Joint Legislative Budget Commission

House Members

Alternating Chair: Representative Jay Trumbull (R) – Bay County (NWFMC)

Senate Members

Alternating Chair: Senator Kelli Stargel (R) – Lake & Polk Counties (MACF/MSCA)

 

Letter of Support Template

[DATE]

[LEGISLATOR NAME & ADDRESS]

Re: Request for Support Southwest Florida Manufacturing Resiliency Program

Dear [LEGISLATOR NAME],

I am writing to ask for your support of the Southwest Florida Manufacturing Resiliency Program (Local Support Grant Form #529), sponsored by Representative Tommy Gregory. The request for $825,000 in funding was submitted by FloridaMakes in partnership with the region’s manufacturers associations: the Sarasota-Manatee Manufacturers Association (SAMA) and the Southwest Regional Manufacturers Association (SRMA), jointly serving Charlotte, Collier, Glades, Hendry, Manatee, Lee, and Sarasota counties.

FloridaMakes is the representative of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) for the state of Florida. Analogous to the USDA investment in the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS), the federal MEP investment targets strengthening and advancing Florida’s manufacturing sector. As a public-private non-profit, the organization supports the competitiveness of Florida-based companies by making manufacturing technologies, processes, and services more accessible to small and medium-sized manufacturers through Florida.

This State’s investment will allow FloridaMakes, SRMA, and SAMA to deploy already-developed tools and services in the region to improve manufacturers resiliency in the wake of current and future supply chain disruptions. It will apply approximately 75 percent of the funds requested to directly assisting small-to-medium sized manufacturers to create and retain jobs, increase sales, and improve performance, productivity, and profitability – benefitting Florida’s economy.

Nationally recognized performance measures clearly indicate this program increases the competitiveness and profitability of Florida manufacturers. Your support for this program is important to Florida because:

  • For every dollar of federal investment in FY 2021, the MEP National Network generated $26.20 in new sales growth and $34.50 in new client investment. This translates into $14.4 billion in new and retained sales for U.S. manufacturers.
  • Since 2016, and through Q1 2022, the MEP National Network has independently surveyed 573 FloridaMakes clients who reported $2.6 billion in new sales growth, $687.7 million in new client investments, $213.5 million in cost savings, and 19,013 jobs created or retained. This translates to $3.5 billion in economic impact.
  • The results of this program would lead to an increase in projects mitigating risks and improve Florida’s manufacturing sector’s resiliency. Those would include cybersecurity assessments and implementations, assessment and mitigation of business continuity risks, workforce cross training and upskilling for resiliency, and operational training for improving manufacturing efficiencies to allow for expansion or diversification.

The funding of this initiative is important to create a prosperous future for Florida, its manufacturers, and for the current and future workforce of our region.

Sincerely,

[YOUR NAME]

 

CLICK HERE to see the Southwest Florida Manufacturing Resiliency Pilot Program informational document.