Monolith Solar is planning a $4.9-million expansion at the Vista Technology Campus in Bethlehem, a suburb of Albany in heart of New York State’s Tech Valley. The company, which designs, manufacturers, and installs solar panels, received a $400,000 grant from Empire State Development (ESD) and $400,000 in Excelsior Jobs Program tax credits, which are performance-based and directly linked to job creation and investments.
American manufacturing has a skills gap, but experts disagree about its size and severity. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were over 300,000 unfilled manufacturing jobs in June 2014. By 2020, The Boston Consulting Group warns that U.S. manufacturers could face a shortfall of 875,000 highly skilled industrial workers. Today, approximately 10% of American workers are employed in manufacturing.
Business Week recently reported that the average age of a U.S. manufacturing worker is 56. As Anna Wells explains in Industrial Maintenance and Plant Operation (IMPO) magazine, a potential shortage of skilled workers isn’t the only concern. “How do the youngest crop of workers,” she asks, “best learn from their more seasoned counterparts?”
On Manufacturing Day, President Barack Obama announced a new Manufacturing Innovation Institute Competition for an Integrated Photonics Manufacturing Institute. Early this year, the President unveiled plans for manufacturing innovation institutes in Chicago and Detroit, along with a national competition for four more private-public sector initiatives.
Is manufacturing still strong in western New York? According to Buffalo Business First, U.S. government statistics show that the two-county Buffalo metropolitan area ranks 14th for manufacturing employment among the nation’s 51 major metros. In the Buffalo-Niagara Falls region today, nearly 12% of all civilian jobs are in the manufacturing sector. Compare that to Detroit, the national leader at just over 18%.
The Chief Executives Network for Manufacturing of the Capital Region, Inc. (CEN) is an association of manufacturers located in the Capital Region. To encourage students to consider careers in manufacturing, CEN will once again be offering $1,000 scholarships
U.S. manufacturers are more optimistic about their own revenue growth than about overall prospects for the U.S. and global economies. According to the Q3 2014 Manufacturing Barometer from PwC US, American industrial manufacturers forecast an average growth rate of 5.6% over the next 12 months. That’s nearly a half-percentage point jump from a year ago (5.2%), and a solid 1.6% increase from 2013.
Rochester, New York has re-invented itself before. During the American Revolution, soldiers settled the fertile farmland near the Genesee River and grew grain. During the Industrial Revolution, residents milled flour. Later, during the Gilded Age, George Eastman founded Kodak and sold cameras under the slogan: “You press the button – we do the rest.” Ultimately, Xerox and Bausch + Lomb also called Rochester home.
High Tech Rochester (HTR) is using the power of 3D printing to help promote entrepreneurship and economic growth in the Rochester area and Finger Lakes Region. Clients of the nonprofit economic development organization can produce 3D printed prototypes at the new HTR First Prototype Lab, which features 3D printers and computer workstations along with a 3D scanner and laser cutter.
Unlike a product description or drawing, 3D printing enables manufacturers to share tangible prototypes with potential customers, partners, and investors. “We can’t overstate the importance of this step in the early development of a product or device,” says Lab Director Mike Riedlinger. “The better an entrepreneur can show and explain a product, even in its preliminary stages, the better the feedback.”
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