SMI

Last week, the EXO Charge team participated in the Industry Stakeholders Forum to explore Project Polaris. The event provided valuable insights and fostered meaningful connections with industry professionals who share our commitment to equipping our servicemen and women with cutting-edge technology. A highlight of the forum was the Battery Summit led by the C5ISR team, where Tom Beyerl , Chief Engineer at the U.S. Army, proclaimed: “The STUB is the best battery in the Army.” We are thrilled about this project and eager to contribute our battery technology. Following the forum, our President and CEO, David Bailey, and Director of Sales, Aaron Titus, engaged with the offices of Senator Durbin, Senator Duckworth, and Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi on Capitol Hill to express our gratitude and to discuss the growth and expansion EXO Charge is bringing to Illinois. Stay tuned for more exciting news in the weeks to come The warfighter is our priority!! #stub #usbc #app #madeintheusa #coldweatherbatteries #exocharge Xentris Wireless LLC

Muddy robot

More budget uncertainty. Deep cuts to federal agencies and personnel. Trade wars. Reckonings with allies and adversaries alike. And a raft of court challenges. Simply put, there is no shortage of proposals and pushbacks this spring in Washington and beyond. But SMI is laser-focused on helping to calibrate our clients’ federal strategies, seize new opportunities, and leverage our bipartisan coalitions and international networks to protect, revitalize, or initiate programs and public investments that advance national goals. Get caught up on what the SMI team and our innovative clients are up to -- including enlisting more heavyweights for our growing national security portfolio; shaping the reauthorization of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs; preparing for a shipbuilding renaissance and bold moves to redevelop a domestic industrial base for critical minerals; and responding to new signs of bipartisan support for expanding energy resilience. Read about all this and more in our latest edition of A Capitol View: https://lnkd.in/ehx7wdQf #energy #defense #nationalsecurity #criticalminerals #shipbuilding #technology #innovation #researchanddevelopment #miltary #trade #smallbusiness #SBIR #lobbying #batteries

Spotlight on SMI client Michigan Wheel during last week's House T&I hearing on U.S. Coast Guard assets. Thank you to Congresswoman Scholten for highlighting this critical part of the U.S. shipbuilding industrial base and Michigan's defense community! John Major Tasden Ingram Christopher Bigler Bruce Dieterle

SMI is pleased to share that we have enlisted retired United States Air Force General James Jacobson as a senior advisor to support clients across a host of national security portfolios. Jacobson, who last served as deputy commander of Pacific Air Forces, brings deep insights into the needs of U.S. forces in the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command region and our allied partners. He also served as director of Air Force training and readiness, where he led the development of 20,000 aviators, including managing their training, airspace, and ranges. As inspector general of the Air Mobility Command and as commander of the Air Force District of Washington, Jacobson oversaw IT, drone, and base operations and consequence management. A graduate of the United States Air Force Academy, Jacobson also brings extensive diplomatic experience, having served as the deputy foreign policy advisor for U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM). Check out our A team of senior advisors in energy, tech, defense, life sciences, strategic communications, and more: https://lnkd.in/g4qZZ7jn

USFMA is thrilled to welcome as its newest member Toray Performance Materials Corporation, a leading producer of thermoplastic composites for athletic footwear, recreation, and the medical and industrial sectors. Headquartered in Camarillo, California, the company has been manufacturing components for superior footwear products, from orthotics to athletic shoes, for more than four decades. Its trademarks CFRT® (Continuous Fiber Reinforced Thermoplastics) and “THE MATERIAL EDGE ® ’ are an industry model. “Toray Performance Materials will help USFMA marshal more political power from new and legacy manufacturers alike that are working together to return our industry to its rightful place as a global leader,” said USFMA Executive Director Bill McCann. “They are at the forefront of revitalizing a domestic footwear supply chain that is critical to a host of industries and will ensure that ‘Made in America’ is not just a slogan but a reality. Their addition to our growing network couldn’t come at more impactful time.” “We see this strong desire across the industry to bring manufacturing back, and we couldn't be more excited to join forces with USFMA and its industry partners,” said Laurie Calligaris, President and CEO of Toray Performance Materials. “We have always kept a core team in the U.S. for development and medical manufacturing and we learned how important that was during Covid, when we pivoted to move more manufacturing back to the United States.” The company recently installed automated equipment that can produce components for four million pairs of shoes annually in the United States, according to Ryan Jordan, the company's Director of Sales. “We are taking our experience from 30-plus years plus of footwear manufacturing and reshoring more and more production,” he said. “We have the proven, repeatable technology to produce at high volume. We have customers who produce in the U.S. now, and we are looking to be an asset for other companies that want to do the same.” Read more: https://lnkd.in/et4FWXaz #manufacturing #jobs #footwear #trade #technology #innovation #onshoring #supplychains #textiles #technology

SMI is thrilled to welcome Carla Zeppieri, a former U.S. Navy officer and Capitol Hill veteran who most recently served as deputy assistant secretary of defense for industrial base resilience, as we strengthen our first-in-class defense and national security team. “Carla has mastered the policy and budget levers of both the executive and legislative branches, and she has played a leading role in the historic investments that are revitalizing our defense industrial base,” said SMI CEO Bill McCann. “We could not be more excited to offer our clients her unsurpassed knowledge and network at this pivotal moment.” “The Trump administration and bipartisan majorities in Congress are committed to making new investments in sharpening our military edge to deter our enemies," McCann added. "Carla will be a phenomenal asset as SMI helps identify the most effective solutions to ensure the nation has the workforce and supply chains it will need for years to come.” “SMI has a stellar reputation and strong track record advising business and universities who are developing and producing the most advanced technologies and manufacturing processes for the federal government,” said Zeppieri. “SMI has been at the forefront in integrating some of our nation’s most innovative players with the Department of Defense’s priorities. I am honored to join the team and excited about this new opportunity to help ensure we have a resilient defense industrial base that is the envy of the world.” She joins the firm as vice president, effective March 10. Read more about Zeppieri's experience as a surface warfare officer, congressional staffer, Pentagon official, and executive at Harris Corporation and Raytheon: https://lnkd.in/erfjFCx7 #defense #industrialbase #supplychains #shipbuilding #workforce #Pentagon #Congress #budgeting #nationalsecurity #manufacturing #weapons #aircraft #submarines #acqusition #sustainment #criticalminerals #technology #research

Spotlight on SMI client Michigan Wheel during last week's House T&I hearing on U.S. Coast Guard assets. Thank you to Congresswoman Scholten for highlighting this critical part of the U.S. shipbuilding industrial base and Michigan's defense community! John Major Tasden Ingram Christopher Bigler Bruce Dieterle

USFMA joined the Coalition to Close the De Minimis Loophole in a letter to President Donald Trump urging him to reinstate a ban on Chinese imports valued under $800 from entering the country duty free and virtually uninspected — and also to end the so-called de minimis threshold for all countries for the commercial shipments that are hurting American manufacturing and jobs. “This program, originally intended for use by tourists bringing back souvenirs from abroad, today is exploited by conglomerates and mass retailers to ship counterfeit clothing and medicines, unsafe baby products and toys, knock-off auto parts, goods made with forced labor and other problematic items directly to consumers’ homes, undercutting domestic manufacturers and retailers and millions of Americans who make and sell goods here," the letter, signed by more than 30 organizations, states.   De minimis shipments, which increasingly include illicit goods such as fentanyl, have grown exponentially, from 139 million packages in Fiscal Year 2015 to over a billion packages today, driven in large part by e-commerce companies that heavily exploit the provision to avoid duties. The coalition urged Trump to use his executive authority "to protect U.S. jobs, uphold the rule of law, end tariff evasion, and shut down fentanyl smuggling,” including:   — End commercial de minimis shipments from all countries so the flood of packages and illicit goods does not simply shift from one location to another. —Require all imported goods be accompanied by the necessary information for both tariff collection and effective inspection. — Implement common sense customs enforcement standards to ensure packages can be properly screened. —Permanently close the de minimis trade loophole once and for all. Others signing the letter include: Achieve Greatness Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM) AFL-CIO American Elastic American Fashion Network (AFN) American Woolen Citizens Trade Campaign (CTC) Coalition for a Prosperous America (CPA) Darling Fibers Erik's Bike Shop Families Against Fentanyl (FAF) Facing Fentanyl Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina Kelsie's Cause Lost Voices of Fentanyl National Association of Police Organizations (NAPO) National Bike Dealers Association (NBDA) National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC) National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) People for Bikes Public Citizen Remake Reshoring Initiative Rethink Trade Shatterproof Sherrill MFG Specialized Bikes United Against Fentanyl United Steelworkers (USW) Uyghur American Association Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP) Workers United Voices for Awareness Victims of Illicit Drugs (VOID) Press release here: https://lnkd.in/e7thjfdx More on the coalition here: https://lnkd.in/edmdMzhk #fairtrade #manufacturing #innovation #apparel #footwear #deminimis #china #jobs #supplychains

Congress has a unique opportunity this year to strengthen and expand the Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) programs, the most successful public investment in entrepreneurship to help solve some of the nation’s urgent technological challenges. In a hearing this week titled “Fostering American Innovation: Insights into SBIR/STTR Programs," the U.S. House Committee on Small Business heard critical perspectives and recommendations from SMI client Bill Marinelli, President and CEO of Physical Sciences Inc. PSI has a long a long track record of leveraging SBIR to successfully transition new technologies to the commercial market and government customers, and serving as a "system innovator" for prime contractors producing large, high value systems and platforms for the military and law enforcement agencies Through SBIR the company has developed and fielded advanced lithium-ion battery technology to support the U.S. Navy’s unmanned systems; new methods to extract critical rare Earth minerals from coal ash; detection systems that protect our borders from radiological, chemical and biological threats; and ophthalmic stabilization technology that has been sold in 24,000 systems, impacting almost everyone who has ever had an eye exam. But many successful SBIR technologies are intended for “mission agencies” and do not easily scale to a large commercial enterprise, he stressed. SBIR funding is often required over multiple years. “PSI focuses on innovating technologies that federal agencies, like the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and the service branches, need to meet critical mission objectives, for which no other stakeholders are positioned to deliver," Marinelli testified. He offered a series of recommendations on how SBIR/STTR can more effectively help solve the nation’s urgent technological challenges, including outlining how publicly available data on SBIR/STTR outcomes falls short in capturing the investments' full impact in sharpening the nation's technological edge. “There are many, many potential pathways for commercial success for small businesses – and the U.S. government should be open to innovation from all small business sources and not arbitrarily cap or limit participation,” he testified. “Doing so would undermine the ability of the federal government to secure the very best technology for its agency priorities.” Read more: https://lnkd.in/gRW25QDk #innovation #technology #research #defense #homelandsecurity #SBIR #smallbusiness