Ep. 75 (5/8/25): Buckley Brinkman on the future of MEPs, Wisconsin's manufacturing landscape

Buckley Brinkman, executive director and CEO of the Wisconsin Center for Manufacturing Productivity, joins Kate and Ann on this week's episode to help unpack the 2024-2025 Wisconsin Manufacturing Report, which WCMP has produced for the past four years in order to take the pulse of manufacturers across the state. He also notes how some of the results (including supply chain falling off respondents' list of top worries) may already need updating since the Trump administration has announced tariffs on China, Mexico, Canada and other key trade partners.Buckley also gives his perspective on the federal government's recent defunding of 10 MEP programs in the U.S., and then reversal of the action -- what it means, what comes next, how worried we should be and how manufacturers from across the state have mobilized to help advocate for the preservation of WMEP, which WCMP oversees.Learn more about the latest WCMP Wisconsin Manufacturing Report online at https://www.wicmp.org/wisconsin-manufacturing-report/.