Let's Make Something Together
Manufacturing is not dead in America. In fact, a Deloitte Study projects that over 2 Million manufacturing jobs will go unfilled between 2015 and 2025. (There is a training gap that exacerbates this problem, but that’s a topic for another time)
While that might seem like a daunting problem, we at Perfect Loop view it as an opportunity. As I’ve written about elsewhere, helping people get a great manufacturing job is deeply gratifying work. However, Perfect Loop’s participation in the manufacturing space extends beyond our own individual job satisfaction. We believe that the future potential of US manufacturing will make our society more equitable and prosperous, which is part of our broad mission.
Perfect Loop is Seattle, WA based - The commercial aviation home (well, The Greater Seattle area) to one of the largest exporters in America, Boeing. There are about 80,000 people who work for Boeing here. The majority work on making and selling the jets that connect the world. For comparison Amazon and Microsoft employ about 67,000 people collectively in and around town. Greater Seattle is a tech hub for sure, but it’s still a place where physical objects are made. Boeing and its manufacturing jobs are absolutely part of why our region is thriving. It’s not just tech.
Boeing makes some of the most complex machines in the world here in Greater Seattle:
Perfect Loop’s second home is Salt Lake City, UT. It’s actually our primary base for filling manufacturing roles. Why? It’s a manufacturing boomtown. We work with both multinational companies and privately held facilities there to fill open manufacturing roles. And what’s exciting is that more companies are investing in the Salt Lake Region. For example, Stadler, a Swiss-based railcar manufacturer just announced that is investing more than 50 million dollars in and creating up to 1000 jobs at its Salt Lake City Facility.
Stadler is part of a trend of companies investing in manufacturing in greater Salt Lake City. And just like our home base of Seattle, Salt Lake is also getting to be known for its tech scene. Ever hear the term “Silicon Slopes?” It’s catching on. Both tech and manufacturing represent huge opportunities but for some reason manufacturing isn’t getting as much of the glory it deserves.
The long tail effects of great manufacturing are sometimes difficult to imagine, but they can be transformational. Just take the two companies I mentioned in this post: Boeing and Stadler. What does a US plane maker and a Swiss train maker have to do with each other? Well, one of the reasons Stadler chose Salt Lake according to its CEO was the broad reach of Salt Lake City International Airport.
The day I drafted this blog post, a Delta Air Lines Boeing 767, built 19 years ago in Everett, WA just north of Seattle, flew from Salt Lake City to Paris Charles De Gaulle Airport providing an easy connection onward to Zurich, Switzerland near where Stadler Rail is based. So, a plane built almost 20 years ago is likely part of why a Swiss-based rail company chose to invest in Salt Lake City today.
It’s hard to predict exactly who and what the Stadler trains built over the next decade in Utah will connect. But I would bet a lot of money no one at Boeing said this decades ago: “We should build 767s because it might help the Utah manufacturing industry in twenty years.” That is why manufacturing can be almost magical.
The products built today can impact the country and the world in wonderful ways beyond their inceptive conception. In the immediate term, manufacturing can provide fulfilling jobs. We’re thrilled to help people find them in greater Salt Lake City.
Come build something with us.
This blog originally appeared on Perfect Loop’s Hiring Insights blog.