Governor of Michigan & Secretary of the Navy Announce Michigan Maritime Manufacturing Initiative

The US Navy is once again demonstrating that it’s at the forefront of the domestic advanced manufacturing landscape, with Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro on July 22 announcing the Michigan Maritime Manufacturing (M3) Initiative. At a press conference at Macomb Community College, alongside other policymakers including Governor of Michigan Meg Whitmer, Secretary Del Toro introduced a plan that includes over $50 million in near term investments into Michigan’s manufacturing sector.

In addition to being the site for the rollout, Macomb Community College is also one of multiple academic institutions that have already signed onto the M3 Initiative, which is centered around a group of interrelated workforce development programs. In terms of physical infrastructure, the key element is the University of Michigan’s forthcoming Center for Naval Research and Education, announced in May 2024 and backed by $14.5 million in funding.

$16 million will go to “an accelerated welding and [CNC] machining training program” that begins in fall 2024, which will likely also help capitalize on the Navy’s rapid progress over the last few years in a range of metal additive manufacturing (AM) techniques. Last fall, for instance, Huntington Ingalls’ Industries and General Dynamics Electric Boat, the key primes in the US Submarine Industrial Base (SIB) program, announced they were printing deck drain assemblies for in-service Virginia-class submarines.

In his remarks at the Macomb Community College M3 Initiative press conference, Secretary Del Toro said, “Service includes leveraging the skills and talents of Americans from every part of the nation to contribute to the nation’s defense industrial base. And I can think of no better place than Michigan to shape the next generation of ‘new-collar’ workers, combining traditionally blue-collar trades with the cutting-edge technologies of today. Michiganders, today — like during World War II — we need your skills, your dedication, and your pioneering spirit to continue our legacy as the world’s greatest naval power. And so, I am pleased to announce the formal launch of the [M3] Initiative. Michigan is the industrial and manufacturing heartland of America.”

Governor Whitmer said, “As we invest in training the next generation of workers, we send a clear message to manufacturers across the nation: come to Michigan. Here, we make stuff — whether it’s ships, semiconductor chips, or potato chips. We have the grit and know-how to produce anything America needs. Our defense industry contributes $30 billion to our economy, supporting more than 166,000 jobs and nearly 4,000 businesses. We produce more military vehicles than any other state and are home to major defense companies including General Dynamics, BAE, and GM Defense. With our growing veteran population — over 500,000 strong — Michigan is primed to remain a manufacturing powerhouse.”

One particularly notable angle to the M3 Initiative is its explicit focus on incorporating a “whole-of-government” approach to the problem of workforce development, even as DoD leads the charge. Specifically, the M3 fact sheet names the Department of Education and Department of Labor as key partners in training the next generation of the US’s manufacturing labor pool.

Moreover, the DoD’s recent announcement of a 2024-2027 “climate adaptation plan” reinforces this same angle. In announcing the University of Michigan’s Center for Naval Research and Education, Krishnan Mahesh, the director of the center, highlighted study of the long-term effects of climate change on maritime activities as one of the organization’s primary objectives.

Finally, as Secretary Del Toro’s remarks repeatedly drove home, the current push to leverage Michigan’s manufacturing prowess for maritime echoes the US’s utilization of the Detroit auto supply ecosystem for similar purposes in aerospace during World War Two. This encapsulates both how great power competition has stayed the same since the middle of the twentieth century, as well has how it’s changing: the seas, and not the skies, may be the arena where international tensions flare up most  over the next 100 years.