Manufacturing Forum guest speaker RAMP MD Executive Director Rick Decker

California, MD — St. Mary’s County Government has been conducting a series of briefings recently to encourage the development of manufacturing in the county. Deputy Director of Economic Development Robin Finnacom says that manufacturing currently represents only two-percent of the economy, yet its high paying jobs represent a great opportunity for economic diversification, one of the county’s goals.

The most recent briefing July 23 was held at Lenny’s Restaurant in California with a broad spectrum of the business community in attendance, including representative of the defense and non-defense community.

Guest speaker Rick Decker is executive director of a new non-profit organization that offers some high-tech options for developing a new product. The Regional Additive Manufacturing Partnership of Maryland (RAMP MD) was formed by the Maryland General Assembly in 2014 to expand the state’s capabilities in “additive manufacturing.”

So what is additive manufacturing? According to RAMP MD;s website www.rampmd.org ,”Additive manufacturing is the process of producing a three-dimensional object file by layering materials, and it is revolutionizing the way products are designed and manufactured.”

The problem for most businesses is that extremely expensive 3-D printer and the expertise to operate it. That’s where Decker’s connection with U.S. Army Edgewood Chemical Biological Center plays big dividends. He is former technical director of the facility.

Decker said that private/public partnerships are encouraged by the U.S. Department of Defense. He said manufacturing capability is essential to any war effort. “If we have a war it’s industry that fights the war,” he observed.

Edgewood has that expensive equipment and the people capable of running it. He says they are artists, not engineers, and thrive of solving problems. The base command encourages work for them to keep up their creative skills, even between wars.

So RAMP MD has partnered with Edgewood to provide the equipment and expertise. They help facilitate businesses and individual with ideas match with the base equipment and personnel. Once a project is accepted, which can be within a couple of days, the entrepreneur gets one free visit to Edgewood. According to Decker, “The collaboration allows manufacturers to move a product from inspiration to production faster than ever.”

According to the RAMP MD fact sheet passed out at the meeting and available on their website, “Regional leaders are just beginning to recognized the tremendous impact additive manufacturing will have on our community. Not only will the capability to create new high-tech jobs for people of all skill levels, it has the potential to change the way we live, work and play.”

At the Lenny’s meeting, Decker passed around some of the products that have been facilitated by the infant organization. On their website they spotlight two products, a miniature toilet bowl plunger and a vintage tool box converted into a working 3-D printer. Decker said products are not just made from plastics but pretty much any material.

Granted it’s a new idea for Southern Maryland, but Decker said, “I don’t know if I can help you but I want to.”

Also speaking at the breakfast meeting was Tri County Council for Southern Maryland Lead Business Services Representative Barbara DeHenzel, who related a variety of grant and loan programs available for manufacturing start-ups in the state.

Decker was introduced by Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development representative Joyce La Padula.

Delegate Tony O’Donnell (R- 29-C) also attended the meeting and expressed an interest in helping with the effort to increase manufacturing. “I think you can take this to the next level,” he said.

The July 23 meeting was the third in a series. St. Mary’s County Department of Economic Development hopes to hold similar ones on a regular basis.

Contact Dick Myers at dick.myers@thebaynet.com