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Dalton to host manufacturing summit

By Mariann Martin March 23, 2011 3 min read

U.S. Rep. Tom Graves speaks at a news conference to promote the “We Can Make it in America” manufacturing summit. Behind him, from left, are Brian Anderson, president and CEO of the Dalton-Whitfield Chamber of Commerce; Don Cope, president and CEO of Dalton Utilities; and Dalton Mayor David Pennington. Staff Photo by Mariann Martin/Chattanooga Times Free Press

IF YOU GOWhat: Manufacturing SummitWhere: Northwest Georgia Trade and Convention CenterWhen: May 19, 1-6 p.m.Tickets: Free admission. Space is limited to the first 1,000 people who register at www.mfg2011summit.com no later than May 6.Speakers: Steve Moore, Wall Street Journal; Tom Fanning, CEO and chairman of Southern Company; Bud Peterson, president of Georgia Tech; David Pennington, Dalton mayor; Tom Graves, U.S. Rep. of the Georgia 9th District; Don Cope, president of Dalton Utilities; Paul Bower, COO of Georgia Power; Norman G. Holmes, president of Southern Natural Gas; and Robert P. Johnston, CEO of MEAG Power. Additional speakers will be announced when confirmed.Sponsored by: The City of Dalton, Grow Greater Dalton, Graves, The Dalton-Whitfield County Chamber of Commerce, Dalton Utilities, The Carpet and Rug Institute and The Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce.For more information go to www.mfg2011summit.com

DALTON, Ga. – A national manufacturing summit with the slogan “We Can Make it in America” scheduled to be held in Dalton this spring will focus on the need to strengthen and increase the manufacturing sector in America, according to leaders who gathered to announce the summit.

“If you don’t make it or grow it or dig it out of the ground, you’ve based your economy on shifting sands,” Dalton Mayor David Pennington said during a news conference at J & J Industries on Tuesday morning.

Pennington said he has worried for years that America’s shift to a service industry will cost the country jobs. The slow economic recovery and continued high unemployment is proof of that, he said.

From 2000 to 2010, the number of manufacturing jobs in metropolitan Dalton fell by 10,000.