What are powdered metal companies, and what do they do? Well, when you see a Ford F-150 on the road, you may think, "Wow, that truck is made to last." It can handle long days hauling cargo over some of the roughest off-road job sites, dust kicking up around its shiny frame. You've seen the commercials. To date over 32 million F-Series trucks have been sold.
Did you ever think about what goes into making a vehicle that can handle those tough jobs and still be on the road for 11+ years on average? To answer that question, you need to check out the huge role powdered metal parts manufacturers play in driving the auto industry -- and north-central Pennsylvania -- forward.
Powdered Metal Parts Manufacturers Explained
Powder metal companies like Horizon Technology offer a range of challenging and rewarding job opportunities in metal manufacturing. Horizon showcased some of its people, job roles, and manufacturing steps in a St. Marys Area Middle School student-created video, ”What's So Cool About Manufacturing?” The video won the 2017 North Central Pennsylvania What's So Cool About Manufacturing contest.
People who knock “factory” jobs tend to focus on the work that involves standing in front of a furnace and performing a very repetitive duty. Those jobs are important, but that's not nearly all that manufacturing has to offer.
We also need bright minds with mechanical, computer, and accounting skills -- and much more. The important and exciting jobs and roles at Horizon allow our people to flex their creative muscles and design unique solutions for customers like Porsche, Mercedes, and Winchester.
People. Passion. Powder Metal
At Horizon Technology, we think outside of the box to increase product efficiency and reduce costs -- all while improving the quality our customers’ projects. We love our jobs for the:
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Challenge
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Day-to-day variety
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Opportunity to innovate
Do you have what it takes to be a powder metal engineer? Would you like to learn more about this process and the people involved? Get in touch with us below.
We hope to see you again someday -- or maybe your kids! Ignore the misperceptions -- this is a place you want to come and live.
‘But There’s Nothing Good Happening in Rural Pennsylvania’
The St. Marys area is in the middle of a region with a reputation for unemployment and poverty. Yet our area bucks this trend. Manufacturing is actually a high-paying field in north-central Pennsylvania.
The median family income in the state of Pennsylvania is about $52,000 a year. The average manufacturing job in Elk County, Pa., is about $46,000 yearly per person.
For every 100 jobs in the powder metal industry, there are 68 additional jobs created, according to a study by Penn State University.
This shows the impact of the industry in the community. In other words, the jobs that are created as a result of the powder metal industry extend beyond what you see in the factory. You need more tool and die companies, more grocery stores, and so on.
PA Wilds and other companies, agencies, and individuals have used their knowledge and passion to market the region and attract more people.
That’s why Elk County, Pa., is thriving while other rural areas are stagnant at best. That’s why up on this mountain in the “middle of nowhere,” 500,000 people a year come to see the largest herd of free-roaming elk in the Northeast.
Need more convincing? Here are some other neat facts about the region:
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50 million people live within a 6-hour radius of the PA Wilds region.
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Elk County is 26th in all counties in the entire United States when measuring the number of people on health care. Despite the rural nature of Elk County, unemployment, poverty levels and people on government assistance are much lower than the state average.
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The cost of living is also among the lowest in the U.S.
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What drives this growth? Manufacturing. Nearly 50% of all jobs in the county are in manufacturing.
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Visitor spending in Elk County ballooned from $47.2 million in 2010 to $78 million in 2016, an increase of 65% -- easily the highest of any county in the PA Wilds region of north-central Pennsylvania.
Join Us
St. Marys, Elk County, and the PA Wilds region are more than just smokestacks and polluted rivers. In fact, it's the opposite -- our area is an amazing marriage of industry and nature.
That’s why we’re starting to see young entrepreneurs come in -- new restaurants, new ideas, and more.
Will you be the part of the next great manufacturing idea?
