing,” emphasizing how the funding would strengthen economic and national security.

The funding comes through the CHIPS and Science Act, supported by Shaheen, Hassan and Pappas, which created the National Supply Chain Optimization and Intelligence Network to boost local supply chains and manufacturing resiliency.

The MEP National Network assists manufacturers with everything from process improvement and workforce training to supply chain integration and technology transfer.

According to NIST, manufacturing clients of the MEP National Network “helped manufacturers achieve $15 billion in new and retained sales, $5 billion in new client investments, $2.6 billion in cost savings, and over 108,000 jobs created or retained in fiscal year 2024.”