For a decade, the Vermont Chamber has brought together industry peers to facilitate sourcing and procurement opportunities at the Manufacturing Summit. OEM buyers, suppliers, and partners from across the United States and Canada convened at the event to strengthen supply chains and advance the Vermont economy. The event featured two days of virtual matchmaking, a robust seminar agenda, and an in-person networking reception.

Paradigm shifts brought on by the pandemic impacted global supply chains, causing businesses to modify their sourcing strategies. The Vermont Chamber’s Manufacturing Summit has met this challenge by innovating the event into a hybrid agenda. This year, 335 meetings between 90 suppliers and 24 OEMs, prime contractors, and government agencies took place. Many of the participants were leaders in the aerospace, aviation, defense, naval, marine, semiconductor, and space industries.

The 2023 Manufacturing Summit also marked the 10th anniversary of a collaboration agreement between Aéro Montréal and the Vermont Chamber. The Vermont-Québec Aerospace Trade Corridor links Vermont’s $2 billion aerospace manufacturing and civil aviation industry with the $18 billion Québec aerospace cluster. The corridor also extends to Connecticut and Ontario.

“Since 2013, the Vermont Chamber has built a legacy of strengthening Vermont’s manufacturing industry. Our advocacy work focuses on supportive tax policy and our supply chain matchmaking skills give Vermont businesses a competitive advantage. The Manufacturing Summit is the pinnacle of our year-round efforts to create a niche network of industry peers that enables supply chain opportunities in Vermont, New England, and Canada,” stated Chris Carrigan, Vice President of Business Development for the Vermont Chamber. “It was particularly exciting to produce this year’s event during Manufacturing Month, a time when the industry’s critical contributions to the national, state, and local economy are on full display.”

Several foreign and state dignitaries were present at the networking reception in Burlington, including Acting Consul General and Senior Trade Commissioner Dina Santos, Québec Delegate to New England Marie-Claude Francoeur, President of Aéro Montréal Mélanie Lussier, Treasurer Mike Pieciak, Commissioner Joan Goldstein, members of the Vermont Legislature, and representatives from the offices of Senator Bernie Sanders, Senator Peter Welch, and Congresswoman Becca Balint.