Our Strategic Action Plan
This Strategic Action Plan advances a forward-looking vision of the pressed materials industry. It is the result of extensive research, data analysis, and ongoing engagement with industry experts, educators and regional leaders. Through collaborative thinking, the action plan offers realistic yet aspirational solutions. It outlines two overarching strategies, each supported by catalytic projects, to be implemented in the short and long term to drive success.
About the Plan
This Pressed Materials Strategic Action Plan, developed with broad industry and network participation, focuses on the retention of these employment opportunities for the region and a plan for benefiting from growth in expanding markets and applications. The plan’s two core initiatives focus on the formation of a regional industry organization and the creation and management of a new collaborative R&D facility for the industry.
​
​These two overarching initiatives create the organization and collective action necessary to drive future growth, considering the broader need for governance, programming, and dedicated facilities that can serve as the bedrock for achieving these priority projects and the focus areas they represent. Through coordinated implementation and investment from government, academia, private industry, and more, this path forward will help the industry grow - and continue to thrive - in North Central PA and the United States as a whole.
About the Strategy Development Effort
In 2023, the North Central Pressed Materials Strategy Development Consortium was awarded a Strategy Development Grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) via the Tech Hubs program to create a future-focused roadmap for the industry moving forward. This roadmap - a byproduct of an 18-month planning process - aims to achieve four major goals focused on:
-
Strengthen the pressed materials sector by diversifying the production of pressed materials and machined parts;
-
Explore emerging applications, such as national defense, medical devices, and electrification in transportation applications.
-
Enhance the region’s capacity to manufacture, commercialize, and deploy pressed materials products and processes; and
-
Identify how the industry contributes to national competitiveness, regional supply chains, and global positioning
The North Central Pressed Materials Strategy Development Consortium spearheaded the initial planning efforts that led to the grant award from the EDA. This group included representation from Penn State University DuBois Campus, North Central Pennsylvania Regional Planning and Development Commission, North Central Workforce Solutions Development Board, Ben Franklin Technology Partners, Advantage Metal Powders, Höganäs AB, and Horizon Technology. The consortium engaged Fourth Economy Consulting and a team of advisors to provide strategy development, planning, and communications support that includes the development of this report and recommendations.