Members of the Northern Arizona Manufacturing met at W. L.& Gore Associates Flagstaff campus for their summer quarterly meeting. A presentation by Gore struck on the importance of the organization to the social and economic fabric of Northern Arizona and the state at large. W. L. Gore has a long history of innovation and a company culture that emphasizes inclusion, collaboration and sustainability.
Gore’s medical campus has been operating in Flagstaff for 56 years and employs 2300 area residents. Recently W. L. Gore & Associates received the Kimberly-Clark Professional Greenovation award for their nitrile glove recycling program. Gore puts great value in the talent within its organization and when employees presented the idea it was implemented and has at present kept 22 tons of material from ending up in landfills.
NAMP meetings give members an opportunity to meet and share recent developments within their companies. Updates include Mother Road Brewing Co.’s recent opening of a new brewing facility and expansion into the southern Nevada Market. Local food goods manufacturers Rising HY/Tortilla Lady and Joycone both expressed continued growth in their respective productions. Local hard goods manufacturer Canyon Coolers gave updates to their product line and shared the news of potential distribution into the Japanese market. Though faced with a difficult winter as a result of the heavy snowpack, Restoration Forest Products has ramped up production at their new 425,000 square foot Bellemont plant.
Key takeaways from the meeting are that the diverse landscape of NAZ’s manufacturing sector is continuing to grow. With products as diverse as cutting edge medical technologies to craft beers to innovative wood products that help keep our forest home healthy, our manufacturers bring economic stability and high-paying job opportunities to the region.