William Fulton, mayor of Ventura, Calif., and a columnist for Governing magazine, has singled out the Commonwealth Center for Advanced Manufacturing (CCAM) for praise — for all the right reasons. Virginians should pay heed: While CCAM is highly regarded within narrow circles in the Old Dominion, it doesn’t get the attention it deserves, nor has its business model been emulated widely enough in the state.
The story began in 2006 when Rolls Royce agreed to build an aircraft manufacturing facility in Prince George County on the fringe of the Richmond-Petersburg metropolitan area. The British company had one big condition. It wanted incentives. But instead of subsidizing the company, Rolls Royce officials wanted Virginia to build the advanced manufacturing research center. That center, built in collaboration with a group of Virginia universities, now provides a vehicle for collaborative research by Rolls Royce and other partners, such as Canon Virginia and Newport News Shipbuilding. Writes Fulton:
The CCAM story is a great example of an economic development investment likely to generate a return. One of the best tests of whether an economic development strategy has long-lasting value is this: What does the state or region have left once the factories have closed? Although recruiting Rolls-Royce was the genesis of CCAM, the manufacturing breakthroughs that come out of the iconic building will most likely provide enduring benefit to Virginia long after Rolls-Royce has gone away.
Fulton nails it. Economic developers should be looking for more opportunities like this. Anybody can provide subsidies. If a willingness to out-bid the other guy with bigger subsidies is your competitive edge, you’re in bad shape. Out-bid the other guy in your capacity for innovation and knowledge creation.
Update: By the way, last month CCAM announced a new partnership with the NASA Langley research facility in Hampton. The initiative will combine NASA’s strength in aerospace research with CCAM’s advanced manufacturing capabilities. The hoped-for outcome: “the ability to strengthen composites and fortify alloys and metals, and improve manufactured fuselages, space vehicle equipment, satellite components and other equipment.”
In other recent news, CCAM has appointed a new chief technology officer: Bob Fagan, who had served as chief engineer in charge of developing the Pratt & Whitney PW1100-JM engine as well as chief engineer for the STOVL variant of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Pretty impressive.
— JAB
