The regional center's human resources office will be housed at the Penn-Northwest Professional Center at 151 N. Diamond St.

"Partnering with the Northwest Pennsylvania Industrial Resource Center provides unique opportunities to expand development support services to our manufacturing center in Mercer County," Larry Reichard, executive director of the Penn-Northwest Development Corp., said Friday.

The Northwest Pennsylvania Industrial Resource Center's primary goal is helping small manufacturers become more competitive, Reichard said. Founded in 1988, the center has worked with 70 companies and on more than 170 projects in Mercer County.

The center anticipates that increased human resources services provided by the Mercer office will better support manufacturers in Mercer County and the region, Reichard said.

Robin Vaughn will head up the office, as human resources project manager and outreach coordinator.

In addition to the new human resources office and Penn-Northwest, the Penn-Northwest Professional Center houses the Mercer County Industrial Development Authority and Gannon University Small Business Development Center.