Walmart Invests $10M for Innovation Fund
Walmart U.S. President and CEO Bill Simon joined 280 of the nation's mayors in Washington, D.C., at the U.S. Conference of Mayors Meeting to announce a new fund for innovation in American manufacturing and a new supplier commitment to bring production of bikes and jobs to South Carolina.
The $10 million fund for innovation:
Walmart and the Walmart Foundation will fund the five-year program and work in collaboration with the U.S. Conference of Mayors to launch it in March. The fund will provide grants to innovators in the manufacturing sector and seeks to create new processes, ideas, and jobs that support America's growing manufacturing footprint.
"If we want to grow manufacturing and help rebuild America's middle class, we need the brightest minds in our universities, in our think tanks, and in our towns to tackle obstacles to U.S. manufacturing," says Simon. "The $10 million fund will identify and award leaders in manufacturing innovation and help us all work together to create opportunity."
Last year Walmart announced that it will buy an additional $50 billion in American products. That's $50 billion more than it does today 10 years from now. Walmart estimates that its $50 billion pledge, in the 10th year, will result in Walmart buying an additional $250 billion cumulatively over the next 10 years. This pledge is in an effort to grow U.S. manufacturing and encourage the creation of U.S. jobs.
The Boston Consulting Group predicts that this $250 billion investment will create one million jobs, including the jobs in manufacturing and related services.
Kent Bicycles:
Kent Bicycles announces it is moving production from overseas to Clarendon, S.C. According to Kent, when at full capacity in 2016, they will have added at least 175 jobs and will be assembling 500,000 bikes annually. The company, based in Parsippany, N.J., expects to start production in the fall of 2014.
"We look forward to bringing production to South Carolina," says Arnold Kamler, owner of Kent Bicycles. "Our company moved all manufacturing overseas in 1990 because it was so much more cost effective. When Walmart made its commitment to U.S. manufacturing last year, it opened our eyes to restarting some manufacturing here. We attended Walmart's August manufacturing summit and were able to focus our efforts quickly and make things happen with South Carolina."
Walmart also announced that it will host its second U.S. manufacturing summit in Denver, Colo., in August 2014. One focus of this year's summit will be connecting manufacturers in need of component parts to factories with excess capacity.
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The $10 million fund for innovation:
Walmart and the Walmart Foundation will fund the five-year program and work in collaboration with the U.S. Conference of Mayors to launch it in March. The fund will provide grants to innovators in the manufacturing sector and seeks to create new processes, ideas, and jobs that support America's growing manufacturing footprint.
"If we want to grow manufacturing and help rebuild America's middle class, we need the brightest minds in our universities, in our think tanks, and in our towns to tackle obstacles to U.S. manufacturing," says Simon. "The $10 million fund will identify and award leaders in manufacturing innovation and help us all work together to create opportunity."
Last year Walmart announced that it will buy an additional $50 billion in American products. That's $50 billion more than it does today 10 years from now. Walmart estimates that its $50 billion pledge, in the 10th year, will result in Walmart buying an additional $250 billion cumulatively over the next 10 years. This pledge is in an effort to grow U.S. manufacturing and encourage the creation of U.S. jobs.
The Boston Consulting Group predicts that this $250 billion investment will create one million jobs, including the jobs in manufacturing and related services.
Kent Bicycles:
Kent Bicycles announces it is moving production from overseas to Clarendon, S.C. According to Kent, when at full capacity in 2016, they will have added at least 175 jobs and will be assembling 500,000 bikes annually. The company, based in Parsippany, N.J., expects to start production in the fall of 2014.
"We look forward to bringing production to South Carolina," says Arnold Kamler, owner of Kent Bicycles. "Our company moved all manufacturing overseas in 1990 because it was so much more cost effective. When Walmart made its commitment to U.S. manufacturing last year, it opened our eyes to restarting some manufacturing here. We attended Walmart's August manufacturing summit and were able to focus our efforts quickly and make things happen with South Carolina."
Walmart also announced that it will host its second U.S. manufacturing summit in Denver, Colo., in August 2014. One focus of this year's summit will be connecting manufacturers in need of component parts to factories with excess capacity.
Related Articles:
2013 Top 100: Retail
Walmart International Names President and CEO
Walmart.com Has its Best Sales Day Ever