Penn State University said it has won a $39.9 million federal grant to establish a center focused on advanced manufacturing in Pennsylvania.
The university will lead a coalition to establish the DuBois Center for Innovation (DCI) Regional Manufacturing Hub. Designed to transform and grow north central Pennsylvania’s manufacturing economy, and accelerate innovation into pressed materials, the hub will strengthen advanced manufacturing, workforce development and economic growth, officials said.
The federal grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration will support the redevelopment of facilities in DuBois and the creation of the hub serving Cameron, Clearfield, Elk, Jefferson, McKean and Potter counties. Officials expect the initiative will leverage additional public and private funding, including up to $150 million in potential investment from industry partner Bunting Magnetics & Magnetic Applications. The total potential economic impact associated with the project comes to nearly $200 million.
“This is about turning a challenge into an opportunity for DuBois and the entire region,” U.S. Senator Dave McCormick (R-PA) said. “I’m proud to have helped push this project forward and am grateful to Secretary [of Commerce] Lutnick for investing in Pennsylvania’s future. This is a major win for Pennsylvania workers.”
The hub will focus on the region’s industry for pressed materials — a specialized field of manufacturing that transforms fine metal and other material powders into high-performance components and products through processes involving pressure, heat and advanced technologies, and will support the creation of new pathways for workforce development and business growth.
“This investment represents an opportunity to strengthen one of Pennsylvania’s most important manufacturing clusters while accelerating economic development in a region that has faced long-term economic challenges,” Andrew Read, senior vice president for research at Penn State, whose office oversees the University’s entrepreneurship and commercialization efforts, said. “The DuBois Center for Innovation will provide the United States the domestic pressed materials production needed for a strategic manufacturing capability essential to economic and national security and technological leadership, while creating opportunities for businesses and workers across north central Pennsylvania.”