"We enjoyed the affair and were surprised at the diversity of the manufacturers from across the state.Since the first meeting, we are now doing business with Flextronics' in Charlotte, NC. This is the start of a good thing."
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Manufacturing matters. As the primary driver of our economy, manufacturing produces not only a variety of real goods, but also real jobs, real growth, real stability, and real innovation for our community, our state, and our nation. As such, manufacturing needs to be celebrated and promoted often.
The Network provides a voice to tell the manufacturing story as the state's primary job maker, economy driver, innovator, and maker of a wide diversity of products.
Manufacturers across the state employ more than 510,000 people, making manufacturing the largest employment sector in the North Carolina economy: about 15% of the state's workforce, producing nearly 20% of the state's Gross Domestic Product. (In fact, North Carolina's half-million manufacturing workers lead the Southeast, and produce nearly 5% of the total manufacturing output of the nation.)
In May 2010, the manufacturing sector led all industry sectors nationwide in job production with 29,000 people hired. Thousands of manufacturing jobs have been created in North Carolina over the past few years.
In addition to being one of the top employers in the state, manufacturing also creates some of the highest-paying jobs: higher on average than healthcare and social assistance, transportation, and construction. Modern manufacturing requires high-tech skills and a strong work ethic, but the rewards are enormous.
Many areas in North Carolina, especially rural areas, have turned to manufacturing to bring in new people and new investment.
One prime example of a rural area that is becoming a manufacturing hub is the Global TransPark in Kinston. Aerospace supplier Spirit AeroSystems recently opened a state-of-the-art composite materials manufacturing center there, where they will manufacture fuselage and wing sections for Airbus.
Check out some of these recent headlines from the North Carolina Department of Commerce, with respect to manufacturing and rural job growth:
Manufacturing companies that create the right conditions -- consistently high quality, high value products; mutually beneficial labor and customer/supplier relationships -- can achieve remarkable stability over the long term.
Such stability is never easy to produce or maintain, and manufacturing is affected by the same forces that affect every part of the economy, but a company that makes good products and can sell them for fair prices is likely to find appreciative and loyal customers. Companies that work diligently to expand their customer base and provide prized products year after year will be better able to withstand the inevitable economic fluctuations.
One of the traditional strengths of manufacturing, especially in the United States, is the pursuit of new products to satisfy unrecognized needs, better products to retain customer loyalty, and more efficient and effective ways of producing and distributing products to meet demand.
Some of the most innovative ideas, like the automobile, only caught on after an industrialist found a way to produce it in large numbers at relatively low cost. And some even more revolutionary ideas, like the transistor, were pioneered in private corporate laboratories long before any consumer knew of their existence.
This article from Industry Week notes that U.S. leadership in high technology manufacturing "is founded on our dominant position in global research expenditures, and on the excellence of our scientific and engineering research institutions." To retain, let alone expand, our lead requires that we invest in the kinds of research and development that produce breakthroughs and new products.
Manufacturers today are constantly exploring the boundaries of science and technology, but also of management and leadership, to bring the newest and most innovative products to their customers. And they can rely on strong partnerships with universities like NC State and top-flight research parks like the university's Centennial Campus.
Join the Network and help celebrate and promote manufacturing in North Carolina.
NC State University Industrial Extension Service
Phone 1-800-227-0264
