Manufacturing activities in regions throughout the country are holding their own, challenging the school of thought that the manufacturing sector in this country is on its last leg.

Don't forget the United States is the world's largest manufacturing economy, producing $1.6 trillion in goods annually. Even though developing nations are cutting out pieces of the manufacturing pie, and are slowly developing more sophisticated manufacturing processes, a search of our nation's manufacturing sector finds rays of light. Talent and workforce training are driving the sector as it undergoes a transformation to supply to renewable energy related activities.

From Pittsburgh and its advances in robotic manufacturing activities to Odessa, Texas, and its experience in the traditional energy sector opening doors to activities in renewable energy, manufacturing continues to prove it is a vital industrial sector.

A nationally based workforce certification program is expected to prove invaluable in furthering the manufacturing industry. The Manufacturing Skills Certification System is comprised of skills certifications for entry level jobs in 14 sectors of the manufacturing economy. Credentials align with competencies such as personal effectiveness, foundational academic and general workplace.

The system was developed by The Manufacturing Institute, part of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), and five partners, to create portable postsecondary credentials that are of value to both the worker and the employer. “The system is a vital investment for the future of manufacturing competitiveness,” says Emily DeRocco, president, The Manufacturing Institute, and senior vice president of NAM. And because of the costs incurred by manufacturers to train workers, DeRocco says the credentials offer a stabilizing factor in the volatile economy for those who have a slim margin at the bottom line. The system is currently deployed in 18 states where the manufacturing sector has partnered with community college systems and workforce systems to implement programming. “I think the tsunami of response from all three sectors is representative of this system being a solution to the educated and skilled workforce issues that manufacturers are confronting,” DeRocco says.

Roll With The Punches

The ability to adapt to changes in products and services is also important in confronting challenges to the manufacturing sector. “In western Pennsylvania, the manufacturing base that was born here has sustained fairly well and we believe, in our region, and throughout the country, that manufacturing activities are critical,” says Brooks Robinson Jr., vice president and director of manufacturing, Regional Industrial Development Corp. (RIDC), a nonprofit economic development organization that among its activities acts as a real estate developer, with expertise in brownfields redevelopment.

Robinson says for some camps, the definition of manufacturing is always changing. He says that while steel mill opportunities and jobs still exist in Pittsburgh, the manufacturing sector has taken on various forms. “During the last decade we have been involved in encouraging advanced manufacturing, which is tied to the robotics-related sector that exists in western Pennsylvania,” Robinson says. “It was born out of the universities, basically.”

Robinson adds that universities are critical to the growth of various sectors in western Pennsylvania, such as manufacturing, robotics and biomanufacturing.

To tap into the knowledge base, the RIDC retrofitted a former chocolate manufacturing facility in Lawrenceville located adjacent to the Carnegie Mellon University National Robotics Engineering Consortium. The focus of the redevelopment was to grow small and mid-size robotics-related companies or advanced manufacturing-related companies.  Two robotics-manufacturing related firms are located at the facility; as well as a biosciences firm that grows cancer cells and tests them to create protocols; and an engineering firm involved in the wind turbine industry.

Robinson says because access to talent is critical, the redevelopment exists in proximity not only to the Carnegie Mellon consortium but also the University of Pittsburgh.

Moving west to Indiana, the Ivy Tech Community College is the nation's largest state-wide community college with single accreditation. It is the state's largest public post-secondary institution. The college system includes departments of workforce and economic development that offer services to Indiana businesses and industry.

“In Greensburg and Decatur County, Ivy Tech is a supporter of our industries, providing on-site customized training,” says Vicki Kellerman, executive director, Economic Development Corporation of Greensburg-Decatur County. The county is home to a cluster of auto-related companies, including Honda, which is on target to manufacture 200,000 Civics annually. Decatur County is also home to a food processing operation, a glass vial manufacturer for the pharmaceutical industry, and a Delta Faucet plating facility, among other manufacturing operations.

Kellerman says the manufacturing workforce is further supported by an ECHO 15 coordinator, whose programming is geared toward high schoolers and adult education with a general focus on advanced manufacturing because the industry's skills apply to a variety of sectors.

Traditional Segues To The Next Big Thing

Moving south to Texas, a readily available and experienced workforce is vital to the emergence of the traditional energy sector to the renewable energy sector in Odessa. There is strong engineer programming at the University of Texas of the Permian Basin, and Odessa College offers a new wind technician training program, both of which complement existing and emerging manufacturing activities.

“In the Permian Basin we have been using CO2 for enhanced oil recovery for about 35 years, as well as sequestering the CO2 — the only thing we didn't do is conduct measuring, monitoring and validation,” says Gary Vest, director of economic development, Odessa Development Corp. This experience was behind the $350 million grant award from the U.S. Department of Energy to build Summit Power Group Inc.'s Texas Clean Coal Energy Project, a clean coal plant. The goal is to capture 90 percent of the CO2, which will be developed into synthetic gas and sold to oil companies for enhanced oil recovery activities.

Vest says Summit Power will develop its plant on a 600-acre site 10 miles west of Odessa. “This is a new technology, and we have never had this type of facility built in the United States,” Vest says. Construction for the plant will start later this year and will take three years to complete. The time frame coincides with the estimated completion of $4.2 billion worth of new energy transmission lines in Texas, which will run predominately from the western part of the state, where Odessa is located, to the state's major metro areas.

In other energy industry related activities, Lufkin Industries, which builds pump jacks for oil fields, is entering the wind energy sector. “The company will open in Odessa this winter and we hope they will be able to rebuild wind turbine transmissions in this plant as well,” Vest says.

Also in Odessa, the Texas governor's office awarded Turbo Trax, which has developed a new transmission for wind turbines, a $2 million grant to support its technology. In addition to renewable energy manufacturing activities, Duke Energy has a 95 turbine wind farm in the Odessa region. The company is scheduled to put up more turbines as soon as the state's new transmission lines are completed and available. A planned 80-megawatt solar plant in Odessa will be one of the country's largest when it comes online. Rounding out energy and manufacturing activities is Odessa's location in a region that conducts R&D in nuclear generation, and features an asset in nearby Eunice, N.M. that is a uranium enrichment facility whose fuel is used at power plants.

In east Texas, Marshall features a strong energy sector in natural gas and coal mining, says Donna Maisel, executive director, Marshall Economic Development Corp. Manufacturing activities also include chemical manufacturing, defense manufacturing, and wood manufacturing such as cabinetry. These manufacturers are supported by the Harrison County Manufacturing Council which meets once a month to discuss workforce needs and business issues.

“Our industry diversity keeps us solid,” Maisel says. “We see a diverse range of opportunities because of our transportation location.” The community is located on Interstate 20, U.S. Highway 59 and the designated Interstate 69 corridor, which will run from Mexico to Canada. The community's available sites include opportunities for development on rail spurs located in the community. What's more, Marshall is located between Longview, Texas, and Shreveport, La., featuring access to a workforce of 350,000 to 400,000 people within a 50-mile radius. The higher education system in Marshall is highlighted by Texas State Technical College, which has several locations in the state, and which provides customized workforce training for local industries.

“We work closely with industry and prospects and we are all about customer service and being an advocate for business at every level,” Maisel says of the development corporation.

With partners like this, the ability to adapt and diversify products and services, and with workforce training programs geared toward advancing manufacturing activities, the manufacturing sector will continue to be a global contender.For complete details on the organizations featured in this article, visit: