Celebrating Delaware's Makers

BY TYLER MICIK

2024 WAS AN EXCITING TIME for the Delaware Manufacturing Association (DMA), an affiliate of the Delaware State Chamber and National Association of Manufacturers (NAM). The DMA strives to enhance the competitiveness of Delaware manufacturers; serves as manufacturers’ advocate at the state and local government level; advises the State Chamber on topics that specifically impact manufacturers such as government regulation, trade, and tax policy; and sponsors events focused on manufacturers’ needs.

The DMA’s signature event is the Spring Manufacturing and Policy Conference. The half-day conference was held at Delaware Technical Community College’s Terry Campus in Dover and featured keynote remarks from Governor John Carney and Ryotaro Tashiro, outreach economist and advisor at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.

The event highlighted how demographic changes overseas, the rise of artificial intelligence, and supply chain disruptions, among other factors, have led to a reevaluation of production strategies, including the need to invest in local solutions. Given Delaware’s central location and established infrastructure, it’s perfectly positioned to become a leader in manufacturing both locally and around the world with the right investments.

A highlight of this year’s conference was the announcement of the inaugural Coolest Thing Made in Delaware. Structured in a bracket format, the competition was narrowed down through public online voting and featured over 50 products from 40 companies across the state. After nearly 20,000 casted votes, Hologic Inc.’s 3Dimensions™ Mammography System was announced as the winner and received a custom-made metal trophy.

The DMA looks forward to holding the Coolest Thing Made in Delaware contest again this year. The contest helps bring to light all the cool products, like chemicals, chicken wings, aircraft parts, space suits, and so much more, that are made right here in the First State and used globally. More importantly, it shows the significant impact the manufacturing industry has on the state. According to the latest data from the NAM, Delaware’s manufacturing sector employs around 26,000 people across over 600 manufacturers; and on average, manufacturing employees earn $91,886 annually. Additionally, $4.9 billion worth of goods were exported from Delaware in 2023.

At a Manufacturing Day event hosted at M. Davis & Sons in October, U.S. Senator Chris Coons shared: “Manufacturing jobs are good jobs. They are higher-quality jobs; they pay better, they have a better secondary impact on our community, and we cannot be a strong nation and a globally competitive nation if manufacturing isn’t stronger.”

We couldn’t agree more with this sentiment and it’s our hope that policymakers will put forward proposals to strengthen the industry and support the hard-working Americans who make all the cool things we use each and every day.