NIST spends less than $200 million a year on the MEP program, with most of the money going to the state and Puerto Rico in batches of payments. Assembly aides tell Wired they hope that all the remaining centres will lose funds in the next year or so as the next checks go through.
In some states, the centers are run by universities, government agencies, or independent nonprofits. While states help pay for the MEP program, legislative aides believe it will be difficult to compensate for the loss of federal funds in many states, especially small states.
Carrie Hines, president and CEO of the American Small Manufacturers Coalition, says that on behalf of all of the state’s help centers, companies will pay market fees for the personalized consulting they offer. “This is not handouts,” she says. Traditional consulting companies may not be able to support these small businesses or exist in some areas, she adds. “We have boots on the factory floors to fill in the unique void in technical assistance,” says Hines.
Wyoming’s Help Center, known as the manufacturing work, was one of the organizations that did not receive $700,000 in funds expected from NIST on Tuesday. Other states affected include Delaware, Hawaii, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico and North Dakota. “These 10 centers were blind,” says Hines.
Jodie Mjoen, CEO and president of North Dakota MEP Center Impact Dakota, says he is beginning to work with partners to find new ways to support 21 current projects with 93 manufacturers. According to MJOEN, these companies are trying to counter tariffs and other regulations, deploy more AI and automation, and introduce new skills to their employees. “That’s all,” he says. “Implementing innovative emerging technology solutions” and “maintaining the prosperity and expansion of the US manufacturing supply chain.”
Shinsabeau of New Mexico MEP said the cut “will have a realistic and lasting negative impact on the manufacturing ecosystem both in our state and across the country.”
Officials from other state centers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
US representative Sarah McBride, a Democrat from Delaware, also joins the Scientific Committee, but said, “Trump is separating opportunities from working Delaware families, so I will fight against everything to reverse this reckless, cruel decision.”
Case studies published by NIST and state partners show that advisors associated with help centers are roaming the company through ways of adopting cybersecurity measures and building more resilient factory lines, or simply adhering to how to prioritize the company with executive teams. Popular brands featured nist’s Website That says they benefited from the help center. This includes Dot, the maker of Hershey’s pretzel snacks, and Purina, from Nestle’s dog food division.
The Help Center links your business to other resources. in case Of Pertech Industries, a professional printer manufacturer based in Riverton, Wyoming, the local MEP office, a manufacturer of professional printers that struggled to find skilled workers in soldering, later connected to a training company that began offering soldering programs. The office helped the training company pay it with state funding. Pertech did not respond to requests for comment.
