The leader of the state’s manufacturing extension partnership program, Buckley Brinkman, has stepped down as the organization winds down its operations, according to BizTimes Milwaukee.
The Manufacturing Extension Partnership program is a public-private partnership that helps manufacturers grow, make operational improvements and create jobs. It is primarily funded by the National Institute of Standards and Technology with the U.S. Department of Commerce, with significant matching funds from state and local governments, private entities and client fees.
In Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Center for Manufacturing & Productivity collaborates with the UW-Stout Manufacturing Outreach Center and Wisconsin Manufacturing Extension Partnership to help small and mid-sized manufacturers.
Brinkman, who served as executive director and CEO of WCMP, said the decision to wind down the entity was made in November.
WCMP, created a decade ago, was intended to serve as a bridge between the federal government and its two affiliated organizations, MOC and WMEP.
“Those two groups now work well together, so the bridging need has gone away,” said Brinkman.
These changes will also free up approximately $500,000 in funding for both MOC and WMEP as they navigate ongoing uncertainty related to federal funding.
Last spring, several MEP centers throughout the country were informed that their federal funding would not be renewed. WCMP’s renewal date was Jan. 1, 2026.
Since that time, MOC and WMEP leaders have submitted a new bid for federal funding that would see both entities assume leadership of Wisconsin’s MEP Center. An answer to that bid is expected by March 1.
