Southern California Awarded National Manufacturing Community Designation by U.S. Commerce Secretary Pritzker

Southern California Awarded National Manufacturing Community Designation by U.S. Commerce Secretary Pritzker

Sacramento, Calif. – Building on California’s national leadership in manufacturing, the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) today announced that Southern California has been designated a national ‘Manufacturing Community’ by Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker as part of the federal Investing in Manufacturing Communities Partnership (IMCP) initiative.

“Southern California’s designation as a national manufacturing community further underscores California’s place as the U.S. leader in manufacturing companies, jobs and output,” said GO-Biz Director Kish Rajan. “This designation demonstrates that Governor Brown’s efforts to strengthen the California manufacturing industry are gaining national attention and we look forward to working with Mayor Garcetti to continue to deliver resources to Southern California’s manufacturing companies.”

The effort to designate Southern California as a national manufacturing community was led by the University of Southern California Center for Economic Development along with GO-Biz, Los Angeles Mayor Garcetti, the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC) and more.

“My top priority is to leave the recession in the rearview mirror by making sure Los Angeles is ready for the jobs and industries of tomorrow,” said Mayor Garcetti. “We’ve been aggressive—today’s announcement is the result of us being loud and clear in Washington that we’re serious about investing in jobs here in California.”

From the 70 communities that applied, 12 including Southern California were selected by an interagency panel, based on the strength of their economic development plans, the potential for impact in their communities, and the depths of their partnerships across the public and private sector to carry out their plans.

“Southern California’s designation as an member of the Manufacturing Community Partnership is a result of USC successfully implementing the GO-Biz mantra that you must collaborate to compete,” said GO-Biz deputy director Louis Stewart. “We look forward to working with the Southern California team to help attract new the resources, strengthen the partnership and bolster the workforce here in California.”

As part of the program, Southern California will receive coordinated support for their strategies from eleven federal agencies with $1.3 billion available in federal economic development assistance. They will also receive a dedicated federal liaison at each of the eleven agencies that will help them navigate available federal resources. They will also be recognized on a government website, accessible to prospective private foreign and domestic investors, looking for information on communities’ competitive attributes. The complete text of text of Secretary Pritzker’s announcement can be found here.

“We commend Gov. Brown and Mayor Garcetti for focusing their efforts on the state’s manufacturing growth and we congratulate the hard working middle class families in Southern California who will reap the benefits of skills training and high wage jobs stimulus,” said Jack Stewart, president of the California Manufacturers & Technology Association. “This is why it is so important to have leaders that are true champions of manufacturing.”

Today’s announcement builds on the state’s ongoing efforts to strengthen the manufacturing sector. Last year, Governor Brown signed legislation to enact the Governor’s Economic Development Initiative (AB 93 and SB 90) which includes a sales and use tax exemption for the purchase of manufacturing, biotech and R&D equipment. Governor Brown also established the California Competes tax credit at GO-Biz which will provide $180 million in incentives over the next 12 months to companies that want to expand or relocate to California. According to the National Manufacturing Association, California is the national leader in manufacturing with over $213 billion in annual output. Manufactures in California account for 10.6 percent of the state’s output and employ 8.3 percent of the workforce. And for the first time in over a decade, California enjoyed three consecutive years of manufacturing job growth, adding jobs in 2011, 2012 and 2013.