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SBA chief touts Made in America in LI visit to GSE Dynamics

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President Donald Trump may be famous for talking and thinking big, but a Trump official came to Long Island recently, touting the need, now and then, to think small. United States Small Business Administrator Kelly Loeffler on April 24 toured GSE Dynamics in Hauppauge as part of the SBA’s Made in America manufacturing roadshow, seeking to highlight U.S. manufacturing. She started her “road show,” designed to promote U.S. manufacturing, at an aerospace and defense manufacturing facility in Indianapolis, and most recently stopped in Pennsylvania before visiting GSE Dynamics. Loeffler stood side by side with GSE Dynamics CEO Anne Shybunko-Moore, both touting the belief in the need to manufacture in the United States, near banners celebrating the company’s 50th anniversary a few years ago.  “We have seen an incredible contrast to the narrative we see in the mainstream media every day. That we can’t make this in America,” Loeffler said. “Well, we can and we are and we will do more of it.” Loeffler highlighted what she called the administration’s efforts to support small business, including identifying and reducing red tape in its Made in America initiative. She said the SBA during President Trump’s first 100 days supported loans at a record volume. “We see continued growth,” Loeffler said. “We know that they depend on us. We feel a tremendous weight of that responsibility.”

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And she touted what she called “new collar” jobs or skilled manufacturing at companies such as GSE DynamicsUnited States Small Business Administrator Kelly Loeffler on April 24 toured GSE Dynamics in Hauppauge as part of the SBA’s Made in America manufacturing roadshow, seeking to highlight U.S. manufacturing, standing near periscope assemblies, submarine windows, fiber glass panels in clean rooms, honeycomb material for bombers and sensors. “Manufacturing and workforce and national security are bipartisan, center aisle issues,” Shybunko-Moore said. “Every administration should be supporting manufacturing in America. Every administration should support workforce development, honoring products that come out of this nation.”  She said it’s in the nation’s interest to have a robust manufacturing sector, rather than relying on imports.  “There should be a national, strategic plan for manufacturing,” Shybunko-Moore said. “That no matter who’s in office, we can keep moving and progressing.” Small business is a big part of the local, regional and national economy. Loeffler said about 99% of manufacturing companies are small businesses. Yet small businesses often get caught in the middle of regulation and legislation. The tour of GSE Dynamics, for instance, occurred at a time when tariffs, which could support U.S. manufacturing, have also thrown a wrench into it, since some U.S. manufacturers rely on parts made abroad. Tariffs other countries have imposed also can damage U.S. exports in global markets. Loeffler said the SBA is undergoing a “right sizing” amid cuts after expanding during Covid, helping deliver massive amounts of financial support with the help of thousands of lenders. “We moved 30 percent of our workforce from 68 offices into the field,” Loeffler said. “That will make us more efficient. “ She described the SBA’s loan guarantee program, guaranteeing loans by private lenders, as a prime example of cooperation between the private and public sectors. “This is the private sector providing the lending opportunity to get access to capital,” Loeffler said. She said the SBA is looking at expanding loan guarantee sizes with regard to manufacturing. “We can be so proud to have manufacturers across Long Island and this country making it happen every day,” Loeffler said. “We must strengthen our supply chains. We have to invest in manufacturing here. “ GSE Dynamics, founded in 1971 as an outgrowth of Grumman, tells some of the story of Long Island manufacturing. “The legacy of Long Island,” said Shybunko-Moore, a member of the Aerospace Industries Association Board of Governors and Gov. Kathy Hochul’s Long Island Regional Economic Development Council. “A lot of small businesses like GSE Dynamics are outgrowths of that feeder company, Grumman.” Shybunko-Moore said they supply parts to military and prime contractors, such as Lockheed and Boeing, as a manufacturer in defense logistics aviation. They produce parts for new equipment and “legacy platforms” such as cargo jets, fighters and bombers of “yesteryear,” building based on drawings decades old as well as for newly designed submarines and planes. “We have to maintain the legacy talent to maintain frames designed years ago,” Shybunko-Moore added. GSE Dynamics Director of Sales Mike Kohler said the company, which employs 85, trains workers in high-tech manufacturing. “There’ a lot of on-the-job training,” Kohler said. “We’re making use of the New York State apprenticeship program.” Loeffler said the United States gained 10,000 manufacturing jobs during Trump’s first month in office. And she touted the need to focus and support U.S. manufacturers through policy and programs. “The great American comeback starts with restoring American industry,” Loeffler said. “By prioritizing American-made products, we’re not just securing our economic dominance. We’re protecting our national security by ensuring the essential goods we rely on are produced right here at home.” Manufacturing in this region has been a mixed bag lately and long-term. New York State lost 6,100 manufacturing jobs from March, 2024 to March 2025, shrinking by 1.5% from 415,800 jobs to 409,700.  But Long Island recently bucked that trend, in part boosted by high-tech manufacturing, according to the New York State Department of Labor. There were 69,000 manufacturing jobs in Nassau and Suffolk counties combined, as of March, 2025, flat with February, but up 200 or 0.3 percent from 68,800 a year ago. Durable goods manufacturing slipped to 34,800 in March from 34,900 in February and from 35,200 a year ago in Nassau and Suffolk counties, while non-durable goods rose to 34,200 from 34,100 in February and from 33,600 a year ago. Loeffler said the SBA is seeking to identify and eliminate rules, policies, and procedures that disproportionately burden small businesses and manufacturers.  The agency launched a Red Tape Hotline for small business owners and manufacturers to share feedback and submit onerous regulations for review. She said they’re seeking to reduce barriers to access the 504 loan program, helping provide capital for real estate, construction, and equipment sustained by borrower and lender fees. And they’re seeking to expand use of the 7(a) Working Capital pilot program, which provides financing for inventory and export-related expenses for international markets. Still, uncertainty from tariffs poses a problem for companies of all sizes even as the Trump administration takes protectionist measures. Meanwhile, GSE Dynamics under Shybunko-Moore is continuing to use composites to produce high-tech parts, showing small companies truly can do big things. “We are the number one woman-owned small business with business volume in defense logistics aviation,” she said. “We punch above our weight.”

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