Eight States Go AWOL on Manufacturing Extension Partnership Map
Some of the largest and most active Manufacturing Extension Partnerships in the country are no longer represented on the official map of the MEP National Network.
Eight states—including three in the Midwest—were removed between January 15 and January 16, 2026, from the MEP map on National Institute of Standards and Technology’s MEP website, and were still missing as of April 1.
NIST is the agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce that administers the national MEP program and allocates program funding to the states.
States With Active MEPs Missing from the NIST Map
Washington, Idaho, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, New York, New Jersey, West Virginia
States That No Longer Have MEP Offices
Alaska, California
MEP Suspended Pending Audit
Ohio
NIST is the agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce that administers the national MEP program and allocates program funding to the states.
Annual funding for MEPs, allocated with strong bipartisan Congressional approval, has been under attack from the Trump administration since President Donald Trump’s first term in office, with Trump’s proposed budget eliminating the funds—and more recently, awards to state MEPs delayed for months.
Manufacturing Extension Partnerships are nonprofits that assist small and medium-sized manufacturers with process improvement, workforce outreach and training, technology adoption, business growth and innovation. Large manufacturers depend on these smaller firms in the U.S. supply chain to do machining, tooling, specialized components manufacturing and innovation that they are unwilling or unable to take on themselves.
Every 10 years, a state MEP office goes through a recompete process with either a renewal or the cooperative agreement to administer the program going to another entity. Eight state MEPs were in the cohort with a January 1, 2026, deadline for new agreements, but did not receive new agreements until February 1 or March 1, leaving them in limbo.
“Sadly, the January 1 recompete was not completed in time for there to be seamless services to those states,” Hines wrote in an email. “Because of that, NIST MEP removed those states from the map as they did not have 'active' Centers during that time. Those eight states have since been awarded new competitive agreements which officially began February 1 in some cases and March 1 in some cases, so they should have been restored to the map by now.”
Ohio’s MEP, which is under suspension pending an audit that has stretched past 18 months, is also missing from the map. “I would respectfully disagree with removing it from the map,” said Hines.
NIST did not respond to requests for comment on the map.
About the Author
Laura Putre
Senior Editor, IndustryWeek
As senior editor, Laura Putre works with IndustryWeek's editorial contributors and reports on leadership and the automotive industry as they relate to manufacturing. She joined IndustryWeek in 2015 as a staff writer covering workforce issues.
Prior to IndustryWeek, Laura reported on the healthcare industry and covered local news. She was the editor of the Chicago Journal and a staff writer for Cleveland Scene. Her national bylines include The Guardian, Slate, Pacific-Standard and The Root.
Laura was a National Press Foundation fellow in 2022.
Got a story idea? Reach out to Laura at [email protected]