Advanced Manufacturing Grows When Smaller Manufacturers Grow
Randy Wolken, President & CEO

Small and medium manufacturers are central to American manufacturing, not a side note. The U.S. Small Business Administration reports that small businesses have consistently accounted for more than 98 percent of manufacturing firms. Their size varies, as do their products and markets. What unites them is their role in turning investment into practical production capacity.

When people picture advanced manufacturing, they often picture a large semiconductor plant, a major defense contractor, or a new industrial campus. Those investments matter enormously. Yet their success depends on hundreds of smaller manufacturers: the companies that make precision components, solve production problems, build specialized equipment, and respond when a customer needs something done differently.

A growing advanced manufacturing economy needs more than large manufacturing companies; it needs capable suppliers close enough to collaborate, skilled workers who can move into new opportunities, and firms willing to improve their processes as requirements change. Smaller manufacturers may provide a critical part, a tooling solution, or a specialized service that determines whether a larger project stays on schedule. When that company gains the capacity to meet a new quality standard or expand production, the whole supply chain becomes stronger.

Smaller firms also create paths for innovation. Their teams often work directly with customers and encounter problems early. A machinist notices a recurring defect. An engineer finds a faster way to test a part. A supervisor sees an opportunity to use data to reduce waste. Advanced manufacturing grows through these improvements as much as through other investments. The question is whether smaller companies have the people, time, capital, and trusted partners to act on what they learn.

That question is urgent in Central New York and across the state. Major investments create opportunities for existing manufacturers, but a purchase order doesn’t automatically create the capability to fulfill it. Companies may need to develop new skills, document processes, strengthen cybersecurity, invest in equipment, or understand the requirements of an unfamiliar industry. For a firm with a lean management team, even identifying the right first step can be difficult. Our region’s growth will be deeper and more durable if those companies thrive.

MACNY’s continued focus is to help them do exactly that. Workforce development is one clear example. Through its Manufacturers Talent Institute, MACNY is expanding registered apprenticeship, pre-apprenticeship, and industry-driven training. Its apprenticeship intermediary model helps small and medium companies build programs without each employer carrying the full administrative burden alone. MACNY also offers training, leadership development, coaching, and opportunities to connect with peers. Those supports matter because equipment alone can’t produce excellence; people and organizations must learn to use it well.

We must listen closely to what smaller manufacturers need next. Some are ready to enter a new supply chain but need help understanding customer requirements. Others need stronger supervisory leadership, a reliable talent pipeline, or connections to technical expertise and financing. MACNY can bring manufacturers, educators, workforce partners, and other capacity builders together around those needs. The aim is practical: help a company identify its opportunity, develop the capability to pursue it, and find the right partners to make progress.

Policy matters here, too. Smaller firms have less room to absorb unpredictable energy costs, slow permitting, or changes that make investment harder. MACNY will continue to represent their experience in conversations about workforce, infrastructure, tax competitiveness, and the conditions for growth. An advanced manufacturing strategy that overlooks smaller employers misses the firms that give a region much of its flexibility and depth.

This is a moment of significant opportunity for New York manufacturing. We should measure its success not only by the scale of new facilities, but also by the number of existing companies that grow alongside them. MACNY’s commitment is to keep smaller manufacturers at the center of that work: listening to them, helping them develop talent and capability, connecting them to opportunity, and advocating for conditions in which they can thrive. When they grow stronger, advanced manufacturing grows stronger with them.