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Recapping ReImagine Appalachia’s Appalachian Manufacturing Action Plan Summit

By November 14, 2025November 17th, 2025No Comments

ReImagine Appalachia’s Appalachian Manufacturing Action Plan Summit aimed to explore the opportunities for building on the region’s existing strengths to transform the region into a hub for modernized manufacturing. Throughout the summit, the manufacturing opportunity within the region was affirmed as well as the need to draw down public and private investment in order to take full advantage of the opportunity. Also recognized was the importance of building platforms for collaboration, adopting new technology, and embracing creative strategies like community storytelling and data visualization to realize the vision of a thriving and globally-competitive Appalachian manufacturing sector for the 21st Century. 

The feedback gathered from the range of stakeholders present at the summit will be used to inform an updated version of the draft Appalachian Manufacturing Action Plan (A-MAP), a document that outlines the actionable steps needed to support sustainable growth for Appalachian manufacturing. That updated draft will then be re-circulated for those interested and willing to review it. 

Below are highlights from throughout the day: 

Plenary 1 – Driving a Collective Vision: Transforming Appalachia into a Hub for Sustainable Manufacturing

At this opening session focused on Appalachia’s manufacturing potential, ReImagine Appalachia introduced the new Manufacturing Action Plan aimed at accelerating growth in the region’s manufacturing sectors. 

Watch the complete first plenary here.

Plenary 1 Presenters and what they discussed

Speakers

  • Amanda Woodrum, Co-Executive Director, ReImagine Appalachia
  • Wendy Patton, Senior Research Fellow, ReImagine Appalachia
  • Bikash Gupta, Sustainable Manufacturing Analyst, ReImagine Appalachia
  • Tom Reed, Director, Communications and Community Outreach, Catalyst Connection
  • Rwitwika Bhattacharya, Chief Executive Officer, ProsperAmerica

The session began with an audience poll, which collected thoughts about the strengths of the Appalachian manufacturing sector from the range of stakeholder types in attendance. In the word clouds below, note that the larger words indicate that multiple people submitted the same idea, while the smaller words were only inputted once.

What are the most important principles and values to you when it comes to growing manufacturing in Appalachia?

What should investors know about Appalachia?

A group discussion between the panelists followed the opening remarks about what might be next for the region. 

  • Tom called the audience’s attention to the role manufacturers play in taking new products and technological advances from the research phase and into the reality of production. In order to connect R&D efforts with manufacturers, avenues of communication need to be opened between the two parties, who may otherwise be unaware of each other. 
  • Wendy took a moment to acknowledge how much great work has been accomplished in North-Central Appalachia over the past decade. Although people may not know it yet, there is energy for regional growth and development is happening now in the form of brownfield site transformations, the expansion of new supply chains, and other projects that prove it is an exciting time for the region. 
  • Bikash built on Wendy’s excitement emphasizing that Appalachia has many assets in addition to its manufacturing strengths such as multi-modal transportation infrastructure and its central location between key urban markets. 
  • Ritu added that one of Appalachia’s most exciting advantages is the way that its strengths align with national and global needs. Appalachia has the potential to become a leader in the critical mineral and circular economy, sectors with quickly growing demand. The work all of the panelists are doing to update the narrative about Appalachia and get the word out about the region’s opportunities is an essential step in growing a thriving Appalachian manufacturing sector that brings community prosperity and even national benefits.

See our draft Manufacturing Action Plan here.

Breakout Session 1 

Participants chose to attend one of the following breakout sessions. 

1A: Make it in Appalachia: Appalachia’s historic strengths in manufacturing as well as its central location make it uniquely suited to become a manufacturing hub for the country. Participants at this breakout session discussed the sectors ranging from building materials to wind turbine parts that hold promise for the region’s future.

1A: Make it in Appalachia: Key takeaways

2A: Buy it in Appalachia: Appalachia has the capacity to manufacture a wide range of essential products, and the region should be using these locally-produced goods as well! In this breakout session, participants discussed how regional procurement policies can support prosperity in regional manufacturing and generate other cost-saving and sustainability benefits at the same time.

2A: Buy it in Appalachia: Key takeaways

3A: Grow it in Appalachia: The Appalachian region is well suited to growing a number of high demand bio-based feedstocks that can be used to manufacture the sustainable products of the future. Participants in this session engaged in a conversation around promising crops like industrial hemp and the barriers that must be overcome to unlock the full potential of the bio-based manufacturing sector.

3A: Grow it in Appalachia: Key Takeaways

4A: Reuse It in Appalachia: As Appalachian communities work to redevelop vacant sites like shuttered coal plants or reimagine existing industrial operations, reuse and circular manufacturing will help increase regional sustainability, prosperity, and competitiveness for the future. Participants in this session joined experts from groups already engaging with reuse around the region to discuss how circular manufacturing can be further implemented through projects like waste collection systems, eco-industrial park models, and more. 

4A: Reuse It in Appalachia: Key Takeaways

5A: Work in Appalachia: Time and time again, Appalachia’s skilled workforce has been identified as one of its greatest strengths. In this breakout session, participants discussed how to ensure that Appalachian workers receive the fair compensation they deserve in new manufacturing jobs.

5A: Work in Appalachia: Key Takeaways

Plenary 2 – Getting from here to there:  Developing an Appalachian Manufacturing Action Plan

The second full group session built on the opening panel to further explore the details of exactly how Appalachia can realize its manufacturing potential and transition into the role of a regional manufacturing hub. Key speakers shared examples from their work to inspire breakout room discussions that generated feedback on the actionable steps needed to bring the vision outlined in the Appalachian Manufacturing Action Plan draft closer to reality.

Watch the complete first plenary here.

Plenary 2 Presenters and what they discussed

Speakers:

  • Steve Herzenberg, Co-Executive Director, ReImagine Appalachia
  • Matt Bogoshian, Executive Director, American Manufacturing Communities Collaborative (AMCC)
  • Nikhil Kalathil, Deputy Director of Strategic Initiatives and a Research Scientist at Carnegie Mellon University’s Critical Technology Initiative & Senior Advisor for Ecosystem Assessment for the American Manufacturing Communities Collaborative (AMCC)
  • Petra Mitchell, President & Chief Executive Officer, Catalyst Connection

The second plenary ended with a poll to gather audience input on Appalachia’s strongest assets to expand manufacturing in the region and the ways we can ensure the future of manufacturing in Appalachia is sustainable and equitable.  

Breakout Session 2: 

Participants chose to attend one of the following breakout sessions.

1b: Make it in Appalachia Continued: We know Appalachia has manufacturing strengths, but in this session participants shared their thoughts on how exactly these strengths can be leveraged and turned into tangible new opportunities.

1b: Make it in Appalachia Continued: Key Takeaways

2b: Invest in Appalachia: Appalachia is ripe for private investments – with its assets and skilled workforce from the coal industry that can pivot towards the new energy economy, rare earth elements and critical minerals that can be mined from coal ash ponds and acid mine drainage, and carbon-friendly rail and waterway transportation systems. In this session participants discussed how to tell the region’s story to potential investors.

2b: Invest in Appalachia: Key takeaways

3b: Decarbonize Appalachian Industry: The Ohio River Valley was the heart of the industrial revolution and still maintains significant manufacturing strength compared to the rest of the nation. In this session participants considered how we can help ensure the region’s industry thrives in the new clean economy while maintaining its global competitiveness by reducing its carbon footprint (and creating good jobs in the process).

3b: Decarbonize Appalachian Industry: Key Takeaways

4b: Redevelop it in Appalachia: Some of the most significant assets in coal communities are shuttered coal-fired power plants, which once served as the region’s primary source of good jobs and the foundation for the local tax base. This session focused on how, with suitable investments, shuttered and shuttering coal plants can be redeveloped for new opportunities in the sustainable industries of the future.

4b: Redevelop it in Appalachia: Key Takeaways

5b: Who Owns It?: This breakout session sought to answer the questions of who owns the land, and how can it be accessed? The trend of absentee land ownership, combined with complicated land policy, divided ownership and lack of accurate records can be a barrier to new development, particularly on former mine sites or brownfield sites. This session discussed these dynamics, new resources to track and map land ownership, and future strategies to address this centuries old dynamic.

5b: Who Owns It? Key Takeaways

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