Celebrating Manufacturing Month

Celebrating Manufacturing Month Visiting Fabulous Companies

Todd Bingham, President, Utah Manufacturer's Association

Each October is National Manufacturing Month. The Utah Manufacturers Association celebrates all month long by visiting manufacturing companies and celebrating with their frontline employees. Utah has more than 3500 manufacturing companies. The average manufacturing company in the state of Utah is around 50 employees. Perhaps smaller than you might have anticipated.

However, manufacturing is still one of the largest driving economies with more than $20 billion annually and close to 200,000 individuals working directly in manufacturing. When applying the multiplier effect, manufacturing is a significant impact on the economy of the state. For every dollar spent directly on manufacturing there is a six time multiplier effect related directly to manufacturing.

I truly enjoy delivering thousands of donuts and drinks to the individuals often not recognized nor seen that drive the manufacturing economy in the state. The unsung heroes of the manufacturing economy are the frontline workers. The individuals who daily come to work for manufacturing companies in assemble, produce, and manufacture the very products that make our modern life possible. These individuals often ask me, “What are the donuts and drinks for?” The response….just because we want to thank you for working in manufacturing. I love to see the look on their faces when someone thanks them for simply coming to work.

It’s definitely one of my favorite times of the year as we take the Utah Manufacturers Association on the road and get the opportunity to visit with a myriad of different companies and tour their manufacturing facilities. The ability to learn more in depth about the products that are made right here in Utah is truly an amazing opportunity.

I enjoyed the opportunity to visit with Frontline manufacturing workers and ask them what they love most about their jobs. Overwhelmingly, the response was the culture and environment in which they work. It is a testament to many manufacturing companies who strive daily to create a culture and environment that encourages today’s generation to be a part of the miracle of manufacturing.