LEWISTON – If American manufacturing is on the skids, then why are so many foreign companies building plants here?

That’s a question Michael P. Collins examines in his book, “Saving American Manufacturing,” which is also the name of the first summit convened by a Maine manufacturers group to look at the issues confronting them daily. Collins, president of MPC Management, a manufacturing consulting company, will be the keynote speaker.

“He talks about the things that affect our ability to compete and the challenges and what we face state by state,” said Lisa Martin, executive director of the Manufacturers Association of Maine. “He’ll focus on the policies that we know – as an association – are the top issues in our sector: work force, insurance and regulatory environment.”

The summit will be from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Monday, April 28, and 8 a.m. to noon Tuesday, April 29, at the Ramada Inn. Collins, whose book focuses on strategies for small to midsize manufacturers, is scheduled to speak at 7:15 p.m. April 28.

Martin said the Lewiston event will be the first in a series of MAMe-sponsored summits to help manufacturers gain a competitive edge.

“There is the perception out there that manufacturing is dying and it is so not true, and these people know it,” Martin said. “They’re busy and hiring, and would hire more if they could find skilled people.”

Martin said manufacturers are challenged on both ends of the production line. While they face increasing operating costs for fuel, energy, transportation and benefits, their clients are demanding cost concessions in their contracts. Squeezing that extra 1 percent concession in a contract can often jeopardize benefits such as health insurance.

“Insurance (costs) have devastated companies,” she said. MAMe’s answer is to set up its own self-funded health care plan, which should be opening for enrollment within a few months.

Lewiston was selected as the site of the first summit because of its central location to MAMe members, many of whom are in the precision metals and fabricating businesses. The next summit will occur in the fall during MAMe’s annual meeting, Martin said.

“We wanted a big, broad overview for the first one and ‘Saving American Manufacturing’ couldn’t be broader,” she said.

Registrations are going well and sponsorships were snapped up almost as soon as word of the summit circulated, Martin said. The second day of the summit is devoted to sharing strategies among the attendees for growing their businesses.

Collins makes the point that while U.S. companies continue to outsource work overseas, foreign companies have invested $40 billion in U.S. assets and now employ six million workers. He notes that in 2005, the U.S. was exporting about $800 billion of goods, but importing $1.3 trillion. Other industrialized countries – especially Germany, Japan and Switzerland – all have higher production or overall costs than the United States, yet maintain a trade surplus of manufactured goods.

His book argues for stopping the decline of American manufacturing from defensive solutions such as cost reduction, to offensive solutions that are customer driven.

“It is about going on the attack and finding ways to grow, rather then treading water in open ocean hoping that we will be rescued,” he wrote.

A question-and-answer period will follow Collins’ comments.

Additional information about the summit, including registration forms and costs, is available at www.mainemfg.com.