To bolster the local manufacturing industry, U.S. Rep. Ann McLane Kuster is reaching out for some federal help.

The first-term 2nd District congresswoman petitioned President Barack Obama this week to include the Granite State in his plans for a national network of manufacturing institutes.

The first such center, in Youngstown, Ohio, launched in 2012 with the help of $30 million in federal funding. Last month, Obama called for an additional $1 billion in investment to launch 15 similar institutes in other parts of the country.

Once opened, the new centers, combining public funding with the resources of private businesses, universities and nonprofit agencies, among other entities, would further the development of high-tech manufacturing technologies, Obama said at the time. It also could boost the local economy, bringing high-skill, high-paying manufacturing jobs to New Hampshire, according to Kuster, who has made business innovation a priority of her first months in office.

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