Officially Cutting The Ribbon

LIFT and IACMI celebrated Manufacturing Day 2017 in style – by cutting the ribbon on the high-bay of their Detroit lightweighting innovation facility.

Joined by Michigan Governor Rick Snyder, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, U.S. Rep. Brenda Lawrence, Michigan State University President Lou Anna K. Simon and representatives from the U.S. Department of Defense and U.S. Department of Energy, along with nearly 200 guests and 150 local students, the high-bay was open for the public to tour.

The center houses the LIFT headquarters and the IACMI Vehicles Scale-Up Facility, the research and development hub for the IACMI Vehicles Technology Area. This event capped a near $50 million investment in world-class manufacturing equipment value and improvements to the Corktown facility, recognizing the future of innovative research in both composites and metals to be done there.

The institute’s co-location was announced in 2015 and one year later, the two institutes celebrated their combined investment in the innovation center, which began the acquisition and installation of equipment in the joint facility. IACMI and LIFT’s investments have allowed institute members, partners, and others in the industry to conduct research and development projects, in both lightweight metals and advanced composites. It also continues to provide education spaces for students and adult learners focused on developing careers in the composites and lightweight materials industries.

“I appreciate the incredible investment that these two world-class research and development institutions are making in our state and the city of Detroit,” Gov. Rick Snyder said. “With Michigan’s talented workforce and reinvented business climate, I am confident that this partnership between IACMI, LIFT and our state will be an extremely prosperous one.”

Read the full ribbon cutting announcement here.