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By Brooke Thomson
President & CEO
The British entrepreneur Sir James Dyson observed that “manufacturing is more than just putting parts together. It’s coming up with ideas, testing principles and perfecting the engineering, as well as final assembly.”
The art and science of manufacturing built the Massachusetts economy, from Charles Goodyear producing the first vulcanized tire in Woburn in 1813 to bioscience companies like Takeda producing state-of-the-art medicines in the Commonwealth today. And though manufacturing companies employ about half the number of people they did three decades ago, the sector remains a critical conduit of economic opportunity and advancement.
October is Manufacturing Month in the United States and AIM, which was founded by a group of forward-looking manufacturers in 1915, is honoring the 6,105 companies here in the commonwealth that make the electronics, furniture, packaging, vaccines, machinery and other products upon which we all depend in 2024.
The economic footprint of manufacturing remains significant in Massachusetts.
Approximately 230,000 people work at manufacturing companies here, 6.2 percent of the commonwealth’s total non-farm payroll. Manufacturing is expected to contribute $46.5 billion in economic output this year – 7.3 percent of the Massachusetts gross state product.
Massachusetts’ largest manufacturing sector is industrial machinery and equipment, which employs 15 percent of the state’s industrial workforce. The electronic equipment industry and instruments and related products are also major manufacturing sectors in Massachusetts.
The average annual wage for manufacturing workers in Massachusetts is $76,600, with considerably higher wages paid to skilled machinists and other workers in the advanced manufacturing sectors.
Manufacturing companies also account for 54 percent of research-and-development expenditures in the United States. That amounts to $326 billion worth of research and engineering on technologies ranging from autonomous vehicles to space probes.
The vibrancy of the manufacturing sector was on full display on September 25 when I was honored to deliver remarks at the annual Manufacturing Mash-Up sponsored by the Massachusetts Center for Advanced Manufacturing.
More of the excitement around manufacturing will be on display at two upcoming events:
In between, and throughout Manufacturing Month, we will use the AIM blog and social media to profile some of the commonwealth’s most successful manufacturing companies. They range from precision metal-machinery maker Kinefac Corporation in Worcester to packaging developer Accutech Packaging in Foxboro. We also plan visits to Kinefac, Rocheleau Tool & Die in Fitchburg and several other manufacturers.
All in all, while the history of manufacturing is inspiring, the future of the industry looks even better.
