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MSU's MilTech Featured in GAO Report on Programs Helping Small Manufacturers
Montana Associated Technology RoundtablesJune 20, 2007 In a recently released report to Congress, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) surveyed 254 federal programs that provide services to support the US business sector. In this survey, it discovered that only five programs provide services specifically to small businesses engaged in manufacturing. Notably, one of the five programs is MilTech, based at Montana State University in Bozeman. MilTech is a three-year-old partnership between TechLink and the Montana Manufacturing Extension Center, also based at MSU-Bozeman. MilTech helps small companies to overcome key technical and manufacturing hurdles so that they can deliver innovative technology to the US military more rapidly, reliably, and cost-effectively. Over the past three years, MilTech has provided substantial manufacturing assistance to over 35 companies in Montana and the Northwest.
Examples of Montana companies that have been assisted by MilTech include (1) Scientific Materials in Bozeman, which manufactures a miniature "monoblock" laser used in rangefinders by the US military in Iraq and Afghanistan; (2) Dr. Down, Inc., of Polson, which produces an innovative "Rescue Wrap" that increases the survival of injured US troops and other trauma victims; and (3) PFM Manufacturing of Townsend, which manufactures an amphibious unmanned ground vehicle used in remote, rugged terrain by the Air Force. Other Montana companies assisted by MilTech include Precision Lift (Monarch), Nomad Technologies (Kalispell), Mystery Ranch (Bozeman), Spika Welding (Lewistown), and Phillips Environmental (Belgrade). TechLink URL: http://www.techlinkcenter.org MilTech URL: http://www.miltechcenter.com Scientific Materials URL: http://www.scientificmaterials.com/ Dr. Down Rescue Wrap URL: http://www.doctordown.com/ PFM Manufacturing URL: http://www.landtamer.com/ Precision Lift, Inc. URL: http://www.precisionliftinc.com Nomad Technologies URL: http://www.nomadtechs.com/ Mystery Ranch URL: http://www.mysteryranch.com Spika Welding URL: http://www.spikawelding.com/ Phillips Environmental URL: http://www.thepett.com/ The GAO is the audit, evaluation and investigative arm of Congress. It exists to support Congress in meeting its constitutional responsibilities and to help improve the performance and accountability of the federal government for the American people. The report, GAO-07-714, is not yet available in electronic form. When available, the document can be accessed online at: http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-07-714 . Contacts
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