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Good ol' Made in America and California

2K views 17 replies 14 participants last post by  Passenger13 
#1 ·
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#3 ·
Italian
That''s why they hired a Costanzo as Prez
 
#11 ·
From today's Merc:

Always good to hear of things being done close to home.

-D

Silicon Valley already leads in manufacturing

By Kim Walesh

Special to the Mercury News
Posted: 12/13/2012 05:25:25 PM PST
Updated: 12/15/2012 05:49:13 PM PST

Earlier this year, the Brookings Institution reported that the San Jose metro area is first in the nation for advanced manufacturing. Nearly two out of five of our local jobs are related to manufacturing, more than double the national average.

Perhaps more surprising, the report found that manufacturing jobs suffered less locally than they did nationally during the Great Recession -- and that we're now growing more rapidly.

The popularity of San Francisco as a glamour location for social media startups, fueled by 20-somethings, contrasts with the broad and deep economic base of Silicon Valley that includes our extensive array of advanced manufacturing activity. The growth of social media companies
Made in the Bay Area

Go to the Made in the Bay Area special section for more stories, videos and documents.

in San Francisco is not a zero-sum migration of innovation and jobs. The entire Bay Area is a creative powerhouse for the American economy built on the foundation of Silicon Valley's long entrepreneurial tradition.

Pay no attention to the pundits pondering the future of Silicon Valley. If we play our cards right, the Valley's resurging manufacturing sector that serves infotech, cleantech, medical devices and consumer product industries will create the new middle-class production jobs that our nation needs to rebuild our social fabric and global competitiveness.

To this end, we recently brought a wide cross-section of manufacturers together at San Jose City Hall to evaluate where we are and where we're going. They included contract
manufacturers, original equipment manufacturers and businesses like machining that support the manufacturing ecosystem. A few things immediately became apparent from this conversation.

First, we're not talking about the traditional factory floor from previous generations with low-skill assembly lines working with interchangeable parts and people. We now have incredibly tech savvy, massively flexible, extraordinarily productive and, yes, cost-effective facilities that use high-end tools and highly skilled workers. Our manufacturing sector creates high value and pays high wages.

Second, globalized companies and startups alike are looking for U.S. solutions to production challenges in a process now called "right-shoring." This helps them reduce risk and maximize quality and efficiency by putting the right resources in the right locations to turn fresh ideas into deliverable products fast. In the big global niche of high-value production that must be closely linked to research and design, Silicon Valley clearly excels.

And third, our manufacturers see a clear opportunity for more mid-skill, mid-wage jobs, creating job growth to bridge the gap between the highest skilled and least educated.

Our challenge is that over the past few decades, we've lost a generation of people excited about making technology products. We need technicians who can operate sophisticated machines, engineers who can innovate on the production floor and managers experienced in the demands of a domestic supply chain.

Local manufacturers view this jobs opportunity as ours -- but we cannot be complacent. We must broaden the pool of local residents who have the technical skills, people skills and industry knowledge to step into vacant positions and great careers. In partnership with local manufacturers, universities and community colleges and specialized training providers, we have the power and passion to make this happen.

The Bay Area and our nation need Silicon Valley's secret sauce. Our model of recombinant creativity, risk-taking, and continual reinvention can spread everywhere to take root.

Let's stop the hand-wringing about the growth of tech startups in San Francisco. Let's take advantage of all opportunities at hand to grow more innovation jobs everywhere and create a new generation of Americans excited about making good products, from high-tech to no-tech, right here.
 
#13 ·
Its actually Grover Beach , but that does not matter :) They started in SLO long time ago
 
#14 ·
Voler was our official clothing sponsor for a bike team I was on many, many years ago. I still have most of the things (jerseys, rain jackets), as they have held up well. I don't wear jerseys as much as I used to, but the 2 rain shells I have had for, what, 15 years? I still wear them, and they have endured some epic rides.

Well-made stuff.
 
#15 ·
found this; not only are they made in USA for the most part the materials are from here also !!
 
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