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The NAM State of Manufacturing Tour stop in Dallas yesterday featured other events alongside the State of the Manufacturing Workforce Address.

Facility visits: NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons, Manufacturing Institute President Carolyn Lee and Rockwell Automation Chairman and CEO and NAM Board Chair Blake Moret visited the Dallas College Garland Center and global leader in AI, digital business and technology services, NTT DATA, an official sponsor of the tour along with Schneider Electric.

• Lee gave the MI’s annual State of the Manufacturing Workforce Address at NTT DATA’s North American headquarters, and then Timmons convened a panel with Lee, NTT DATA Products Industries Global Leader and NAM board member Prasoon Saxena and Celanese Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer Sameer Purao on AI and the workforce.
• The visit concluded with a site tour of NTT DATA’s Innovation Center that showcased how technology is advancing the manufacturing industry in the AI era.

What they’re saying: “At this moment of inflection, transformative technology demands a new generation of skills. A rapidly evolving industry requires us to train, upskill and retain our people with greater urgency. Leaders in Washington have a responsibility to advance policies that strengthen our workforce. The MI champions those policies every day,” said Timmons, who also serves as chair of the MI’s Board.

• “We are proud to host the NAM and Manufacturing Institute today,” said Saxena. “We know that manufacturing’s future will be defined by how effectively we integrate advanced technologies like AI with a highly skilled workforce.”

Visiting FAME: The group also toured one of the MI’s FAME chapters in Texas, whose mission is to drive workforce development initiatives across the state.

• “Texas has led the way with FAME expansion in recent years—which is something we had the opportunity to see firsthand this morning,” said Lee. “Dallas College has been an outstanding educational partner, serving two chapters in Texas: the FAME Dallas Chapter and Metro360 Chapter. It is a model for how durable solutions for manufacturers can thrive with community cooperation.”
• “Through FAME, we are creating a direct, employer-led pathway into high-skill, high-wage manufacturing careers—combining classroom instruction with paid, hands-on experience that prepares students to contribute from day one. We are grateful for the collaboration with the MI and appreciate their leadership in scaling solutions that strengthen our workforce,” said Dr. Veronique Tran of Dallas College.

NAM in the news: The Dallas Morning News (subscription) interviewed Lee and Timmons about the tour stop. 

• Timmons and Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce President and CEO Kurt R. Bauer wrote an op-ed for the Washington County Daily News about the importance of manufacturing in Wisconsin, where the tour stopped earlier this week. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (subscription) and  WISN 12 News (ABC) also covered the Milwaukee, Wisconsin, stop. 
• News 1 Charlotte (Spectrum News) covered the earlier stop in Charlotte, NC.

Next stops: The 2026 NAM State of Manufacturing Tour is in Houston, Texas, today, and will conclude on Friday, Feb. 27, in Phoenix, Arizona. To learn more about the tour and the NAM’s mission, visit https://nam.org/stateofmfg/.