Economy

Pennsylvania Gets It Done

The Focus Central PA seven county region is a rural part of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania that is made up of a diverse industry base including agriculture, manufacturing, health care and education. The Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) in the region are State College and Bloomsburg-Berwick. The region is made up of river valleys along the Susquehanna and Juniata River, mountains, part of the Appalachian Mountain range, college towns, small historical towns, and agricultural country farmland.

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Industry in Central PA

Central Pennsylvania has a dynamic and diverse industry base with over 19,488 business establishments, primarily small and medium sized businesses. 98% of businesses in Central PA have less than 100 employees. Leading industries in the Central Pennsylvania Region are Health Care and Social Services, Retail, Manufacturing, and Education. Key manufacturing industry clusters include metal fabrication, food processing/agribusiness, lumber and building products, and plastics.

Top regional employers include Penn State University, State College PA; Geisinger, Danville PA; Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Regional; Weis Markets, Regional; Federal Government, Regional; Wal-Mart, Regional; Mount Nittany Medical Center, State College PA; and Federal Government, Regional and State.

Closings

The Pennsylvania Department of Labor manages the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act which is federal legislation that offers protection to workers, their families and communities by requiring employers to provide notice 60 days in advance of a covered-business closing and covered-business mass layoff. Pennsylvania initiates rapid response assistance as soon as information is received that a mass dislocation or plant closure is scheduled to take place. The Pennsylvania Strategic Early Warning Network (SEWN) offers five core services at no cost as part of layoff aversion consulting to help business get back on track which include financial restructuring; operational restructuring; diversification; market positioning and human capital strategies.

WARN Notices in Pennsylvania are list by year and include company name, address and locations impacted, number of individuals affected, effective date and if it was a closure or layoff.

  • In June 2025, IG Design Group America's Inc announced closure of their Berwick facilities impacting 380 jobs.
  • In September 2024, Cabinetworks LLC announced closure of the Mifflinburg facility impacting 200 jobs.
  • In February of 2024 BrightFarms announced the closure of their 280,000SF indoor greenhouse in Selinsgrove, PA that will impact 76 jobs.
  • In December of 2022 Merck announced the 2024 closure of their Merck Cherokee Plant that manufacturers chemicals/pharmaceuticals in Riverside, PA to impact 300 jobs.
  • In Central Pennsylvania between 2018 and 2020 there were over 2,000 manufacturing jobs impacted by closings and layoffs.

Industry 5.0

Central Pennsylvania is a strategic location in the movement toward automation, AI and smart manufacturing. The term Industry 5.0 refers to people working with robots and smart machines. It is about robots helping humans work faster by leveraging advanced technologies such as big data analytics. Moving to automation is challenging and requires a significant investment in capital and training. Central PA is home to manufacturers providing Industry 5.0 equipment and tools, is home to incredible resource programs to advance automation and is home to several the leading engineering and research institutions providing talent, research, innovation and more including Penn State University's Center for Applications of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning to Industry (AIMI), that helps small and medium manufacturers get the resources they need to leverage the power of artificial intelligence and machine learning.

“There is a passion and goal to reach out, in the state of Pennsylvania in particular, to fulfill our land grant mission with the small and medium manufacturing organizations. AIMI strives to help them get to the place where they can do advanced manufacturing and become leaders in the world.”

Agribusiness

Pennsylvania leads the nation in food processing companies and the dairy industry ranks second in the nation in butter production and top ten in cheese and milk production. Central Pennsylvania has a proud history and promising future in agriculture, food processing and agribusiness due to access to natural resources, raw materials, talent, rail infrastructure and strategic proximity to the majority of the nation's population and seaports. Key food processing employers in the region including JM Smucker Company, Del Monte Foods, Performance Foodservice, Chef Boyardee, National Beef, Bimbo Bakeries, Stroehmann Bakeries, Hanover Foods Corp., Furmano Foods Inc., River Run Foods, Middelswarth, UTZ Quality Foods, Wise Foods, Weis Markets, Diamond Drinks, Pepsi, Coca Cola, Asher's Chocolates Kellogg's, and Frito-Lay, have found a dependable workforce and supportive communities.

Made in Central PA

Access to raw materials, a strong history and existing industry base in manufacturing of building products, proximity to major markets, low energy costs and world-class training and research institutions make Central Pennsylvania a uniquely competitive location to support manufacturing in the building products industry.

The diversity of products MADE IN CENTRAL PA that contribute to both the commercial and industrial building materials is significant! From cabinets to modular homes to doors to stone to drywall to bricks and much more!

In October of 2024 Country View Family Farms were joined by Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) Secretary Rick Siger and Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding to cut the ribbon on their new $47.3 million White Deer Feed Mill expansion project in Union County. The expansion project created 51 new, full time careers, and retained 231 existing Pennsylvania jobs statewide. The new feed mill is on a 100-plus acre rail-served site at 2142 Old Route 15 in New Columbia, PA.

Central Pennsylvania is proudly home to Pennsylvania State University main campus, that began it's journey in 1855 as the Farmers' High School and became the country's first land-grant institution that has grown into a world leader in hands-on pioneering research, cutting-edge technology and education building industry leaders. The College of Agricultural Sciences invests nearly $97 million in research and graduate study yearly and houses the Penn State Extension, that has a presence in every county in Pennsylvania providing access to expertise, resources and training.

The Pennsylvania Farm Bill is a bold, aggressive, and necessary investment in Pennsylvania agriculture to grow opportunities and resources, remove barriers to entry, and inspire future generations of leaders within agriculture. The PA Farm Bill provides support for the commonwealth's leading industry in six funnels: Resources for Agricultural Business Development and Succession Planning; Building a Strong Agricultural Workforce; Removed Regulatory Burdens, Strengthen Ag Business Climate in PA; Increased Processing Capabilities; New Market Opportunities, Investments in Organic; and Protection for Pennsylvania Agriculture.

PA Preferred® is a resource for finding locally grown and processed agricultural products from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The program is housed in the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture's Bureau of Market Development. The program launched to identify and promote food and agricultural products grown, produced and processed in Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania proudly hosts the PA Farm Show, the largest indoor agricultural exposition under one roof in the nation each year in Harrisburg, PA. The event showcases the quality and breadth of Pennsylvania's agriculture industry and the people who make it thrive. The show offers visitors a tiny slice of the industry that employs nearly half a million people and contributes $132.5 billion to Pennsylvania's economy every year.

Penn State's Ag Progress Days, held annually during three days in August, is Pennsylvania's largest outdoor agricultural exposition. With over 400 exhibitors from the United States and Canada, there is something for everyone to enjoy at no cost as parking and admission are free. The show is hosted by Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences and showcases educational programs, current research, and the latest innovations in agricultural equipment and technology.

The Keystone Wood Products Association (KWPA) strives to strengthen and expand the base of lumber and wood products manufacturers in the Central Pennsylvania region in order to maintain and enhance the industry's competitive position in today's global economy.

Pennsylvania lives up to its name with a hardwoods and forestry industry that's known for its quality and sustainability. With 16.62 million acres of forestland, Pennsylvania has the most abundant hardwood forest in the United States. The forestry, logging, and lumber, paper, and secondary wood products industries employ nearly 66,000 workers across the state. Central Pennsylvania is rich with hard and soft woods including oak, cherry, maple, basswood, ash, poplar, hickory, walnut, birch and pine. Among our prominent lumber product manufacturers are First Quality, Bingaman Lumber, Conestoga Wood Specialties and Heister House Millworks.

The Pennsylvania Timber Show is held annual near State College, PA. Pennsylvania is home to more than 2,700 forest products companies and more than 500,000 forest landowners. Exhibitors show off their forest product related machinery and equipment, technology advancements, financial options, and business assistance programs.

2093 Old Rte 15, New Columbia, PA 17856 - Union County

GAF is the largest roofing manufacturer in North America. GAF purchased an existing rail served building in New Columbia, PA in 2017 and invested millions in facility and rail improvements to the building creating over 50 quality careers. GAF chose to build a second plant adjacent to that facility in New Columbia, PA because of a talented workforce, excellent rail service and proximity to the highway and their customer base. GAF completed construction in 2022 of a multi-million-dollar state-of-the-art 255,000 square foot rail served PolyISO manufacturing facility and created an additional 40 careers. https://www.gaf.com/en-us/about-us

1. Best At Making and Moving PRODUCT

Central PA is in a prime northeast location to access major US and Canadian markets with an uncongested logistics network of highways, railways, and airports to move product efficiently. Available are existing industrial buildings and ready to build land sites with strong infrastructure, competitively priced with attractive financial and tax incentives. Long term, low cost, reliable energy resources abound. Billions of dollars in infrastructure investments are taking place to provide smart capacity in all areas of infrastructure.

Central Pennsylvania has a locally managed short line railroad company can supply value added services to the plastics industry such as loaded car storage (SIT or “Storage in transit”) and customized switching services to all local receivers of resins. Rail partners can can provide valuable assistance in the design and siting plastics plants along rail lines.

Pennsylvania's Marcellus & Utica Shale play provides plastics manufacturers with assurance that they will enjoy unique cost advantages for decades. Pennsylvania is the second largest U.S. producer of natural gas.

2. World Class Innovation and Technology Resources

Central PA is proudly home to over 8 colleges and universities that have over 75,000 students enrolled and several premier technical institutions including the Pennsylvania College of Technology Plastics Innovation & Resource Center providing an incredible talent pool, globally recognized training, research and development. A vast network exists in Central PA of educational institutions, research and technology organizations providing dedicated resources to advance industry.

“Our proximity to [Pennsylvania College of Technology](https://www.pct.edu/business/plastics-innovation-resource-center) is a strategic advantage for [i]SEKISUI SPI. The Plastics Innovation and Resource Center is important for our workforce development plans, product innovation process, and as a reliable resource for our future leadership.” Ronn Cort, President & COO of SEKISUI SPI (KYDEX and ALLEN brands)[/i]

“Penn State has created one of the most industry-friendly intellectual property (IP) policies in the country by removing as many impediments as possible to enable a free exchange of ideas.”

3. People

Central PA is widely recognized by employers as a prime location for a dedicated, hardworking talent that has ingenuity and pride. There are over 25,000 businesses employing over 290,000 people with strong community support for manufacturing and growth of economic opportunities.

4. In Good Company - Central Pennsylvania Success Stories

Central PA is proudly home to small and large companies in the plastics industry that are quality employers, community neighbors and growing. Incredible companies like SEKISUI SPI…

“SEKISUI Polymer Innovations is committed to continued investments in central Pennsylvania because of access to an incredible natural resource - the talented, creative, and engaged people of central Pennsylvania. Our business model depends on advanced manufacturing skills. The combination of state support and local commitment to workforce development makes this the ideal location to manufacture next generation materials for growing global markets like aviation, mass transit, medical devices, robotics, and autonomous vehicles.” —Ronn Cort, President and COO, Sekisui SPI

“Ultra Poly with locations in Bloomsburg and Berwick, Central Pennsylvania are one of the largest and most efficient plastic recyclers in North America with annual production capacity of over 170 million pounds.”

5. Quality of Life & Investment in the Future

Central PA provides the families that call this region home high quality education options, affordable living options and an outstanding quality of life. Central PA is experiences billions of dollars in public and private investment for smart growth; investment in infrastructure like highways, bridges, railway, water, sewer, electric, natural gas, pipelines; community resources like K-12 schools, hospitals, recreational opportunities and much more!

Central Pennsylvania is proudly home to a diverse plastics industry.

Learn more about the Pennsylvania Plastics Industry (YouTube)

One of only 6 ABET accredited plastics degree programs in an existing shale play! Pennsylvania College of Technology provides a pipeline of well prepared new graduates from their plastics programs which means they take less time and money to onboard and quickly contribute to the bottom line. The Plastics Innovation & Resource Center (PIRC) offers customized training across all areas of operations so that employers get a highly trained workforce, improved efficiencies, better quality, and a reduction of scrap and employee turnover. PIRC augments a company's R&D capabilities for material, products and process improvement projects thereby reducing costs by not disrupting ongoing production.