This Gal is Manufacturing-Proud

And other reflections at the O’dark-thirty hour

This week’s county-wide kickoff of the national Manufacturing Day celebration presents an opportunity to reflect on the folks that make things and a regional economy that relies on their success. The health of our manufacturing sector is directly linked to, and a fundamental component of small business communities, vibrant main streets, local schools, healthcare, and infrastructure. The process of making things demands industriousness and ingenuity, drives innovation in systems management, engineering, and resource stewardship and contributes to our entrepreneurial ecosystem. And is not to be overlooked for the vast contributions to our community.

I invite you to noodle on this with me for a minute. Recall if you will the first few hours of your morning routine – what I affectionately refer to as “the O’dark-thirty hour.” If yours resembles mine you woke up in a warm bed under dry roof, settled back in your favorite chair to enjoy a cup of yogurt and maybe a slice of toasted bread, then eased into the dawn sipping on a cup of fresh-roasted coffee. And like me, it didn’t naturally occur to you that those items you reach for and come to enjoy, made their way to your hands from the floors of businesses and by the hands of people that made them. They are designed, engineered, crafted, cut, welded, constructed, assembled, with precision; harvested, handled, packaged, delivered, with care. Awareness brings a deep appreciation of the goodness of manufacturing. When I pause to reflect that surely any one of our neighbors, friends, or family members had a hand in the making of my morning, I’m rewarded with a sense of pride knowing that many of these things come from my town, and are made by my neighbors.

Who are the manufacturers? In Lane County, they number some 566 companies, by and large locally owned and operated, small to medium sized companies providing training and career opportunities, health and retirement benefits, and salaries well above the county’s average wage. They are some 13,790 individuals directly or indirectly responsible for bringing product to markets locally, nationally, and globally. They make sporting goods, apparel, food, beverages, software, paper and wood products, furniture, machinery, precision parts, equipment, and the list goes on. They are purchasing supplies, goods, and services state-wide; investing in infrastructure, in families, and in community causes that their employees care about. They ensure government services by sustaining and growing our tax base. 

Beyond the bottom line, the contributions to our community by these locally owned, anchored and invested companies are plentiful. Employees, front-line workers, managers, and owners – who also happen to be parents, community leaders, and supporters of community causes – are making a difference every day. They are also investing dollars in training our future workforce, mentoring students, opening their eyes to the importance of education, showing them what opportunities are awaiting them so they might have a bright future. They are inviting Career and Technical Education teachers and counselors to guided tours, so that they may better advise and educate our youth on their best-fit educational pathway. They are spending countless hours working with our economic developers to help reduce the barriers and challenges of current workforce gaps, misperceptions, and regulations that hinder our Made in Oregon, Made by Oregonians product. They are why the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce celebrates manufacturing employers year-round, and works together with our regional partners in government, education and industry on programs like Manufacturing Day inviting students, educators, and the public to discover the value of Made in Oregon, Made by Oregonians.

So for every carefully crafted and engineered wood product that rolls off the line; for every honey jar, granola snack, or gluten free hotdog bun pulled fresh out of the baking ovens right here in our town, sit back and enjoy with your community of local manufacturers a sense of pride and an authentic claim to Made in Oregon, Made by Oregonians.

Now back to that fresh, locally-roasted, glorious cup of coffee….