IMTI—Ten Years in Pursuit of a Dream

It seems like only yesterday that DoD, DoC, DoE, NSF, and NASA representatives met with industry in Washington, DC and decided that a new organization was needed. The mission of that organization was to support the nation’s manufacturing infrastructure, and the foundation of the decision was that we lacked a neutral broker with no agenda except a passion for the maintenance of a vision for manufacturing success. From that beginning, IMTI launched its pursuit of the dream – to support the resurgence in the nation’s manufacturing sector. However, we soon became aware that our efforts needed focus. We developed a strategy that we have called (usually only to ourselves) our 1, 2, 3 strategy. This strategy has guided our efforts over most of the decade:

1. Produce the best plans that can be developed with input from a broad collection of perspectives.
2. Develop tools to provide unprecedented access to and knowledge about what is now being done and what capabilities are available.
3. Based on the knowledge of what needs to be done – the plans – and what is being done, identify the voids and develop a means to fill them.

We have now spent a decade in executing this strategy and pursuing the dream of a better design and manufacturing enterprise, and have had some great blessings along the way. We have written literally thousands of pages of technology plans, but, far more importantly, we have seen initiatives created and solutions provided that had their genesis in the roadmaps. We have been blessed with great friends, great sponsors, and people who trusted us with their visions and ideas. We look forward to the next decade with renewed energy and excitement. Much has been done; however, there is still much to do.