Sam Lubell looks at the growth of Southern California as an architectural manufacturing center, reflecting larger trends in manufacturing that require higher-skilled labor to produce more sophisticated products.
It might surprise you to read that, "the U.S. is still the largest manufacturing economy in the world, making up 21 percent of all globally manufactured products," or that California is the top manufacturing state in the country with more than 10% of all manufacturing jobs in the country located there.
However, the state's long history of industrial design and manufacturing leadership, along with its, "higher-skilled labor, lower shipping costs, and quicker turnarounds," are beginning to lead an acceleration of investment in U.S. manufacturing, writes Lubell. And a lot of this manufacturing growth is centered around the customized products demanded by architecture and construction clients.
In this article, Lubell speaks with manufacturers who make Southern California home about the specialized products they make and equipment they employ, and the reasons why they haven't located their operations in China or India.
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