Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey was in Tucson last week to tour the Arizona supersonic wind tunnel with UArizona President Bobby Robbins, Raytheon Missiles and Defense President Wes Kremer, and several members of the university’s Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering program. The governor also participated in a roundtable on workforce development.

Visiting southern Arizona for the 93rd time since taking office in January 2015, Ducey stressed the importance of the state’s robust university system and innovative job creators in forging a competitive economy.

“Educators and workforce leaders across the state do incredible work to help Arizonans find meaningful work and ensure our small businesses can succeed,” Ducey .

UArizona’s supersonic wind tunnel project is set to benefit from a $3.5 million investment in the fiscal year 2022 state budget proposal, improving wind tunnel infrastructure and expanding the ability of students to interact with and work on the wind tunnel.

“I would think not only what we’re seeing is critical to the future of our economy, it’s critical to the future of our national defense,” Ducey .

The supersonic wind tunnel is to test “how hypersonic technologies respond under specific conditions, such as speeds and attacks.”

UArizona is working with Raytheon to advance the project.

Following his tour of UArizona’s campus, Gov. Ducey led a roundtable on workforce development alongside key stakeholders. In addition to Robbins and Kremer, attendees included:

• Dr. David Hahn, Craig M. Berge Dean, UArizona’s College of Engineering;
• Ted Maxwell, President of the Southern Arizona Leadership Council; 
• Kathy Prather, Superintendent and CEO of Pima JTED; 
• Lee Lambert, Chancellor of Pima Community College; 
• Steve Holmes, Superintendent of Sunnyside Unified School District;
• Kate Hoffman, Founder and CEO of Earn to Learn.

The group discussed how the state government, local governments, public-private partnerships, universities, and the private sector could collaborate to expand career opportunities in the state. Gov. Ducey made supporting small businesses a priority.

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Individuals and companies that stand out as shining role models in the manufacturing sector were recognized for their accomplishments at the 2020 Arizona Manufacturing Summit and awards ceremony Friday. The event was hosted by the Arizona Manufacturers Council (AMC) and the Arizona Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»­ of Commerce & Industry.

Seven awards were given to manufacturing champions in innovation, excellence, sustainability, and leadership. Featured speakers also talked about the successes over the past year and challenges ahead including racial inequity from the classroom to the boardroom.

This year’s event was not only about recognizing the billions of dollars in revenues manufacturers brought to the state but their efforts during the pandemic, said Mark Gaspers, AMC chairman.

“We want to celebrate their innovation amidst our current challenges and their contributions to the state,” Gaspers said. 

High-paying manufacturing jobs on the rise

Glenn Hamer, president and CEO of the Arizona Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»­, said the manufacturing industry has been a major contributor to Arizona’s economic success over the past year. Today, the industry employs about 177,000 workers statewide and pumps about $30 billion annually into the economy. 

“We are at a point of time now, because of the good work of the Arizona Manufacturers Council, Governor Doug Ducey, and our friends at the state Legislature, where we have more manufacturing jobs in Arizona than construction jobs,” Hamer said. 

2020 Award winners 

Seven companies and three individuals received awards this year:  

• Large Manufacturer of the Year: Raytheon Technologies

Raytheon is Southern Arizona’s largest employer, serving customers in the commercial aerospace and defense industries. Founded in 1922, the company has become one of the largest aerospace and defense manufacturers in the world. Over the years, it has won numerous awards for its innovative technology solutions and world-class engineering teams.

• Medium Manufacturer of the Year: Mercury Systems 

Mercury Systems has earned a reputation as the leader in making trusted, secure mission-critical technologies more accessible to the aerospace and defense industries. The company’s innovative solutions power more than 300 critical aerospace and defense programs. Mercury established a $1 million relief fund for employees impacted by the pandemic. 

• Small Manufacturer of the Year: Service Wire Co. 

Service Wire Co. is a second-generation, family-owned wire and cable manufacturer started in  1968. Today, its nationwide network of distributors and advanced distribution capabilities enable them to meet and exceed the often complex needs of industrial, commercial, utility, pump, irrigation, and transit customers throughout North America and the world.

• Legislator of the Year: State Representative Ben Toma

Representative Toma, chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, received the award for his “consistent and firm commitment to wise tax and regulatory policy to spur innovation and job creation.”  In 2020, Rep. Toma led passage of House Bill 2771, which revised and extended tax credits including a tax credit to incentivize businesses to relocate or expand manufacturing facilities in Arizona, including manufacturing related research and development. 

• Advocates of the Year: Michael Denby and Eric Massey of Arizona Public Service

Denby, corporate environmental senior policy advisor for APS, and Massey, APS’ director for Environment and Water Resource Management, worked to advance policies in the water, energy, air quality, natural resources, and environmental spaces that encourage job growth and innovation while ensuring that the business community is part of the solution to promote wise environmental stewardship.

• Excellence in Sustainability: Swire Coca-Cola 

With revenues of $2 billion, Swire Coca-Cola produces, sells and distributes Coca-Cola and other beverages in 13 states across the American West. This year, Swire launched its Sustainable Development 2030 goals to increase recycled content in its packaging, decrease the amount of water it uses, and reduce its carbon emissions by converting to renewable energy. In response to Covid-19, Swire donated over 66,000 liters of water to the Navajo Nation.

• Excellence in Innovation: VB Cosmetics

VB Cosmetics conducts research and development, custom formulation, and private labeling and sale of cosmetics and personal care products including a transformational technology called Dazzle Dry, a quick-dry nail polish system. During COVID-19, the company has manufactured Personal Protective Equipment around the state for the Salvation Army.

• Lifetime Achievement Award: Dawn Grove

Grove was recognized for her tireless work on behalf of manufacturers, Arizona workers and the broader community. She is corporate counsel for Karsten Manufacturing Corporation, the parent company of PING. Grove is chair of the Workforce Arizona Council and serves on the boards of the Arizona Commerce Authority, National Association of Manufacturers and Karsten.

Two leading national figures spoke at the event  

Two national figures also spoke at the event. 

Keynote speaker was Rick Wade, senior vice president of strategic alliances and outreach for the U.S. Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»­ of Commerce. Wade discussed an intensive nationwide effort to improve racial equity in business and industry from the production floor to the board room. 

Wade called on industry to continue to come together to reduce gaps in equity.

“We have made tremendous progress but we have a lot of work to do with regards to equality and opportunity,” he said. 

Wade, who grew up in rural South Carolina in the 1960s when many schools were still segregated, said he was able to overcome racial barriers. But Black citizens continue to be left behind today, he said. They are more likely to be unemployed, incarcerated and poor. 

Improving diversity and inclusion in business is more than a “moral imperative,” it’s also an economic one, he said. Research shows diversity increases company profits, and that if gaps in racial inequity were eliminated, the nation’s GDP would gain about $8 trillion, Wade said. 

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Raytheon, one of the largest defense manufacturers in the world, is already the eighth-largest employer in Arizona. But because of the growing demand for its products and services, the manufacturing firm is expanding within the state.

The defense contractor hosted Gov. Doug Ducey at an event Oct. 2, announcing that the company will add another 1,000 jobs to the state economy over the next few years. The additional jobs will bring Raytheon’s total number of Arizona employees to roughly 14,000 and make it the state’s sixth-largest employer.

“We’ve consistently grown — we’re now at more than 13,000 employees statewide, and that’s due to increasing global demand for our products,” said John Patterson, director of public relations at Raytheon. “We’re at a period right now of unprecedented global demand for the products we make and the services we provide, and that’s reflected in increased hiring numbers and growth that you’re seeing across the board for us — in all of our programs and all of our product areas.”

by Arizona State University’s Seidman Institute, Raytheon generates a $2.6 billion annual economic impact in Arizona. Over the past three years, Raytheon’s economic impact has grown by $500 million — nearly 24 percent — due to job expansion and increased sales. As the company continues to expand in Arizona, so will its economic footprint.

“Remember that we have more than 500 suppliers statewide, and nearly half of them are located right there in Maricopa County,” Patterson continued. “So as we grow in Tucson, so does the work that we offer to our suppliers around the state, and that helps to create new jobs, it creates new revenues.”

The company has donated $1 million to philanthropic causes around the state. Raytheon employees volunteer thousands of hours every year in state classrooms, helping to tutor and mentor the next generation of engineers.

Patterson said Raytheon plans to continue hiring from the state’s universities, including Arizona State University, the University of Arizona, Northern Arizona University and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. In fact, later this year, Raytheon will be hosting its first ever “Raytheon Day” at NAU, sending company executives and recruiters to the campus for an in-depth recruitment experience.

The bulk of the company’s new jobs will be in engineering positions, but Patterson noted that the company is hiring for positions across the board, including supply chain and contract management.

In his statement at Raytheon, Ducey described the manufacturing firm as “one of our state’s most valuable assets.”

“We are grateful to Gov. Ducey for creating such a pro-business environment in the state,” Patterson said. “His pro-business policies have created an environment where companies like Raytheon have the confidence to invest and grow, and we see that as an excellent partnership.”

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