man using concept laser m2 series 5 technology in a labratory

Photo Source: GE Additive

Pittsburgh Manufacturing & Distribution

The Pittsburgh region is for the makers, the creators, the innovators. Our manufacturing story is one of invention and reinvention. Pittsburgh manufacturing has roots in a culture of creating materials that built the world. While today’s manufacturing companies continue to contribute in the same way, our expertise in advanced materials, engineering, smart factories and R&D has made Pittsburgh a future-focused laboratory for industries like additive manufacturing, next-generation metals, advanced materials, coatings and chemicals.  

What big companies are in Pittsburgh?

Several top manufacturing companies are based in the Pittsburgh area, such as Alcoa, The Kraft Heinz Company, U.S. Steel, Wabtec and many more. Manufacturing firms choose the Pittsburgh region due to its proximity to supply chain operators and distributors. Whether you’re a tenured powerhouse company or a new business, Pittsburgh offers high-quality infrastructure as well as access to a deep talent pool.

CONTACT US

Mike Henderson

Senior Director, Business Investment

Phone: 412-392-4555 x4536 | m: 412-527-7372

“Elliott’s decision to expand our business in Jeannette is based upon our long history in the community, and the synergies between our existing manufacturing capabilities and the new test facility that we intend to build.”

carol gatewood, chief compliance officer at elliot group
– Carol Gatewood
Chief Compliance Officer, Elliott Group

The ecosystem

A Region for the Makers

Two employees in additive manufacturing at work

2,800

Firms

Market Access

Ample transportation infrastructure for distributing goods.

Talent

We’re a region filled with top manufacturing industry talent.

Man using 3D printing machine

79

Regional academic institutions  

~5,000  

Grads in manufacturing-related fields annually

~3,800

first-line supervisors of production & operating workers; average wage $60,500*

94,000+ 

Talent employed in ecosystem 

~2,800 

Electrical, electronic and electromechanical assemblers; average wage $35,925* 

~2,500 

Computer-controlled tool operators; average wage $42,810* 

~3,000

machinists; average wage $44,241*

*Employee numbers and average wages in manufacturing-related positions based on 2019 data.

PITTSBURGH Manufacturing Momentum


Deals In the Past 10 Years

(2009-2019):

642

Expansions (Past 10 Years)

$8.3 Billion

Capital Investment (Past 10 Years)

43,761

Jobs (Past 10 Years)

Innovation:

1,510

Patents (Past 10 Years)

166

VC Deals (Past 5 Years)

$239 Million

Invested in VC Deals (Past 5 Years)

25.7%

Increase in VC Deals (2018 – 2019)

Results:

$65,073

Manufacturing Annual Wages in the Pittsburgh Region

Key Investments

Apr 2016 Schoolhouse Electric

×
50 New Jobs
$7,000,000 Capital Investment

Schoolhouse Electric and Supply Co. of Portland, Ore., plans a $7 million renovation that would bring 50 jobs to Pittsburgh over three years. Founded in 2003, Schoolhouse manufactures light fixtures and home accessories.

Apr 2016 Schoolhouse Electric

Jun 2016 Royal Dutch Shell

×
600 New Jobs
$6,000,000,000 Capital Investment

Final investment decision made to proceed with developing ethane cracker in Potter Township.

Jun 2016 Royal Dutch Shell

Jan 2017 Dura-Bond Industries

×
100 New Jobs

Dura-Bond Industries purchased equipment from U.S. Steel’s idled McKeesport plant and is leasing the 317,000-square foot plant from the Regional Industrial Development Corp. and hopes to begin producing tubular products primarily for the energy industry within six to nine months.

Jan 2017 Dura-Bond Industries

Feb 2017 Boeing

×
60 New Jobs
$2,700,000 Capital Investment

Located in Fayette Business Park. Boeing acquired Argon ST in 2010. Adding on an additional 60,000 square feet. It’s a leading provider of command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, reconnaissance and combat systems for the U.S. military and our allies.

Feb 2017 Boeing

Nov 2017 Intervala

×
70 New Jobs

Formerly known as LaBarge — now occupies three floors totaling 135,000 square-feet of space in one of the Keystone Commons’ seven buildings.

Nov 2017 Intervala

Nov 2017 Perryman Co.

×
50 New Jobs
$50,000,000 Capital Investment

Perryman will invest $50 million in two new furnaces at its California, Pa., plant, citing strong demand from the aerospace industry. The furnaces will be installed late 2018 and will create about 50 new jobs once they are fully operational in mid-2019. The furnaces will also produce titanium for customers in the medical industry and manufacturers that use the high-strength, lightweight metal to 3-D print parts and components.

Nov 2017 Perryman Co.

Mar 2018 Elliott Group

×
150 New Jobs

Westmoreland County Industrial Development Corp. approved a purchase and sale agreement with the Elliott Group for $600,000 for the 13.8-acre Jeanette Glass property. The company proposes to build a cryogenic pump test stand on the former glass plant property. The company employs about 875 people at its U.S. headquarters along Route 130 in Jeannette.

Mar 2018 Elliott Group

Apr 2018 EQS (Ellwood Quality Steels)

×
25 New Jobs
$60,000,000 Capital Investment

A $60 million expansion project by EQS — a supplier of engineered, heavy metal components to customers all over the world — broke ground on a 110,000-square-foot-facility that initially to add 25 jobs to the 700 that already exist in the company’s New Castle, Ellwood City and Wilmington Township locations.

Apr 2018 EQS (Ellwood Quality Steels)

Oct 2018 Niagara Bottling

×
50 New Jobs
$64,000,000 Capital Investment

Niagara Bottling, a maker of private label bottled water, said it will open a 456,000-square-foot manufacturing facility at the Findlay Industrial Park for regional distribution. The $64 million project is expected to create more than 50 jobs.

Oct 2018 Niagara Bottling

Dec 2018 General Carbide

×
100 New Jobs
$14,000,000 Capital Investment

General Carbide added 100 new jobs in a major expansion over 18 monthsThe $14 million expansion will add 60,000 square feet to the company’s main plant in Hempfield’s Carbon neighborhood. The majority of jobs created in the expansion will be for machinists, but there will be positions in the lab and engineering departments as well as some for general laborers.

Dec 2018 General Carbide

Feb 2019 Shell Polymers Innovation Center

×
60 New Jobs
$70,000,000 Capital Investment

The Shell Polymers Innovation Center, will also include a Center of Expertise for polyethylene as well as labs and an application hall. The facility will be about 85,000 square feet. Once operational, the facility will employ 60 people broken up into three specific teams: laboratory and analytical staff, a technical services team and a technology team.

Feb 2019 Shell Polymers Innovation Center

Oct 2019 Wabtec

×
80 New Jobs

Opened new headquarters on the Northside about 170 employees of the rail products firm settled into their new digs. The plan is to have about 250 people there over the next few years.

Oct 2019 Wabtec

Nov 2019 Forms + Surfaces, Inc.

×
115 New Jobs
$15,650,000 Capital Investment

Forms + Surfaces, Inc., a manufacturer of architectural products, will expand its operations in Allegheny County, supporting the combined creation and retention of 346 full-time jobs. The company has pledged to invest $15.65 million into the project, and has committed to create at least 115 new, full-time jobs and retain 231 existing jobs over the next three years.

Nov 2019 Forms + Surfaces, Inc.

Nov 2019 GE Renewables

×
100 New Jobs

GE Renewable Energy plans to expand its Speers workforce by 50% over the next year. A division of Paris-based General Electric, GE Renewable plans to add 100 or more employees at the Mon Valley plant, an electrical equipment manufacturer, by the end of 2020. About 200 are currently employed at the site. The expansion is the result of a consolidation of switchgear operations by the company.

Nov 2019 GE Renewables

Jan 2020 Hemp Synergistics

×
30 New Jobs
$1,500,000 Capital Investment

Officially launched in October 2019, closed a $1.5 million seed round and plans to build out a Zelienople headquarters with the funding. The company will lease 18,700 square feet at Jackson’s Pointe Commerce Park to establish both office and manufacturing space that will open in February. The space has another 20,000 square feet available for expansion.

Jan 2020 Hemp Synergistics

Feb 2020 Ameri-Precision Metals

×
100 New Jobs

Ameri-Precision Metals Inc. announced Tuesday that it has begun work on a 250,000-square-foot facility on Curry Avenue, where the two-year-old company will produce cold-rolled and heat-treated high carbon steel strips.

Feb 2020 Ameri-Precision Metals

EcoSystem Support

ric evans supervising an operating machine, m-flex, swanson school of engineering
Photo Credit: Swanson School of Engineering, Ric Evans
Tier 1 University of Pittsburgh’s Swanson School of Engineering

Since 2014, has attracted $6 million in grants from America Makes, the National Energy Technology Laboratory, the National Science Foundation, and Research for Advanced Manufacturing in Pennsylvania.  

man holding a mechanical gear, swanson school of engineering, john altdorfer
Photo Credit: Swanson School of Engineering, John Altdorfer
The Ansys Additive Manufacturing REsearch Lab at the Swanson school of Engineering

Pushing the frontiers to develop advanced tools for customers in this era of additive manufacturing, with a focus on metal, polymer, and composite materials.  

exterior view of the ANSYS additive manufacturing research lab at the swanson school of engineering
Photo Credit: ARM
The Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing (ARM) Institute

A public/private entity with a focus on the research and development of automation methods that will improve the efficiency of the manufacturing process. The Institute is overseen by Carnegie Mellon University.  

manufacturing company Success Stories

manufacturing employee testing cryogenic pumps and extenders
Photo Credit: Elliott Group
Elliott Group

$60M new facility. New testing complex for cryogenic pumps and extenders on the site of an old glass factory.

manufacturing facility employee coating galvanized large steel products with paint sprayer"
Representative image
Valmont Coatings

$9.5M Facility. Purchase of a 120,000-square-foot building in Beaver County for galvanizing large steel products

exterior view of shell polymers innovation center, analytical and testing labs"
Photo Credit: Shell
Shell Polymers Innovation Center

85,000-square-foot facility including analytical and testing labs and an applications hall for research into polymers.

Contact Us

Mike Henderson
Senior Director, Business Investment