The 10th Annual ‘Made in New Jersey’ Manufacturing Day brought together nearly 1,000 manufacturing, legislative and educational leaders to shine a light on the industry’s value to both the Garden State and the nation. The crowd broke previous attendance records.

“The turnout’s been phenomenal,” John Kennedy, New Jersey Manufacturing Extension Program (NJMEP) CEO said at the Oct. 7 event at iPlay America in Freehold. “So, we’ve seen growth. And as you can see, it’s great to have this amount of companies, this amount of people.”

NJBIZ on the scene

Click here to check out a slideshow of the action from the 10th Annual ‘Made in New Jersey’ Manufacturing Day.

“’MADE in NJ’ Manufacturing Day is an essential part of rebuilding the domestic industrial base,” said Mike Womack, marketing & communications manager, NJMEP. “Without highlighting the value of the industry, and that New Jersey’s manufacturers still exist, we will continue to be forgotten and ignored.”

This year’s event was centered around the “Year of Women in Manufacturing.”

“The ‘Year of Women in Manufacturing’ was built into this annual celebration as a primary theme,” said Kennedy. “With new awards, an emphasis on sharing just how many incredible women leaders are already in the industry gave these spectacular people a platform to tell their story and inspire the next generation.”

The event featured breakout sessions that examined critical industry challenges, exhibit booths with businesses and different organizations represented, hands-on demonstrations with the latest workforce training technology, and Made in New Jersey product displays from the state’s manufacturers.

Perhaps the coolest part of Manufacturing Day was a robotics competition between some of New Jersey’s top high school teams. Throughout the event, the teams showcased and demonstrated their robots, which would pick up a ball and shoot it into a cylinder while students – who designed and built the robots – controlled the action through a laptop and video game controller.

“We learn real world skills and we get to implement it into something fun like building a robot,” a member of the Clifton High School club told NJBIZ.

Even robots love #ManufacturingDay ⁦@NJMEP⁩ pic.twitter.com/0Oq7JBGsAY

— Jeffrey Kanige (@jkanige) October 7, 2022

There were also a number of individuals and businesses recognized for their contributions to the industry.

Ellen Pietrowitz-Phillips, president of L-E-M Plastics & Supplies Inc., was presented with the first-ever Rising Star award, given to a standout woman leader in the industry. Celularity was presented with another first — the Leader in Life Science award. Intelligent Material Solutions Inc. (IMS) took home the title of Innovator of the Year.

Manufacturer of the Year awards were presented to manufacturers in three different categories:

• Small-Size Manufacturer – Prince Sterilization Services
• Medium-Size Manufacturers – IPAK
• Large-Size Manufacturer – Marotta Controls

NJMEP says the annual event provides the chance to show the true face of manufacturing and the opportunity that exists in the field; it’s also vital to helping businesses network, learn and grow so the industry can continue to thrive in the Garden State.