“It is good to have an end to journey toward, but it is the journey that matters, in the end.”
—Ursula K. LeGuin

This is the story of how and why the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) was created. It’s the first in a series of tributes celebrating the upcoming 25th anniversary of a program whose main mission is to improve the competitiveness of small and medium manufacturers in the United States.

The year is 1985. There’s growing concern about a competitive threat to U.S. manufacturers from Japan. Higher quality, lower costs—much of it the result of what’s come to be known as the Toyota Production System. What to do?

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