Washington, DC—April 16, 2012—Roy Sweatman, President of Southern Manufacturing Technologies (SMT) in Tampa, FL, was appointed today to serve on the Manufacturing Council. Sweatman, a member and former Chairman of the National Tooling and Machining Association (NTMA), joins 24 other U.S. manufacturing leaders as Council members. The Council provides advice to U.S. Commerce Secretary John Bryson on issues related to manufacturing sector competitiveness, as well as government policies and programs that affect the industry. Sweatman will help emphasize the necessity of designing policies that help small and medium U.S. manufacturing companies, which play a critical role in the industry.
"Small and medium manufacturers are this country’s job creators and the backbone of our communities," said Sweatman. "As a Council member, my goal is to support policies that help small manufacturing businesses to flourish in the United States. Policymakers and business leaders must work together on issues ranging from the shortage of skilled manufacturing workers to tax reform to ensure that small businesses are able to continue to invest in the new technologies and hire the workers that allow us to stay competitive with businesses overseas."
Sweatman is also Vice Chairman of the National Institute for Metalworking Skills, Inc (NIMS), an organization founding by metalworking trade associations to develop and maintain a globally competitive workforce. NIMS sets skills standards for the industry, certifies individual skills against the standards and accredits training programs that meet NIMS quality requirements. Sweatman’s company, SMT, founded in 1983, specializes in precision machined components and assemblies primarily for the aircraft, aerospace, defense industries. SMT was honored as the Tampa Small Business of the Year and in 2009 won the Business Excellence Award from the Tampa Bay Workforce Alliance.
“NTMA congratulates Roy for this tremendous honor,” said NTMA Chairman Roger Atkins. “Roy has been a leader in NTMA and in our industry for years. We have benefited from his leadership, ideas and commitment to strengthening manufacturing in America, qualities that he will now be able to share with policymakers in Washington, DC.”
