In keeping with tradition, Governor Ducey declared the month of October 2021 as Manufacturing Month in Arizona. During Manufacturing Month, the Arizona Manufacturers Council, the Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry and many other organizations come together to celebrate the state’s robust manufacturing industry and its many contributions to the state, nation and the world.
Manufacturing Month is an opportunity to build excitement about careers in manufacturing, particularly for the newest generation entering the workforce. Today manufacturing is clean, diverse, high tech, and sustainable. It is no longer the dark, dirty, dangerous work of the past that so many envision.
On October 7th, the Arizona Manufacturers Council and the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry kicked off Manufacturing Month celebrations with the 2021 Manufacturing Summit and Awards Luncheon at the Arizona Biltmore Resort. The morning Summit featured a panel discussion about one of manufacturers biggest obstacles – attracting and retaining quality works. Featured guest speakers at the morning Summit included Governor Ducey and Rep. David Schweikert (AZ-06). The event wrapped up with Manufacturer of the Year awards ceremony where six companies and two individuals that have made significant contributions to the manufacturing industry and Arizona’s economy, were honored.
The 2021 winners included:
- 2021 Advocate of the Year: Steve Trussell, Executive Director of the Arizona Rock Products Association and the Arizona Mining Association
- 2021 Legislator of the Year: State Sen. Sine Kerr
- 2021 Excellence in Innovation Award: CP Technologies
- 2021 Excellence in Sustainability Award: Lucid Motors
- 2021 Small Manufacturer of the Year: S & A Industries
- 2021 Medium Manufacturer of the Year: EMD Electronics
- 2021 Large Manufacturer of the Year: Dexcom
- 2021 Economic Driver: Intel
Manufacturing Month celebrations continued on October 20th with AMC’s Made in Arizona tours. Attendees, comprised of elected officials, industry experts and business leaders, toured three unique Arizona-based manufacturers and one homegrown, woman-owned Phoenix brewery.
Guests saw firsthand why Arizona is rapidly becoming the number one destination in the world for advanced manufacturing investment and job creation.
Host sites included:
Dolphin Inc.
Purchased by Karsten Manufacturing Crop. In 1972, Dolphin has continued to be a leader in precision investment castings for over 48 years. Whose key markets include the railroad, automotive, aerospace, and military to name a few.
Their state-of-the-art facility offers a full range of prototyping, in house non-destructive testing, heat treatment, process engineering, wax assembly automation, and robotics capabilities.
TYR Tactical
In fall 2016 TYR Tactical broke ground on their new 78,000 sq. ft. facility in Peoria, AZ. This expansion gave them ability to not only increase production capacity but also create hundreds of new jobs in the Phoenix area.
The utilization of state-of-the-art textiles, along with extensive field testing, has culminated in the creation of many new products with the aim to revolutionize tactical equipment for the “Next Generation Warrior®”.
EMD Electronics
With over 58,000 employees in 66 countries, EMD Electronics is driven to find solutions to some of today’s toughest challenges and create more sustainable ways to live.
Their tools, services and digital platform make research simpler, more exact, and help to deliver breakthroughs more quickly. While their solutions accelerate access to health by assuring tests are accurate and the medicine we take can be trusted.
As experts in the Healthcare, Life Science and Electronics sectors, they offer specialized and high-quality products while maintaining that they are, “The company behind the companies”.
Greenwood Brewing
The tour concluded with a tour of homegrown, woman-owned, Greenwood Brewing located in Downtown Phoenix. Greenwood’s Slogan is the Power of the Purposeful Pint, and they foster this in their beers and their brewery. Megan Greenwood, and her team at Greenwood Brewing, take pride in learning something new, having that difficult conversation, or disagreeing better – for better or worse – all over a Purposeful Pint.