Office of External Communications

Houston, TX 77204-5017 Fax: 713.743.8199

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 11, 2006

Contact: Contact: Mike Emery
713.743.8186 (office)
713.415.6551 (pager)
pemery@uh.edu

HOUSTON, Oct. 11, 2006 – Last year, Hurricane Rita left a trail of devastation along the Texas Gulf Coast. While some businesses weathered the storm’s wrath, others are still regaining their footing. To speed up the recovery process, the Texas Manufacturing Assistance Center Gulf Coast (TMACGC) at the University of Houston is offering a helping hand to manufacturers impacted by this storm.

TMACGC, part of UH’s College of Technology, recently received $800,000 from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to offer aid to manufacturers adversely affected by Hurricane Rita.

The center is sending engineers to visit Rita-impacted organizations to conduct free assessments and offer no-cost technical assistance, training, consulting services and recommendations regarding operational efficiency.

“Every company we meet has different challenges,” said David Walker, TMACGC director. “We want to help these companies become more efficient. Perhaps the hurricane forced workers to move away. We’ll then show manufacturers how to effectively utilize their limited labor. We’re working with them, training them and showing them how to get the results they need with the resources they have.”

Assisting TMACGC in this project are the University of Texas at Arlington and TMAC Statewide at Texas A&M University. Support also comes from the Texas Workforce Commission, the Texas Economic Development Council, the Beaumont mayor’s office, Lamar University and regional small business development centers.

TMACGC has begun working with manufacturers in the Beaumont-Port Arthur area and is seeking more organizations to assist. Companies in the following counties are eligible to receive aid: Angelina, Brazoria, Chambers, Galveston, Hardin, Jasper, Jefferson, Liberty, Montgomery, Nacogdoches, Newton, Orange, Polk, Sabine, San Augustine, San Jacinto, Shelby, Trinity, Tyler and Walker. Manufacturers can contact Walker at 832-842-7043 or via e-mail at dawalker@uh.edu.

TMACGC is part of the Texas Manufacturing Assistance Center (TMAC), an affiliate of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership program of NIST. TMAC’s mission is enhancing the competitive position of the state's manufacturing sector by delivering training, providing technical assistance and implementing best business practices. For more information on TMACGC and TMAC, visit http://www.tmac.org/.

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