We support manufacturers with the knowledge they need to operate, hire & train smarter!
Manufacturing then & now: For many Americans, manufacturing is a dirty word. It carries with it decades of grease, grime, and negative connotations. As far as they’re concerned, it’s a synonym for stagnation. A career path to nowhere. A sector of the past. Maybe that’s because most history books talk an awful lot about the factories of the 1800s—and an awful little about what manufacturing has become today. Let alone the incredible places it’s heading.
Another misconception: that manufacturing is for people who aren’t smart enough to do something better. It’s a belief commonly held by folks who have never had to program a robot, measure down to the micron, or model rapid prototypes in CAD software.
The reality is that modern manufacturing is an industry of engineers, code writers, and highly trained experts who make their living by mastering some of the world’s most advanced tools and technologies. In a plot twist the history books could have never seen coming, manufacturing has evolved into a field of knowledge work that’s as challenging and fulfilling as any.
We are the Manufacturers’ Association—and we exist to ensure that knowledge is preserved, expanded, and shared with the manufacturing professionals of tomorrow. We are a voice for the industry for hundreds of member & non-member organizations in Southcentral Pennsylvania & Northern Maryland.
After more than a century of fighting for local manufacturers, we’re more committed than ever. Because despite all we’ve accomplished over the last hundred years, we’ve still got a battle ahead of us.
Thankfully, we’re not in this alone. Along with our members, we’re joining forces with educators, policy makers, economic planners, nonprofits, and allied businesses who understand that a future without a strong, innovative manufacturing sector is a future that benefits no one.
Together, we’re helping manufacturers and high school students to uncover talents and passions that might otherwise go unrealized. Giving people stuck in low-paying jobs the chance to learn specialized skills and pivot into rewarding careers. Confronting outdated stereotypes by showing how far manufacturing has come.
As diverse as our projects and initiatives are, the big picture isn’t complicated: we support manufacturers with the knowledge they need to thrive. It’s what we’ve always done. It’s what we’ll continue to do. And we will not rest until our region is the manufacturing leader we know it can be.