Video Description for the visually impaired
MEP video description for the visually impaired
Text on screen: MEP Manufacturing Extension Partnership National Institute of Standards and Technology
Text on screen: 20 years of change in the world, in the U.S. economy, in manufacturing and in MEP
Narrator: 2009 marks the 20th anniversary of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership, an organization dedicated to the manufacturers of America.
Visual: Men in blue jumpsuits assemble machines on a production line.
A robot welder spot welds seams on an automobile.
Narrator: MEP works with manufacturing firms of all sizes across the country, helping them to grow and compete, using the best technology and business practices available.
A machine uses suction cups to lift and position a large sheet of glass.
A welder in a blue jumpsuit and mask welds a seam inside of a large metal cylinder.
Narrator: With specialists at more than 400 locations across the country, MEP can help provide the specific resources needed to address any manufacturing challenge and improve productivity and prosperity.
A group of three people move down a well lit, narrow hallway toward the camera. The walls are adorned with flags representing both U.S. states and other countries.
The same group sits in a small conference room thoughtfully and animatedly having a discussion.
A man in a white chef’s uniform and baseball cap sits in a darkened area speaking.
Text on screen: Gary Gottenbusch, Servatii’s Retail Bakeries – Cincinnati, OH
Gottenbusch: “My father said when I was younger, that if you run the same business I did you're going to be out of business."
Narrator: Two decades have seen vast changes in the world, in every industry, in every country - and it has all been reflected in the evolution of MEP.
Visual: Camera pans from left to right showing a vast cityscape with water in the foreground and green hills behind.
Another cityscape. A busy highway and power lines interspersed with trees run alongside a canal. A building under construction can be seen in the background.
Narrator: The program was created by Congress in 1989 to fill the growing productivity gap between large and small manufacturers.
Visual: View of the gleaming white U.S. Capitol building at the far end of a busy, tree-lined thoroughfare.
Narrator: The Berlin Wall had fallen, opening Eastern Europe to the world market.
Visual: Television footage of a mass of people climbing over the Berlin Wall and tearing down a vehicle checkpoint.
Narrator: The United States was re-examining its trade with other countries.
Visual: View of a huge sea port littered with thousands of large rectangular shipping containers. Enormous cranes in the background unload cargo from ships.
Narrator: And the business and manufacturing worlds were being rapidly transformed by technology from desktop computers to computerized manufacturing machinery.
Visual: A woman sits at a computer watching as a document prints.
Two robotic welders simultaneously weld areas on a truck frame.
Narrator: In the early 1990s, as Internet use began to explode, Asian companies significantly increased exports and the North American Free Trade Agreement was adopted, reducing barriers and increasing the flow of goods and services across borders. This increased the pressure on U.S. manufacturers to produce high quality goods at lower cost.
Visual: Two men in a darkened room sit at computers.
Large cranes lift and move shipping containers off a transport ship and onto trucks.
Interior of a manufacturing plant. A golf cart vehicle drives past.
Narrator: MEP concentrated on addressing the specific challenges facing small and medium-sized enterprises, and established regional manufacturing technology centers across the country.
Visual: A worker in a gray jumpsuit, gloves, a bandana and yellow safety glasses attentively scrubs machine part.
A worker sits cross-legged as he prepares a length of wire.
A man sitting in a manufacturing floor setting. Various parts and pieces of equipment are visible behind him.
Text on screen: Mark Rice, Maritime Applied Physics – Baltimore, MD
Rice: “So the unique part about MEP is its ability to respond rapidly to changes in the environment and to provide a service that’s locally oriented but also has this overlay of national needs and priorities and strategies.”
Narrator: As the world prepared for Y2K, the increasingly global marketplace and low-cost competition was destabilizing traditional U.S. industries, forcing them to adapt and change.
Visual: A large container pours white hot liquid metal into a mold.
Industrial tongs lift a beam of red hot steel off a line of rollers.
A pair of blast torches cut a section of steel from a larger piece.
Narrator: MEP was evolving as well, establishing centers in all 50 states in the mid-1990s, so all U.S. firms could easily access assistance to stay competitive and relevant.
Visual: A map of the United States. Red and black dots indicate the locations of MEP centers.
Text on screen: MEP Service Delivery Locations, MEP Centers 2008
Narrator: The new millennium brought even more changes...the European Union launched its single currency, the Euro...climate change and awareness of the environment became crucial considerations...China and India became increasingly significant in the world economy as leading low-cost competitors...and 9/11 changed the face of America and the world.
Visual: Television footage of New Year’s Eve celebrations in Times Square, New York City.
Television footage of symbol for the Euro currency surrounded by stars representing the member nations of the Euro zone. A tall office building is visible behind the sculpture.
A polar bear walks over snowy, frozen terrain before pausing and looking over at the camera.
Gloved workers wearing white coats and blue kerchiefs assemble electronic components on a line.
Workers walk amid the rubble of one of the World Trade Center towers. A large section of the building’s facade stands in the background, and a large trailer and crane are parked in the foreground.
Narrator: MEP combated those changes by promoting lean manufacturing techniques, developing the green suppliers network, and highlighting services beyond the shop floor, critical to companies' success - like business planning, strategic thinking, and CEO coaching. It also continued to develop valuable partnerships to further shared missions.
Visual: A man rests his hand on the handle of a pair of glass doors housing a cutting machine. The camera cuts to follow bottles on a line being filled with a clear red liquid.
Workers surrounded by numerous stainless steel containers and computers in a chemical processing plant. They are dressed in magenta scrubs, white hair nets and booties.
A large group of people sit around tables in a meeting room. Two large pads of paper stand on easels on the left of the screen. The camera cuts to two individuals, one with his back to the screen, talking to each other. Coffee cups, pens and paper cover the surface of the table.
A man sitting in a conference room. Conference tables and chairs are visible behind him.
Text screen: Jim Jacobs, Macomb Community College – Warren, MI
Jacobs: “We are in a sense in the forefront of introducing younger people to manufacturing. The way in which we work with the MEP is often in a sense the MEP becomes for us a kind of giant linkage between our students, the community college, and the small and medium-sized firms.”
Narrator: Today, more emphasis than ever is also being placed on climate change and issues of sustained growth and innovation.
Visual: A beautiful, sunny, blue skied day. The camera pans to across a field of solar panels.
Narrator: MEP is responding with programs to increase top-line sales, manufacturing sustainability, technology acceleration, and international sales.
Visual: A man wearing a white protective suit and black gloves directs the placement of a long flat blue panel suspended from an overhead crane. Another worker uses a plastic covered handheld device to control the crane.
A man, sitting in a dimly lit conference room, speaking.
Text on screen: Bruce Broxterman, Richards Industries – Cincinnati, OH
Broxterman: "You're not competing with the guys down the street anymore. You're competing with the folks in China and India, Malaysia, and if we don't recognize that we have to change the way we do things - lean manufacturing, lean processes, new products, new product ideas - then we will be history.”
Mark Rice, Maritime Applied Physics, Baltimore, MD
Rice: “Today the product mix is changing, international business is changing, what we’re competitive at on a real-time basis, technology is changing and what goes into a product, product life span is probably shorter than it was, and the rate, or the agility that a company needs to have to be able to keep up with those changes is far greater.”
Narrator: MEP has shown it can adapt to the changing marketplace and needs of clients while maintaining its core values and approach:
Visual: A worker inspects a laptop computer for defects; another affixes decals to a computer desktop.
Narrator: leveraging partnerships and coordinating manufacturers' resources and missions
Workers inspect a large metallic framed structure resting on supports.
Text on screen: leveraging partnerships
Narrator: Strengthening national networks to understand and serve the country's manufacturers
A worker can bee seen through the end of a large steel cylinder. The worker is seated on a crane surrounded by equipment as he lifts into the air.
Text on screen: Strengthening national networks
Narrator: Analyzing trends and opportunities to proactively address the latest challenges
Visual: Workers in blue jump suits stand talking in a large warehouse.
Text on screen: analyzing trends and opportunities
Narrator: Adapting the best ideas from the largest companies for all of America's manufacturers
Visual: a large and busy factory floor. Dozens of people work to pack and prepare boxes for shipping.
Text on screen: Adapting the best ideas
Narrator: Focusing on outputs and measuring results
Visual: A worker packs products into a small plastic bag
Text on screen: Focusing on outputs
Narrator: Manufacturers across the country attest to the success of MEP's hands-on strategy:
Visual: A MEP representative watches as a worker demonstrates fixes a clamp on the end of a steel pipe.
A man sits speaking. A large warehouse filled with boxes stretches out behind him.
Text on screen: James Love, Rosewood Industries – Stigler, OK
Love: "We're the companies that are going to drive economic growth, so help like this is exactly what we need."
Visual: Man sitting in a corner surrounded by samples of decorative moldings.
Text on screen: Gary Marmer, Questech – Rutland, VT
Marmer: "The significant change is that we're thinking about ideas for growth that are much bigger than us, that would exponentially grow the business as opposed to incrementally grow the business."
Narrator: Looking ahead, MEP remains committed to this approach. American manufacturers face new challenges in the coming years.
Visual: A long pane of glass is moved from one set of rollers to another. Machines move. Workers wearing safety glasses and gloves inspect and pack sheets of glass.
Text on screen: new products
Narrator: New products and technologies are emerging, particularly ones that address sustainability and energy conservation.
Visual: A pair of gloved hands places a pane of glass on a piece of parchment packing paper and moves the stack of glass to the left.
Narrator: New processes are being developed for improved production and business management.
Text on screen: New processes
Workers wearing safety glasses and ear plugs stand side-by-side inspecting and packing panes of glass.
Narrator: And new markets, both domestic and international, are expanding opportunity while requiring global supply chains. Manufacturers can no longer compete on price alone - they will have to offer complex systems and components in response to ever-changing customer needs.
Text on screen: New markets
Visual: Sheets of glass move along on rollers.
A worker makes adjustments to a large marine propeller.
A man, sitting in a conference room, speaking.
Text on screen: Tim Hayden, Rite Track – Cincinnati, OH
Hayden: “Something that would take years has to be turned into months, and if its months it has to be turned into weeks.”
Narrator: They will need to evolve and expand while decreasing costs...think globally and green....respond to OEM demands for lower costs and more service while attracting new markets and developing new products.
Visual: flyover of dozens of wind turbines in the ocean.
A worker wearing headphones watches as a marine turbine spins.
Narrator: They will need to produce, design and manage their brand and their customers' experience, and be able to integrate customers, suppliers, and partners from next door and around the world.
A woman sitting at a sewing machine.
Narrator: They will need to master new technology, research and investment opportunities, and recruit the next generation workforce to realize the employee benefits of 21st century manufacturing.
Close up of a welder.
Narrator: MEP is uniquely positioned and experienced to lead this change ... to provide necessary tools to U.S. manufacturers so they can efficiently and effectively compete in this rapidly-changing environment ... to initiate programs that impact the industry and the country's economic growth ... and to lead America's manufacturers into the future.
Visual: Thousands of capsules are drawn up an Archimedes screw and deposited in a chute.
A worker stands at a table assembling metal components.
A man talks to colleagues at a conference table.
A worker walks along a vehicle assembly line. An American flag comes into view.
Text on screen: MEP Manufacturing Extension Partnership, National Institute of Standards and Technology
