National Manufacturing Week takes place October 4th to October 11th. This week of recognition and celebration was first started in 2011 by The Manufacturing Institute, a part of the National Association of Manufacturers, as a way to celebrate America’s manufacturing sector and all its contributions to the economy.  The Decorah Area is stronger because of manufacturing businesses and their local and America-based production. The manufacturing sector here sustains 2,000 jobs and the investments it makes into our business ecosystem and local community projects is a powerful force for economic health and a higher quality of life. National Manufacturing Week is a great opportunity to recognize these employers and their workforce.

The Decorah Area has a diverse and skilled labor force with manufacturing and construction holding nearly a quarter of the jobs. In the manufacturing sector alone there are more than 20 businesses and those businesses include some of the area’s largest employers: Stanley Engineered Fastening, Collins Aerospace, Deco Products, Gemini, Inc. and Iowa Rotocast Plastics. The 2024 Labor Force Profile provided by Iowa Workforce Development for the Decorah area has the manufacturing category at 11.3% of the total labor force, behind healthcare & social services (14.9%) and wholesale retail trade (13.8%) but above construction (10.7%) and agriculture (9.9%).

The Chamber will be coordinating professional photo shoots as part of a larger promotional effort to enhance workforce recruitment materials and increase place-based imagery.  National Manufacturing Week is seven days long, but the gratitude for Decorah’s manufacturing sector extends throughout the year.