The Event
The Boulder Area Manufacturing Sector Partnership convened its Q2 Partnership Meeting on Thursday, June 12th at Excelitas. The event brought together local manufacturing leaders alongside public and private sector partners committed to supporting the continued vitality of Boulder’s manufacturing sector.
The meeting opened with a statement from the Boulder Chamber, followed by an introduction from Keith Bernier, Plant Manager at Excelitas’ Boulder site. He highlighted the world class team and facilities at the Boulder Excelitas site, as well as the company’s global reputation for excellence in optics manufacturing. Next up, Ed Olivo, Director of Workforce & Community Partnerships at Manufacturer’s Edge, provided an update on the nonprofit’s current initiatives as a supporting partner to Colorado’s manufacturing community.
From there, the keynote on Tariff mitigation strategies was delivered by Erik Edwards of the Supply Chain Collective. He presented on new updates to tariffs as of June 4th, the impacts of tariff stacking, effective mitigation strategies under the evolving trade regimes, as well as some insights into enforcement trends and other emerging factors that could influence business planning across industries.
Following the keynote, attendees participated in group breakout sessions, which served to create connection points between partners as well as provide insight into priority areas for continued support through the second half of 2025.
Two key insights emerged:
- Workforce talent pipeline: Participants emphasized the need to engage students at all educational levels, with a particular focus on early exposure to manufacturing careers to students in middle school and even younger
- Artificial Intelligence: Attendees expressed interest in exploring AI applications in manufacturing, while raising important questions on how to adopt new advancements in technology without superseding emerging workforce talent
The event provided a road map to how the Sector Partnership can drive meaningful support and programs in the months ahead and emphasized the ongoing need for continued collaboration to address shared challenges in this sector.
Supply Chain Collective | Erik Edwards
In partnership with the Boulder Chamber, the Supply Chain Collective offers a supply chain webinar series, designed to provide expertise on supply chain solutions to businesses seeking to adapt to an evolving landscape of trade regulations. They offer insight into supplier negotiations, foreign trade zones, USMCA, best practices, and more. Their next webinar, Unlocking FTZ Strategies, will be on June 18th, 2025 at 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM.