Lyon Station >> In recognition of National Manufacturing Day, Department of Labor and Industry Secretary Julia Hearthway visited East Penn Manufacturing to celebrate the company’s expansion and creation of more than 400 new jobs in Berks County.
Sec. Hearthway’s visit Oct. 3 was part of a statewide effort to promote Pennsylvania manufacturing and highlight the Corbett administration initiatives to address or make progress in addressing all of the 15 recommendations of the Governor’s Manufacturing Advisory Council.
As part of this effort, Governor Tom Corbett visited U.S. Steel earlier that day to announce the company’s decision to expand in Pittsburgh, while Lt. Governor Jim Cawley visited Mars Drinks in Chester County to celebrate the grand opening of the company’s new global headquarters.
In addition to Gov. Corbett, Lt. Governor Cawley and Sec. Hearthway, Agriculture Secretary George Grieg, Community and Economic Development Secretary C. Alan Walker, Health Secretary Michael Wolf, Revenue Secretary Dan Meuser, and PennDOT Secretary Barry Schoch also participated in manufacturing-related events throughout the state.
“We are working every day to invest in our most valuable asset: our people,” said Hearthway. “In 2014, the Corbett administration invested $450 million in critical industry-driven workforce development programs to fill high-priority occupations.”
Hearthway spoke after touring the East Penn facility in Lyon Station where the company has invested more than $50 million in the construction of a 458,000 square-foot battery manufacturing plant, which will be connected to an existing 164,635 square-foot battery facility.
In addition to the expansion project, East Penn will also purchase equipment and train the more than 400 new employees. The company employs more than 6,060 people at their five Pennsylvania locations. The company, best known for its Deka brand of batteries, manufacturers more than 4,000 different types of batteries and has been ranked among the “Best Places to Work in Pennsylvania” since 2000.
In 2011, Gov. Corbett commissioned the Governor’s Manufacturing Advisory Council, a public/private advisory council, to identify and prioritize top issues to influence, sustain and advance the manufacturing sector in the commonwealth.
The 24-member council sent its report to Gov. Corbett and the General Assembly in August 2012 and outlined 15 key recommendations to help Pennsylvania remain competitive in today’s global economy. Administration efforts to address all 15 recommendations include strategic investments in workforce development and education, creating a state energy policy, investing in infrastructure improvements via Act 89, opening new domestic and international markets, implementing tax and regulatory reform, improving access to capital and making government work better by encouraging innovation. Projects supported by the Corbett administration are expected to leverage more than $4.9 billion in private investment and create more than 22,000 manufacturing and related jobs and retain more than 58,000 manufacturing and related jobs.
For more information, visit www.governor.pa.gov/makeitinpa.
