STARKVILLE, Miss. — To help manufacturers take advantage of opportunities to bring jobs back to the United States, Mississippi State University’s Franklin Furniture Institute is holding a daylong event focused on reshoring in August.
“Reshoring, Retaining and Growing Mississippi’s Manufacturing Jobs” is set for Aug. 20 at the Franklin Center on campus.
The keynote speaker will be Thomas Moser, president and founder of the Reshoring Initiative. This group works with U.S. manufacturers to help them realize opportunities in utilizing local manufacturing and sourcing operations.
Later in the day, he will also make a presentation showing software applications that help determine the cost sourcing overseas versus manufacturing domestically. Attendees who wish to take part in this optional segment will need to bring their laptops to follow along with the presentation.
Jay Moon, president and CEO of the Mississippi Manufacturers Assn., will make a presentation called “Reshoring: A Manufacturing Strategic Perspective.”
Other parts of the program are being finalized and can be seen on a preregistration link, http://www.ffi.msstate.edu/reshoring.asp, as they become official.
The event is timely considering the impact imports have had on furniture manufacturing in Mississippi, officials said. According to figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the state had 17,695 paid employees in furniture and related product manufacturing in 2009, down from 27,851 in 2006. The number rose slightly to 18,439 in 2010, suggesting an uptick that may be related due to renewed consumer demand for U.S.-made furniture.
But the Aug. 20 event, unlike past events related exclusively to furniture manufacturing, is open to all industries, organizers said.
“This is the first one that we have done that is as inclusive as it is,” said Amy Garrard, outreach coordinator for the Franklin Furniture Institute. “We want to bring in as many people as we can.”
The event, which includes lunch, cost $50. The program begins at 10 a.m. and the last session, featuring the cost analysis via laptop, will start at around 3:15.
For more information, contact Garrard at agarrard@cfr.msstate.edu or click on the preregistration link above.
