Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz spent Tuesday afternoon in Woodlawn touting the county's manufacturing base while touring Zentech Manufacturing, a maker of circuit boards for aerospace, defense, medical and industrial clients.
"We have memories of what manufacturing was," he said. "But manufacturing is different today."
He complimented the privately held company's clean and quiet 42,000-square foot facility.
Kamenetz also highlighted some of the 492 diverse manufacturing companies that provide 13,800 jobs and produce $948 million in annual wages, according to federal labor statistics.
These include DuClaw and Heavy Seas breweries, Benyon Sports in Hunt Valley, a manufacturer of turf fields, and Mann-Pak, a veteran and family-owned packaging company in Middle River that makes the thin brown paper that helps seal Reese's peanut butter cups.
The county has about 20,000 businesses.
"These companies have found that making things is good business," he said. "They know their markets, they know their customers and innovation is what they need to be successful right here in Baltimore County."
As the image of manufacturing changes, so do the jobs that are in demand for it to thrive, Kamenetz said.
The jobs are less labor intensive and require workers with an an education in science, technology, engineering and math, he said.
It's the county's goal, he said, to create educational opportunities to help fill the needed jobs.
He said with five colleges and universities in the county and access to rails, highways and ports, Baltimore County is a strong position to provide jobs and the training for them.
Jay Bouis, director of technical training at the Community College of Baltimore County, said stronger efforts to change the appearance of manufacturing have resulted in increased public interest. The negative images of low-skill jobs and dirty environments associated with manufacturing have faded, he said.
"The reality is you have companies big and small using high technology and sophisticated automation, producing high quality products to compete internationally," he said.
Zentech's president and CEO, Matt Turpin, said the company, which was incorporated in 1998, took advantage of a county industrial revenue bond to help purchase and equip their Woodlawn building 14 years ago when it had fewer than 30 employees. Now, the company employs about 150.
According to its website, 45 percent of Zentech's business is in defense and aerospace, 25 percent is in medical, 15 percent is in communications and 15 percent is in industrial controls. Turpin did not disclose the company's annual revenues.
The county also certified Zentech in its Federal Enterprise Zone, which offers tax credits for capital investments and for hiring new workers.
Anirban Basu, chairman and CEO of Sage Policy Group, a consulting firm in Baltimore that follows the region's economy, said Baltimore County is important to state's economy.
"There's no question it's a phenomenal county with incredible economic potential," he said. "If Baltimore County is important to Maryland's economy and manufacturing is important to Baltimore County's economy, manufacturing is important to Maryland's economy."
Basu cited the emergence of Tradepoint Atlantic, a company redeveloping the site of the former Bethlehem Steel mill in Sparrows Point as a sign of the county's ongoing recovery and growth.
When it comes to manufacturing, robots and automation have led to a decline in jobs but no decline in output, Basu said, adding while robots have replaced humans in some tasks, trained workers are still needed.