Roxbury Technology’s Beth Williams is one of five new members on the council, set up by the US Secretary of Commerce to advise on “challenges facing US manufacturers”.
Beth Williams
Bay State Banner reported on Williams’ appointment to the council by the Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker, with the site noting that the council, first established in 2004, also “recommends programmes and policies to help manufacturers maintain global competitiveness”. Its main objective is “working to ensure that the United States remains the preeminent destination for investment in manufacturing throughout the world”.
The council, which held its first meeting of the year on 14 January, consists of 30 members from a “diverse and balanced cross-section” of the manufacturing industry in the US, with Secretary Pritzker changing the eligibility requirements for it last November to allow representatives of US subsidiaries of “foreign-owned or foreign-controlled manufacturers” to help “increase foreign direct investment in the US”.
Pritzker noted of the announcement: “As the federal agency responsible for leading the government’s manufacturing policy, the Commerce Department is committed to doing everything we can to support this critical sector of our nation’s economy.
“Our ‘Open for Business Agenda’ includes a strong focus on initiatives that will strengthen the manufacturing sector. The new members of our Manufacturing Council have unique expertise and perspective that will be integral to our efforts to shape policies that support American businesses and workers, boost our economic growth, and create jobs.”
Williams has been in charge of Roxbury Technology since 2003, with its focus on toner cartridges and other imaging products, and in 2011 was named Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young, as well as announcing that the company would employ offenders at its base in the US to give them a second chance.