Tag : made in colorado

Made in Colorado with USA Map

What Products Are Manufactured in Colorado?

Colorado and Denver Manufacturing account for about 7.34% of the total output in the state, and manufacturing employs 5.67% of the workforce.

The advanced manufacturing in Colorado includes a number of key segments, including petroleum, chemical, and coal products. There are also appliances and components, fabricated metal products, food and beverage, electronics and computers, furniture, machinery, rubber and plastic products, apparel and textiles, and allied and leather products. The state is at the forefront of advanced manufacturing and focuses on job creation in manufacturing.

Due to the state’s talented workforce and entrepreneurial ecosystem, it has created a premier hub for the industry. The manufacturing workforce in Colorado includes a large pool of well-educated and skilled workers. When looking at the age distribution across industries, the manufacturing industry has a larger share of employees who are between the ages of 35 and 64 years old. More than half the Denver Manufacturing related jobs in Colorado require a high school diploma or an equivalent, and 20% of these jobs require a bachelor’s degree or higher. Many of the jobs, about 67%, require on the job training. The Colorado higher education system works to help with the workforce in manufacturing, and the state offers a range of specialized, scientific, and technical degrees. With the mix of two year, four year, and private and religious accredited institutions, there are nearly 300 manufacturing related programs throughout the state to help provide for the workforce.

There are some key factors that make the Denver Manufacturing industry successful in Colorado. There is access to highly technical and scientific workers. The state ranked sixth for the area of high tech wages, and tech workers in Colorado earn 98% more than the average private sector worker. The state’s central location in the U.S. allows for convenient access for air travelers in every North American city, and the location makes it a good midpoint between Frankfurt and Tokyo to help the state serve the world markets. There is plenty of existing land available, as well as low energy costs, which makes it a great place for a lot of manufacturing to take place. With the Colorado manufacturing industry doing so well, the amount of products that can be manufactured there seem endless and there are quite a few. It can be hard to list out every product that is manufactured in the state and products range from food to toys and games to machinery, but we wanted to pick a few top products to hone in on.

Food and Beverages

Beer is one of the main things manufactured in the state, since the state is home to Molson Coors and dozens of craft breweries. However, there is a lot of other food and beverages that are produced. Ardent Mills manufactures baked goods, mixes, and flours. Bobo’s Oat Bar company manufactures their oat bars in a Boulder facility and has been doing so since 2013. Boulder Organic soups are manufactured in the state and are sold in supermarkets across the Midwest. Boulder Sausage of Louisville makes fresh pork and sausage products that don’t have any preservatives or MSG.

Tea is another popular beverage manufactured in the state, as Celestial Seasonings tea company is based in Boulder. The brand serves more than 1.6 million cups of tea every year and manufactures teas with 100 different ingredients from over 35 different countries. Elevation Gourmet, based in Denver, creates organic ketchup that uses a family recipe in place for generations. Noosa Yoghurt, a popular yogurt brand that wins people over with unusual flavors and full fat products, is also manufactured in the state. Pickles from the Real Dill can be made in a Denver location. Udi’s products, a popular line of gluten free products, are manufactured in the state. Ball Corp. has a beverage packaging plant in Broomfield. Wild Zora jerky is manufactured in Fort Collins, Colorado, and this popular jerky is Whole230 approved and paleo, with grass fed beef and no hormones or antibiotics.

Clothing and Accessories

Ghost Rider Boots are handmade and custom western boots produced in the state. They may use older machines to do so, but the designs are new and custom made for you. Handcrafted hats are manufactured by Greenley Hat Works. Knotty Ties are handmade in Denver. Even shoes are made in Colorado by SOM Footwear. These shoes are manufactured entirely in the town of Montrose and are high quality barefoot inspired sneakers. The company offers factory tours for those who are in the area. Sometimes products that are manufactured in the state are also inspired by Colorado itself. The creator of English Retreads handbags got the idea for vegan and stylish handbags while floating in an inner tube down Boulder Creek.

Machinery

A number of different machines are manufactured in the state to provide for different industries. Colorado Corp helps make indirect air conditioning units that are energy efficient. Ice-O-Matic manufactures commercial ice machines and ice storage bins. Broomfield based Mainstreet Pedicabs manufactures human powered cycle taxis, cargo trikes, and vending vehicles. EarthRoamer makes luxury expedition vehicles. Ravenbrick, located in Denver, manufactures solar intuitive, smart glass windows.

Sporting Goods

Delta-13 manufactures the top billiard rack in the industry at their sister manufacturing company, Tag Team Manufacturing, located in Parker, Colorado.

Aerospace

Spacecraft devices for Ball Aerospace are built in a Boulder plant. A new A2100 satellite is being worked on in Jefferson County by Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co.

Toys and Games

Liberty Puzzles manufactures deluxe wooden puzzles. Curt Mangan Strings creates handmade electric and acoustic guitar strings. Sphero is a Boulder company that makes the toy version of the BB8 droid from Star Wars.

Furniture

FW Manufacturing makes case goods for the hospitality and hotel industries, as well as cabinetry for the multifamily and builder markets. Tuff Shed is Denver based and, while they do manufacture products at multiple locations across the country, there are also some manufactured in Colorado. Little Colorado produces furniture for children with a goal to make quality wood furniture for an affordable price.

Household Products

Scott’s Liquid Gold and the range of cleaning products is manufactured in Denver and has been since 1970. Thristies makes training pants and cloth diapers that are sold across the country.

With so many products manufactured in the state, Denver Manufacturing is still the primary driver in the Colorado economy, even though it is not as important as it used to be. It makes sense given what manufacturing does. If a factory is selling the widgets it manufactures across the world, then it not only creates jobs at a factory, but also indirectly creates jobs at the retail shops and grocery stores where the products are sold. It also benefits the utility that sells electricity to the factory in the first place. In 2015, there were almost 5,000 manufacturing companies in the state that produced about $23 million worth of goods!

Machine Shop

History of Machine Shops

A machine shop is a specialized room, building, or big company where CNC machining and other types of machining are done. The activities that take place in such a shop involve experts/machinists using various machining tools and cutting tools to come up with different parts. People tend to think that a machine shop must be a massive building with complex equipment but this isn’t true.

A typical machine shop can either be a portion of a large factory or simply a small store such as a job shop. The various parts manufactured are usually sold to multiple lines in the US manufacturing industry, car industry, and even the aviation industry. The production of these critical parts typically involves cutting, shaping of the parts, drilling, and finishing.

History of Machine Shops

The history of machine shops can be traced back to the 19th century when the first mechanical engineering schools started to come up in the U.S. The first machine shop appeared around this time. It is also during this time that the industrial revolution was at its peak and there was a high demand for various parts. Before this era, critical parts and tools were mainly produced in local workshops in villages and cities. However, the production was limited to small-scale, and the parts were primarily sold to local CNC manufacturing artisans.

Production of parts in large factories took place on site where every part was produced individually. As time passed by, the plants started to come up with their workshops to deal with the production of the required parts. During those days, the textile was still the dominant raw material.

After the 19th Century

Further developments in mechanical engineering CNC machining took place in Germany, Scotland, and England after the 19th century which led to the development of cheaper and simple techniques for the massive production of steel. This development triggered the rise of second industrial revolution which played a significant role in the electrification of factories, mass production of parts, and also an uprise of more US manufacturing schools.

Machine shops gained popularity around this time as they were commonly referred to locations where complicated mechanical parts are cut to the required size and carefully put together to form complete mechanical units.

However, the rise of the machine shops came along with its fair share of both manufacturing and organizational problems. This triggered the emergence of various theories and publications trying to solve the problems.

One of the earliest publications in the field of mechanical engineering which gained a lot of popularity was a series of books titled; “Modern machines_ Shop economics” that was authored by Horace Lucian.

20th Century

The beginning of 20th century saw an increase in the number of publications relating to machine shops with various authors including Frederick Winslow Taylor and Howard Monroe More funds were directed towards research and invention which led to the invention of the electric motors in late 20th century.

The electric motors took over power supply of the common machine tools from the conventional mechanical belt. This era also ushered in CNC automation and numeric control in the field of manufacturing in the USA. The two aspects production design and primary production became integrated.

American-Made Products

Popular Products Manufactured in the U.S.

Have you ever bought something because it read the label, “Made in the U.S.A.“? We’ve all been there. We all like American-made products and we value what’s constructed in our own country. Although the number is increasing, not a lot of products are made in the U.S. In fact, about 50% of the products we use are made in China. However, America is trying to even the playing field. With our increased knowledge of mechanical engineering and the US manufacturing schools available, more and more products involve manufacturing in the USA.

Furthermore, a new technology has advanced over the years — CNC machining and manufacturing. CNC manufacturing is a manufacturing process where a pre-programmed computer controls tools and machines. This is done through CNC automation, where computers and machines do all the work for us. This has created a mechanical engineering breakthrough leading to more excitement surrounding the United States manufacturing industry. But since China still makes over half of the products we use, what’s manufactured in the United States? See below for a list of the most popular products made on U.S. soil:

-Primary Metal
-Machinery
-Transportation Equipment
-Weber Grills
-Tesla Roadsters
-Harley Davidson Motorcycles
-Whirlpool Appliances
-KitchenAid Mixers
-GE Hot Water Heaters
-Stihl Gas-Powered Equipment

From machinery to kitchen mixers, the United States still makes some of the more important products that we use in our everyday lives. And with CNC manufacturing leading the way in mechanical engineering, machines are working smarter and more effectively. In addition, education for the mechanical industry is getting better year after year. Mechanical engineering schools are popping up everywhere and more people are realizing the importance of these skills.

Increased Productivity and Lower Costs Lead to US Manufacturing

With more and more products being manufactured in the United States, there has to be a reason why our production efforts have increased. One of them is our productivity. American workers have been proven to be more productive in the workplace. They are paid higher than employees are in other countries and the work environments are more enjoyable. With child-labor issues happening in China and other countries, more people choose American-made products for that reason alone. Another cause for increased U.S. manufacturing is shipping costs. Every day, it is getting more expensive to export materials from one country to the next. In order to save on costs and produce high-quality, dependable products, many manufacturing companies are choosing the United States are their hub.

The U.S. Prefers American-Made Products

The average American will choose an American-made products over one that’s produced in another country. Although China leads the pack for most of the products we use, that number is starting to decrease. One reason for the change is CNC manufacturing. As our technology gets more advanced, CNC automation and machining is growing in popularity. From production benefits to saving on costs, CNC manufacturing is here to stay.

If you’re looking for a professional, modern manufacturing company you can depend on, Tag Team Manufacturing is the company for you. We’ve been in business since 1987 and we specialize in machining CNC precision components for OEM’s in a wide range of different industries. We work with engineers to design effective materials that work properly and that last for many years to come. If you would like to learn more about Tag Team Manufacturing, don’t hesitate to give us a call today!