Until a few years ago whenever I heard the term manufacturing I conjured up images of generic warehouses and faceless workers performing a single task repeatedly - well that or the Honey Bunches of Oats lady. After re-locating to the Southern Tier in 2016 I realized how shallow my definition was.

Like my faceless workers on production lines my knowledge about Chenango County’s manufacturing industry was equally pathetic; I realized if I didn’t know how to define manufacturing or its role in Chenango County then I didn’t know a lot about the region or my neighbors.

This lack of knowledge about an industry synonymous with American pride is why the Manufacturing Institute, with the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association developed Manufacturing Day in 2012. Held on the first Friday in October, the goals of Manufacturing Day are: to show the reality of modern manufacturing careers; to inspire the next generation of manufacturers; to educate the public about the important role manufacturers play in our daily lives; and to address the growing skill shortage despite the high volume of job openings in the sector.

On Manufacturing Day, companies large and small open their facilities to our nation’s youth and teach them that manufacturing is much more than warehouses and production lines. But what is manufacturing, and what does it mean for Chenango County?