Thursday, May 8th at 1pm ET
Thursday May 8th at 1 pm ET via Zoom – ReImagine Appalachia gave a presentation of its innovative and interactive story map, North Central Appalachia: Built For The Clean Economy, that visualizes quantitative research on manufacturing strengths within the region. Discover the initial insights this research reveals into Appalachia’s competitive advantages across several manufacturing subsectors and how these strengths could position the region to play a crucial role in the new clean economy. We also discussed how shuttered coal plant sites in the region can contribute to this transition, turning economic potential into tangible progress for the region.
Appalachia has a strong history of manufacturing, but where exactly are different manufacturing hubs located, and how can we build on each community’s unique strengths to create future opportunities? At this event, we mapped out the region’s competitiveness across different manufacturing sectors and provided an overview of the industrial economy within our region. Using this information, let’s start building the roadmap for how we get from here to there.
Speakers included:
Bikash Gupta, Sustainable Manufacturing Analyst with ReImagine Appalachia
Wendy Davis: Research Fellow at ReImagine Appalachia
This release event will include time to discuss the research presented and provide answers to any questions on the findings. Our goal is to create resources to support community leaders working to transform Appalachia into a hub for the new clean economy.
This event was the kick off for our Summer 2025 Manufacturing Series, which will include:
- Free research tools on the region’s manufacturing competitiveness
- Road maps on supply chain gaps that Appalachia is uniquely positioned to fill
- Briefs on new techniques that use regionally sourced materials to manufacture bioplastics
- And much more!
Please check out the exciting event lineup here:
Thursday, May 29th – Noon: Make It In Appalachia, Grow It In Appalachia: The Potential for Hemp and Bioplastics in Appalachia
Thursday, June 12th – 1 pm: Make it in Appalachia: Transforming Shuttered Coal Plants into Modern Manufacturing Hubs
Thursday, June 26th – Noon: A Wind-Win: Appalachia’s Potential in the wind turbine supply chain
Thursday, July 10th – 1 pm: Make it in Appalachia: Green Building Supply Chain Potential
Thursday, October 16 – 11 am: Summit for Appalachian Manufacturing Strategy
Resources shared on the webinar and in the chat from our participants:
- ReImagine Appalachia’s Coal Plant Redevelopment Handbook
- ReImagine Appalachia report on Cooperatives in the New Energy Economy
- Press Statement: ReImagine Appalachia Unveils Report Highlighting Federal Programs Transforming the Appalachian Region
- Industrial Commons, a community-owned manufacturing enterprise in North Carolina
- Co-op Cincy, an organization promoting the worker-owned model with the Mondragon model being their “North Star”
- Resource on Employee Ownership in Pennsylvania
- Ohio Manufacturing Workforce Competency Data
This event is part of our Summer 2025 Manufacturing Series, an ongoing series of events sharing new research on opportunities within Appalachia’s manufacturing sector, from growing feedstocks to producing final products. This series of listening sessions will explore the specific opportunities to leverage the region’s historical assets for the new energy economy and create a hub for sustainable manufacturing. Appalachians should have a say in the work to keep opportunities in the region and support the creation of a 21st century economy that’s good for workers, communities, and the environment.