Recap: National Manufacturing Day 2016
On Friday, October 7th, the nation gathered to celebrate the fifth annual National Manufacturing Day. National Manufacturing Day was established in 2012 to improve the public’s view of manufacturing careers and highlight the industry’s value to the U.S. economy.
The celebration helps manufacturers “get the word out” that our industry offers diverse and exciting career opportunities, and exposes modern manufacturing to young adults. On National Manufacturing Day, events and tours are set up nationwide to accomplish critical objectives:
- Companies open their doors to students, parents, educators, and the general public to attract the next generation of manufacturing workers.
- Events are organized to connect manufacturers with business and community leaders to forge new partnerships and promote the importance of manufacturing to economic growth.
- Tours are set up for legislators to introduce policy-makers to local manufacturers.
- Workshops, seminars, and networking events are established to help manufacturers learn best practices on critical topics and develop positive synergies.
A GARDEN STATE CELEBRATION
Every year on National Manufacturing Day, NJMEP organizes a “Made in New Jersey” event. The annual event was held at The Palace at Somerset from 7:30am to 2:00pm. In addition to a continental breakfast and lunch, highlights from the event include:
NETWORKING BREAKS
WELCOME & OPENING REMARKS
KEYNOTE SPEECHES
Congressman Leonard Lance
Lieutenant Governor Kim Guadagno
Nicholas Pinto
BREAKOUT SESSIONS
2016 NEW JERSEY MANUFACTURING AWARDS
During the event, the winners were announced of the 2016 New Jersey Manufacturing Awards. Congratulations to all of the winners and finalists!
MANUFACTURER OF THE YEAR (START-UP / YOUNG MANUFACTURING COMPANY)
- Winner: Cape May Brewing Company
- Premier Compaction System
- PYCO
MANUFACTURER OF THE YEAR (SMALL – 50 EMPLOYEES OR LESS)
- Winner: Falstrom Company
- Imperial Machine & Tool Co.
- PNC Inc.
- Royce Emporium Leather
MANUFACTURER OF THE YEAR (MEDIUM – BETWEEN 51-125 EMPLOYEES)
- Davion
- Gambert
- Winner: Magna Power
- Weiss-Aug
MANUFACTURER OF THE YEAR (LARGE – 125+ EMPLOYEES)
- IDL TechniEdge
- Winner: Huber-Suhner
- LPS Industries
- Sea Box
INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR
- Alliance Sensors
- Winner: General Devices
- PartsLife (Sam Thevanayagam)
- Woodstock Farms
RAYMOND HOPP AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE
- Winner: Mitch Cahn, Unionwear
- Cliff Lindholm, Falstrom
- Karen Primak, IPAK
MADE IN NEW JERSEY HONOR ROLL FOR MANUFACTURING & STEM
During the event, public and private servants were recognized as relentless supporters of New Jersey’s manufacturing community. Nominations were made by manufacturing and STEM firms, expert resources, and NJMEP & NJBIA staff members. Final selections were made by an industry panel. The 2016 honorees included:
- U.S. Senator Cory Booker
- State Senator Anthony Bucco
- U.S. Congressman Rodney Frelinghuysen (NJ-11)
- Lieutenant Governor of New Jersey Kim Guadagno
- Chris Molloy, Senior Vice President, Office of Research and Economic Development at Rutgers University
- New Jersey Assemblyman Gary Schaer
- Dr. Donald H. Sebastian, President & CEO of the New Jersey Innovation Institute
- State Assemblyman Troy Singleton
- New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development Commissioner, Harold Wirths
FOOD DRIVE SUPPORTS THE COMMUNITY FOODBANK OF NEW JERSEY
NJMEP joined forces with the Commerce and Industry Association of New Jersey (CIANJ) and Employment Horizons to launch the second annual food drive. At the event, bins were set up for attendees to donate non-perishable food items, which were donated to the Community FoodBank of New Jersey as part of a special Manufacturing Cares project.
Donations are also accepted online at a virtual food drive set up by the Community Foodbank at http://support.cfbnj.org/goto/cianj-njmep16.
Thank you to everyone who participated in NJMEP’s annual Made in New Jersey event in celebration of National Manufacturing 2016!
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