A UST PRESS RELEASE
24 February 2015
Contact: David Wightman
(518) 326-4142
Watervliet, NY – U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker recently appointed Robert Degeneff, president of Watervliet-based Utility Systems Technologies, Inc., to its 30-member Manufacturing Council for the 2015-2016 charter term.
As a member of the Manufacturing Council, Degeneff will help advise the secretary of commerce on matters related to the U.S. manufacturing industry. The council and its sub-committees will ensure regular communication between the government and the manufacturing sector and help maintain the United States’ position as the preeminent destination for investment in manufacturing across the globe.
“The strength of U.S. manufacturing is critical to our nation’s economy and our competitiveness on the global stage,” said Pritzker. “I look forward to working together with new and returning Manufacturing Council members, whose unique expertise and perspective will be integral to our efforts to boost the economy and create U.S. jobs.”
Degeneff is the only New York State manufacturing representative serving on the council.
“I am honored to have the opportunity to contribute to national and global initiatives that will help U.S. manufacturers be and stay competitive at home and abroad,” Degeneff said. “I look forward to bringing my 41 years of experience in upstate manufacturing to facilitate discussions and provide solutions to industry-related problems.”
For the first time in more than a decade, both manufacturing output and employment are growing. In the last four years, manufacturing exports have grown by 11 percent a year on average. Since February 2010, the manufacturing sector has created nearly 800,000 new jobs – the first sustained job growth in the sector in more than 20 years.
For more information about the Manufacturing Council and to view Degeneff’s and other member biographies, visit www.trade.gov/manufacturingcouncil.
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