The expansion of Volvo Construction Equipment will be felt far beyond just the company or the 600 jobs expected to come to Shippensburg over the next several years.

The company’s recent announcement of a $100 million investment in Shippensburg is expected to impact everything from Volvo’s supply chain to the real estate market and hospitality industry.

Read the full story: Volvo’s Shippensburg expansion a ‘major win’

Fuel efficiency standards in the U.S. and Europe are driving up demand for “micro-hybrid” vehicles — conventional cars that boost gas mileage by adding hybrid technologies. The market’s boom has meant big business for a little-known Pennsylvania battery plant.

The New Castle, Pa.-based subsidiary of Axion Power International has nearly doubled its facility space and added more than a dozen jobs recently to help accommodate the soaring interest from major automakers.

Read the full story: Pennsylvania Battery Plant Cashes In on $3 Billion Micro-Hybrid Vehicle Market

Ground for a new, nearly half-a-million square foot distribution center will be broken this summer for the Clarks Shoe Companies in Conewago Township.

The multi-million dollar, six-to-seven story facility, represents the largest investment the UK company has ever made in the  United States.

According to Leonard Bucher, vice president of logistics, the center will be built over the next two years on Kindig Lane, across from Clarks current location.

Read the full story: Clarks to expand Conewago production

GE Transportation has announced that due to increasing production demands, it will hire around 100 extra workers at its manufacturing plant in Erie, Pennsylvania.

The announcement comes a few months after the company recalled 800 staff  who had been affected by the ‘layoffs’ in early 2009.

Recently, the company ‘exhausted its recall list and hired more than 100 additional production workers.’

Read the full story: GE Transportation reports increase in production demand

View it here.

Employers continued creating new jobs at a steady pace in March, according to new data, driving the unemployment rate down a tick and confirming that the job market recovery, while slow, remains underway.

The Labor Department said Friday that the unemployment rate dropped to 8.8 percent last month, the lowest in two years and down from 8.9 percent. That came as employers added 216,000 net jobs, higher than the revised 194,000 gain in February and above the 190,000 in new jobs that analysts had expected.

Read the full story: Unemployment drops to 8.8%, signaling steady economic growth

Wrote journalist Tim Stuhldreher:

A leaner, more automated manufacturing sector. A greener construction industry. A health care industry dramatically reshaped by reform whose ultimate effect is far from clear.

…

The state’s gross domestic product will grow from 3.2 percent to 5.7 percent annually, reaching $871 billion by 2020, according to projections by Moody’s Analytics. That growth is in nominal dollars, which are not adjusted for inflation: in constant dollar terms, the state’s economy will grow by about one-quarter, Moody’s said.

Locally, there are reasons to be confident the Harrisburg region will remain an important manufacturing center and distribution hub, said David Black, president and CEO of the Harrisburg Regional Chamber and Capital Region Economic Development Corp.

…

And in an ever more global marketplace, midstate companies themselves will have to work harder to stay competitive, said John Lloyd, president and CEO of Mantec Inc.

Companies that innovate, adopt new technologies and compel similar changes in their supply chain will prosper, while those that don’t will be left behind, he said.

Read the rest of the article.

February 22, 2011 04:32 PM Eastern Time

Lawmakers Support Deemed Essential for Job Growth in Small–Midsize Firms

PHILADELPHIA–(BUSINESS WIRE)–A new statewide study shows that manufacturing is still Pennsylvania’s number one economic driver, accounting for the greatest portion of gross state product (13.6%), ranking as the fourth largest provider of jobs, with an average annual salary of $52,204. And it has the highest multiplier effect of any economic sector in the state—a $1 million increase in final demand for manufactured products in Pennsylvania results in the creation of 4.2 jobs.

Released last week at the state Capitol, the study’s major findings shed light on both challenges and opportunities for the sector. The study’s lead researcher, Dr. Edward Hill, and manufacturing leaders from across the state called on lawmakers to help the industry grow through policy changes such as reducing the Corporate Net Income Tax, and through strategic investments in areas such as improved management practices, new product development, and workforce training.

“While Pennsylvania’s tax structure is very important, improving it won’t get rid of all the weeds stifling growth for manufacturers,” said Dr. Hill, Dean of the Levin College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University. “The state should continue to invest in strategic economic development programs.”

One troubling trend points to the significant decline of PA manufacturing jobs—nearly 230,000 lost between 1998 and 2008, largely due to the recession, a global economy, and an undervalued Chinese currency. Much of that decline, however, occurred in two sectors—pharmaceutical and petrochemical—and the majority of job losses were in large firms. In fact, manufacturing firms with between 250-499 employees added jobs between 2006 and 2008. A soon-to-be-released DVIRC survey of regional manufacturing firms will illustrate that the sector is hiring now and will continue to hire over the next 12-24 months.

“The significant contribution manufacturers make to Pennsylvania’s economy cannot be overstated,” said Joseph Houldin, chief executive officer for Delaware Valley Industrial Resource Center (DVIRC). “Small and mid-sized manufacturers represent an economic asset that requires continued public support and strategic investment. For every $1 in state funding the IRCs returned $51 in new and retained sales. In addition, IRC activity affected more than 6,331 jobs in fiscal year 2009, with clients reporting 1,498 new jobs created and 4,833 jobs retained.”

“Most small American manufacturers have developed a unique competitive advantage, but they also require unique business services to meet their needs,” said Bud Tyler, Vice President of The EF Precision Group. “The DVIRC is a trusted resource for our firm; they understand our business and provide valuable growth services that have contributed to our success.”

“This report serves to provide Policymakers with data to support expanding our manufacturing base as one of the fastest ways for economic recovery and accelerated job growth,” according to Barry Miller, IRC Network president. “Small and mid-size manufacturing enterprises are the source for advanced product innovation and development critical for the U.S. to compete in the global economy.”

The study, “Pennsylvania’s True Commonwealth: The State of Manufacturing – Challenges and Opportunities,” was commissioned by Pennsylvania’s Industrial Resource Centers (IRCs) – a network of seven non-profits dedicated to assisting small and mid-size manufacturers compete and grow. Dr. Hill and his research team compiled and analyzed extensive quantitative data, as well as results from focus groups with 70 manufacturing CEOs in order to pinpoint best management practices and ways the state can help increase competitiveness.

About DVIRC – DVIRC is a leading private, non-profit economic development organization established in 1988 to serve the needs of 4,500 small to mid size advanced manufacturing enterprises (SMEs) in five counties throughout the Philadelphia region. The DVIRC is one of seven Industrial Resource Centers in Pennsylvania. The organization’s primary focus is to grow business value for clients through consulting services, talent development and regional, state and federal resource assistance, helping to establish the region as an internationally recognized leader in manufacturing competitiveness. We believe growing business value improves the standard of living and quality of life for those that live and/or work in the region. A diverse board of directors comprised of executives from the manufacturing, banking, legal and economic development communities govern the DVIRC.

Bill Toland of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette recently interview Petra Mitchell, president of Catalyst Connection, on the details of our study.   Catalyst Connection is one the seven Industrial Resource Centers.

Some of the questions and answers published by the P-G include:

Q. Is Pennsylvania’s reputation as a manufacturing state outmoded, or accurate?

A. The bottom line, [manufacturing] is still Pennsylvania’s No. 1 industry. That is news to some people. We’re still 13.6 percent of Pennsylvania’s gross state product. … There’s still over half-a-million people who work in manufacturing. Even though that is a decline — I mean, there is no doubt that is a significant decline over that 10-year period — the people who are working in manufacturing are receiving the highest average wages of any sector. [Those] high wages, and the strength of the manufacturing sector, has a tremendous ripple effect into other industries … But it’s not without its challenges.

Q. One of those challenges is the age of all those machinists, tool-and-dye makers, fabricators and welders, correct?

A. Our current work force is definitely a strength for our region. They are the backbone of the sector … The challenge is when you start looking at the future, because younger people are not going into these fields as much as we would like them to … One of the problems is the perception about the sector is that it’s a dying industry. [While it's true] we’re not seeing job growth necessarily, we are seeing job opportunity.

Q. What are some of the state regulatory issues that affect manufacturing?

A. The corporate net income tax being among the highest [in the country] is a concern. I think our manufacturers really appreciate the [research and development] tax credits, so that’s a key issue.

Read the rest of the Q&A at the Post-Gazette.

Write Spencer:

Gov. Tom Corbett isn’t set to release his proposed budget until March 8, but the case is already being made for continued funding of the Commonwealth’s seven nonprofit Industrial Resource Centers, which help small- and medium-sized manufacturers boost business, develop new products and increase profitability.

Today in Harrisburg, the resource centers, which include South Oakland-based Catalyst Connection, released a study on the importance of manufacturing to the Pennsylvania economy and the related importance of the resource centers in supporting and growing the industry.

The study was commissioned by the resource centers but was conducted by a team led by Edward Hill, dean of the Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs, at Cleveland State University.

Despite the effects of the recession and previous consolidation within the manufacturing sector, manufacturing is the largest source of Gross State Product, accounting for 13.6 percent and generating more than $60 billion in GSP in 2008, according to the study. The next four largest industries for GSP were real estate and rental and leasing at 11.8 percent, health care and social assistance at 9.7 percent, public administration at 9.4 percent, and professional, scientific, and technical service at 7.8 percent.

Read the full story at the Pittsburgh Business Times.