California State University at Chico has answered the state's call by providing one of only three programs in the world that offers a four-year degree in "Sustainable Manufacturing". This program is in part filling a massive and growing California void of industrially trained students that can go from the production floor to management soon after graduating from college.

The Chico program has a whopping 100 percent job placement success rate and 15 percent of their graduates are women. The average initial pay is $54,000 and sometimes starts as high as ...]]> Thu, 09 May 2013 13:22:34 -0700 It’s more importantthan ever that our leaders find ways to help California’s manufacturersgrow and compete for our state’s fair share of the nation’smanufacturing renaissance. What we most certainlydo not need at this point are more obstacles and barriers tomanufacturing job growth.

And yet, those keepcoming. Consider one current legislative proposal – a bill toban plastic bags statewide. While scientists and othersmay argueabout whether this will help or hurt the environment, thereis no disagreement about its immediate impact – it will threaten jobs inour manufacturingsector. And while there may have been a timewhen legislators could ignore a few hundred jobs here and there as areasonable trade-off for making astatement, this isn’t that time.

AB ...]]> Thu, 25 Apr 2013 11:21:04 -0700 This is a follow-up to last week's 'Tipping Point' piece onCMTA's proposed sales tax exemption on manufacturing equipment purchases.

Both tax exemption proposals were heard in committee this week, receiving positive comments from legislators. SB 376 by Sen Lou Correa received a unanimous 7-0 vote in the Senate Governance and Finance Committee and Assemblyman Kevin Mullin's AB 486 received an affirming hearing but we won't know the bill's fate until the Assembly Revenue and Taxation Committee votes on it in its 'suspense file' hearing next week.

Both bills enjoyed wide support in testimony with the only opposition coming from California Tax Reform Association, a group funded by public employee interests. In ten years, ...]]> Thu, 25 Apr 2013 10:54:22 -0700 These days, it seems like states are figuring out how important manufacturing is to healthy economies. The competition is picking up, as states move to reduce costs or create incentives for manufacturers. After all, companies put investment capital in locations with the most attractive business climates.

A sales tax exemption on the purchase of manufacturing equipment is apolicy most other states have adopted. This gives them acompetitive advantagefortheir campaigns to grow high-wage manufacturing jobs.California had a similar tax ...]]> Thu, 18 Apr 2013 11:03:08 -0700

California manufacturers are capable of meeting extraordinary challenges and can be the engine of job creation if they have the resources, skilled workforce, and long-term support of state and local communities. This week, with a day-long Summit in Sacramento, the Governor's office took an important first step in launching a new focus on 'advanced manufacturing' growth in California.

The Summit's three panels made up of industry, workforce development professionals, research entities, and academic experts from universities and community colleges ...]]> Fri, 29 Mar 2013 16:09:51 -0700 We updated our manufacturing employment numbers, comparing us to the nation.

Since January 2010, the country has seen 4.5 percent growth with 517,000 new manufacturing jobs, while California has been stagnant with only a 0.45 percent gain in its manufacturing base.

That two-year trend seems to accelerate the gap that has been slowly growing over 12 years -- where California saw a 33 percent loss versus the nation's 30 percent decline.

The US Environmental Protection Agency awarded CMTA member Cal Portland Company last week with the 2013 Energy Excellence Award in its continued leadership in energy efficiency. The award will be formally recognized in Washington D.C. on March 26, 2013.

The 2013Partner of the Year - Sustained Excellence Awardsare given to a ...]]> Thu, 14 Mar 2013 14:48:05 -0700

California is one of the leanest manufacturing states in the country. We produce more per capita than any other state and we are among the lowest in per capita greenhouse gas emissions. It's not new. It's a trend that started a long time ago because of competition and cost pressures.

Some people think lean manufacturing means less workers. It doesn't. It means a more competitive business with skilled workers doing the right things, with less waste and more product. When these elements come together a company can continue to grow in a region and offer more to its economy and working families. A large portion of California manufacturers have overcome many challenges over the years to get as lean as they can in their respective and very tight global ...]]> Wed, 06 Mar 2013 13:12:17 -0800

In 2003 California manufacturers lost a sales tax credit on their capital equipment purchases, making them approximately six percent less competitive than manufacturers in most other states. Since then, there have been no less than 20 proposed exemptions in different forms before our state legislature. None -- with one failing exception -- have made it to even a second committee hearing.

The annual proposals indicate that some legislators, like those in most states, understand the importance of competitive tax policy for manufacturers -- and the jobs, innovation and ripple effect they bring to a regional economy. Unfortunately the proposals stumble every year on an unwarranted fear of lost state revenues.

This year, after a decade of limited bipartisan support, that might change.

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 18:34:10 -0800