Decade of Driving Innovation, Building Workforce, and Fueling Growth
June 17, 2025 – Today, IACMI celebrates the 10th anniversary of being officially open for business. On June 17, 2015, shown above, IACMI’s founding CEO Craig Blue, Department of Energy’s Assistant Secretary David Danielson, and University of Tennessee’s Executive Vice President David Millhorn signed an agreement that established IACMI as the fifth of now 18 Manufacturing USA® institutes. IACMI’s focus has remained on revitalizing American manufacturing and strengthening the nation’s defense industrial base.
For 10 years, IACMI has played a pivotal role in accelerating the use of advanced composites, technical innovation, and workforce solutions. IACMI has implemented a formula that works: Technical Innovation + Workforce Development = Economic Growth – all aimed at securing America’s position as a global leader. Reshoring initiatives have been key to bolstering U.S. economic and national security. Through multiple national workforce programs sponsored by DOE and the Department of Defense (DoD), IACMI has been inspiring, educating, and training a skilled workforce to help address the projected 4.6 million open manufacturing jobs in the coming decade.
IACMI’s impact for economic growth has been clear in four primary ways:
• Public-Private Collaborations
• Technical Innovation
• Workforce Development
• Leveraging Resources
A Decade of Innovation: IACMI’s Impact lays out stats and stories in a full report available for download at IACMI.org. Timelines of success stories show how investments in facilities, expertise, and collaborative projects have led to results in commercializing products and advancing technology readiness. Shared infrastructure in key states like Colorado, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee has enabled IACMI to create research-at-scale, production-relevant spaces for innovation and workforce development in advanced composites manufacturing.
“We stand at a powerful intersection of progress and possibility,” said Chad Duty, Chief Executive Officer for IACMI. “What began in 2015 as a bold initiative has grown into a national force for manufacturing innovation, workforce advancement and economic resilience. Over the past decade, IACMI has proven that when industry, government, national laboratories, and academia come together with purpose, we can not only revitalize American manufacturing—we can lead it into the future. Today, that momentum is stronger than ever, and we are poised to accelerate our impact in the decade ahead.”
IACMI will be celebrating a decade of innovation with nearly 300 members at the annual Members Meeting in Dayton, Ohio, June 24-26.