Advanced manufacturing companies are proud to say their products are “Made in California.”
California’s favorable business climate, proximity to global markets and its supply chain of more than 30,000 manufacturers has the advanced manufacturing industry seeing Gold.
Across the Golden State, manufacturing firms produced more than 10 percent of the total gross product with an annual GDP output of $239 billion. The manufacturing sector accounts for more than 23 percent of the state’s economic output. With 36,3000 manufacturing firms employing 1.4 million people, the manufacturing sector represents eight percent of the nonfarm workforce in the state.
California has a number of incentives and programs to encourage its strong advanced manufacturing industry to continue growing. The California Competes Tax Credit is one key incentive designed to bolster the state’s manufacturing sector. CA Made is the state’s no-cost labeling program to promote consumer awareness and promote the sale on locally made goods in the state. The program is administered by the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz).
Several manufacturers of all sizes and within varying sectors have recently expanded or located in the state and were awarded a California Competes Tax Credit.
Entekra LLC, founded in 2016, is a Ripon-based construction startup that has recently selected Modesto as the site for its new $35-million manufacturing facility. The new 200,000-sq.-ft. facility will create 250 jobs and boost the company’s annual production capacity by 3,000 units of its Fully Integrated Off-Site Solution™ (FIOSS™). The company touts its ability to reduce overall build time by as much as 33%, while also reducing skilled labor needs by more than 40% — a key consideration given the ongoing labor shortage faced by US builders.
“The supply chain ecosystem in Fremont allows collaboration from different industries which is central to our value proposition at the intersection of technology and medicine. We’re proud to do our work here and to call Fremont our home.”
“Expanding our operations within the greater Modesto community, which has been supportive of our efforts from Day 1, will allow Entekra to effectively capitalize on the tremendous interest in transitioning to FIOSS from the inefficient and labor-intensive method of stick-framing houses on site,” said Entekra CEO Gerard McCaughey.
Though relatively new to the US market, FIOSS has been used for more than 50 years in Europe and Asia. Entekra’s management team is comprised of key executives from Ireland’s Century Homes, who grew that startup into Europe’s largest off-site company and are responsible for nearly 175,000 FIOSS homes assembled on three continents.
Katerra, another innovative construction technology company, announced in 2018 it would build a 577,000-sq.-ft. advanced manufacturing facility in Tracy, California. The Menlo Park-based company also has an office in San Francisco and a manufacturing facility in Phoenix, Arizona. The new facility was chosen for its rail, ports and freeway access. The expansion will create 500 new jobs.
Printerprezz, a medical device manufacturer, chose to locate its headquarters in the high-tech Silicon Valley city of Fremont in early 2019. The Fremont location will allow the company to work with the region’s innovative hospitals and manufacturing industry, and a supply chain of over 1,200 high tech, life science and clean technology firms. The location coincides with its Innovation Center, launched in 2018, with the intention of bridging the industries of manufacturing and health care.
“Fremont is in the heart of Silicon Valley and central to growth and innovation in the medical devices industry,” said Shri Shetty, CEO of PrinterPrezz. “The city has supported us from the beginning, facilitating the buildout of our operation and connecting us with like-minded peers. The supply chain ecosystem in Fremont allows collaboration from different industries which is central to our value proposition at the intersection of technology and medicine. We’re proud to do our work here and to call Fremont our home.”
In Vernon, California, rPlanet Earth has opened a new 302,000-sq.-ft. recycling and manufacturing plant. The one-of-a-kind plant is the first in the world to be a completely vertically integrated PET conversion plant. The facility represents an investment of more than $100 million from private and public sources. The company was awarded more than $10 million from California Competes and Employee Training Program funds.
