WASHINGTON — The National Association of Manufacturers is joining other businesses, labor organizations and elected officials across the United States to tell policymakers and citizens to promote the need for more investment.
Strong, resilient infrastructure, especially relating to energy, is critical to our country’s economic growth and vitality and is essential to manufacturing’s continued success and competitiveness.
The NAM released new comprehensive study that reveals how natural gas has strengthened manufacturing and encouraged U.S. manufacturing growth and employment. This study underscored the need for critical energy infrastructure.
“Over the next decade our nation’s demand for natural gas is only going to grow and much of that growth is from manufacturing,” said NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons. “This study unequivocally shows that if our growing demand is not taken seriously by policy makers we will have a serious lack of infrastructure that will jeopardize our growth. Natural gas is responsible for millions of jobs, tens of thousands in manufacturing alone. We can’t afford to let misguided policies rob us of this valuable domestic resource.”
“Developing natural gas and gas infrastructure provides enormous benefits to Americans through affordable energy, cleaner air, job growth and a boost to manufacturing,” said Dena E. Wiggins, president and CEO of the Natural Gas Supply Association. “For these reasons, natural gas infrastructure is essential to the U.S. economy, manufacturing and households and it should also be important to policymakers when considering natural gas projects.”
At Emerson, employees in the methane mitigation industry pride themselves on the impact of their work.
“It’s personally satisfying knowing that the American product we design and build, will not only help our customers be cleaner and more efficient, but will also help preserve a better world for future generations. It’s a clear win-win situation and a great example of how companies can provide shared value to customers and their communities,” said James Harris, an assembler who builds products for the oil and gas industry at Emerson’s Sherman, Texas manufacturing plant.
“For us, access to natural gas pipelines is about commonsense and sustainability,” said ACME Brick Company. “As the largest brick manufacturer in the United States, we produce a product that is heavy, so moving natural gas via pipelines to where the bricks are made is far more efficient than moving heavy bricks long distances. We’ve been making the bricks that build schools and homes across America for 125 years. Although “sustainability” is a fairly new term, the basic concept has been part of ACME Brick Company since its founding. Direct access to natural gas pipelines is vital to local production and environmental stewardship.”
“Without natural gas and the pipeline infrastructure to access these energy resources, not only would our production and competitiveness be impacted, so would the 6,000 men and women who work on our shop floors,” said Brad Crews, NAFTA, president, agricultural equipment products segment, CNH Industrial. “Energy and energy infrastructure like pipelines is essential to our businesses and success.”
“Increased growth and development of natural gas resources across the United States allows us to create more jobs, more paychecks and more opportunities for members of our community,” said Steve Pearce, President, TIW Corporation.
For more information, visit www.nam.org/Issues/Technology/.
