The North Dakota Department of Commerce announced the Automate ND Grant Program, a new initiative designed to help North Dakota businesses overcome workforce shortages and increase productivity through automation.
Donor Name: North Dakota Department of Commerce
State: North Dakota
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 05/30/2024
Size of the Grant: $100,000 to $500,000
Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned
Details:
The program, funded with $5 million from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), will provide grants of up to $500,000 to North Dakota Primary Sector Certified (PSC) businesses, such as those in manufacturing and agricultural processing. These grants can be used to cover up to 50% of the cost of purchasing or leasing machinery, equipment, and software for automation projects.
Purpose
Automate ND is designed to provide financial support to North Dakota PSC businesses who are facing a workforce shortage. The funds may be used for the purchase or lease of machinery, equipment, and software (upfront configuration/setup costs) to automate existing processes to increase output per employee and provide opportunities for upskilling.
Key Objectives
The program aims to achieve several key objectives:
- Increase productivity per employee: Automation can help businesses produce more goods and services with fewer workers.
- Create upskilling opportunities: Businesses can use grant funds from the Technical Skills Training Grant (track C) to conduct a feasibility study on the purchase of automation equipment and train their employees on how to operate and maintain the new equipment.
- Improve employee satisfaction: Automation can help to reduce repetitive tasks and create a safer work environment for employees.
- Boost state GDP: Increased productivity from automation can lead to higher company profits and increased economic growth for North Dakota.
Eligibility Criteria
Eligible applicants must meet the following criteria:
- Business must be registered to do business in the state of North Dakota
- Business must be a Primary Sector Certified Business at the time of application
- Business must have less than 500 employees (tourism primary sector businesses do not qualify for this grant opportunity).
- Business can apply for Primary Sector Certification here: Forms (nd.gov)
- The equipment must be utilized in a facility located in North Dakota.
- The machinery, equipment, or software has not been purchased.
- Business must have a 3rd party feasibility study (with Smart Manufacturing Assessment and Value Stream Mapping (VSM)) completed to measure the following impacts of the proposed project (see list of recommended partners):
- ROI and payback period
- Increased capacity per cell or value stream
- Hours saved – (factory wide, value stream, cell)
- Additional revenue projected as a result of the project
- Average increase in hourly earnings per employee on automated line or cell
- Improved employee safety
- Improved production quality
- Items listed may not apply to all projects.
For more information, visit NDDC.
