Section 2. INTRODUCTION

Manufacturing is a critical part of Utah’s economy. It represents the single largest private sector component of Utah’s GDP, is responsible for 8.9% of the state’s workforce and tends to pay wages above the state average. It is also considered a “prime” industry, an industry around which other segments of the economy (medical, retail, financial, technical, etc.) grow. Utah has a high concentration of manufacturing specializations in composites and advanced manufacturing, nonmetallic mineral products, computer and electronic products, and furniture and related products.

The UTAH-MEP is a partnership between Impact Utah, Utah State University’s Utah Manufacturing Extension Service (UMES) and the Manufacturing/Outdoor Products Support Hub, the University of Utah Manufacturing Extensions Partnership (UUMEP), the World Trade Center Utah (WTC Utah), the Utah Manufacturers Association (UMA), and the Utah Advanced Materials & Manufacturing Initiative (UAMMI).

The UTAH-MEP provides assistance to small- and mid-sized clients throughout the state with services to improve produc- tivity, expand capacity, enhance growth, and increase profitability. It assesses the individual needs of a manufacturer, identifies the roadblocks to success, determines opportunities for improvement and growth, and helps the company leverage private/public resources and access a consistent set of services to maximize its potential and grow its business.

The following report examines the positive economic impacts that UTAH-MEP has had on the state’s economy during 2022. This is done using impact analysis; Section 5 provides details about economic impact analysis and how IMPLAN was used to perform the analysis. Section 6 includes the results of modeling the specific impacts of UTAH-MEP’s activities in 2022, including the traditional work with manufacturers.

Section 4 provides specific information about the data and survey methodology. Conclusions, cautions, and limitations can be found in Section 7. Find results broken out by counties for 2022 in Appendix A.