Through support from U.S. Sen. Max Baucus, UM’s Montana Business Connections and Bureau of Business and Economic Research received $100,000 to take a census of the state’s manufacturers. The grant came from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration.

Information gathered about manufacturers’ products, capabilities, capacities and processes will be made available through the Montana Manufacturing Information System.

U.S. Sen. Conrad Burns helped land $400,000 for the electronic manufacturing directory from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Technology Opportunities Program. MMIS will help Montana’s nearly 2,000 manufacturing firms network, collaborate on jobs and reach international markets.