Uncategorized

The Northeastern Maryland Additive Manufacturing Innovation Authority Gets an Executive Director

The NMAMIA is an industrial 3D printing advocacy organization that was recently formed to help draw additive manufacturing and 3D printing innovation to local Maryland businesses and to allow for the creation of new ones. And, they’ve just hired an executive director who has the experience to do it.

The nonprofit Northeastern Maryland Additive Manufacturing Innovation Authority announced that they’ve brought on Rick Decker as the group’s first executive director. Decker formerly worked with the Aberdeen Proving Ground – the US Army’s main testing and research facility – as the director of the Edgewood Chemical Biological Center. He worked closely with the Army to develop protective equipment for soldiers and often turned to 3D printing during his time with the ECBC. Decker participated with the military as a civilian for 25 years before retiring in 2010 and, currently, is not drawing a salary as NMAMIA’s director.

“This is an opportunity for me to give back,” explained Decker “I believe in this program. The intent of this endeavor is to help the Army actually help… create jobs, especially in manufacturing, for the county and to do technology transfers of the things that we have learned during the last two consecutive wars.”

nmamia 3d printing
Pictured: (l-r) Jim Richardson Harford County Office of Economic Development, Lisa Webb Cecil County Office of Economic Development, Joe Wienand ECBC; Delegate Mary Dulany James, Senator JB Jennings, Rick Decker Executive Director NMAMIA, Jill McClune Army Alliance, Jan Baum 3D Maryland, Mike Galiazzo Regional Manufacturing Institute.

NMAMIA held it’s first meeting on July 8th and, as well as Decker, the board includes several representatives from local colleges, local economic development offices, manufacturing advocacy groups, local business owners and local lawmakers. The legislation that set up the authority was sponsored by State Senators JB Jenningsand Mary Dulany James, who say that they believe 3D printing can do for Maryland what computers did for Silicon Valley.

These types of local industry-specific advocacy groups are pretty common, and they are rapidly becoming more so within the 3D printing industry. They help sell local businesses on new technologies and aid those businesses in finding government funds to invest in it. Additionally, they will draw in outside business by touting a local business population that is ready and able to use state of the art additive manufacturing techniques.

Source: The Baltimore Sun