NYC’s Manufacturing Renaissance Has Arrived

New York City is a hub of innovation in manufacturing technology, and the industrial sector is a major part of the NYC economy.

Advanced manufacturing firms based in NYC have seen a major uptick in venture capital investment since 2017, with an average deal size of $7.5M in 2020—an increase of over 225 percent from just a few years before. Even during the pandemic, the VC community recognizes the value and potential of this growing sector of the city’s economy.

Powered by this new infusion of capital and cutting-edge equipment—from 3D printing to robotic automation to augmented reality—a new generation of entrepreneurs is harnessing technology to customize their products and bring goods to market quicker than ever.

The NYC Manufacturing Advantage

And it’s no surprise that this manufacturing renaissance is happening right here in NYC. The city has many built-in advantages that make it ideally suited to reemerge as a national, urban manufacturing hub, including:

• An abundance of high-quality talent with a workforce of over 4M—the largest in the US, with 2.3M holding a bachelor’s degree or higher
• Leadership in emerging fields like bioengineering and urban technology
• A pre-existing cluster of supporting industries, including design, fashion, film, food and beverage, and construction
• The nation’s largest domestic market, with a gross metropolitan product (GMP) of $1.66T, producing more value than the entire gross state product of Texas
• Unmatched access to the global marketplace through premier highway, rail, marine, and air transportation networks

NYCEDC: Connecting You to NYC’s Manufacturing Ecosystem

For manufacturers, there’s no better time to consider an expansion within or move to NYC. And NYCEDC is here to help you connect to the spaces, programs, partners, and community of both traditional and advanced “makers” you need to hit the ground running.

We can connect you to key resources, including:

• Affordable manufacturing space at NYCEDC-managed properties, such as Brooklyn Army Terminal and the Made in NY Campus at Bush Terminal
• The City’s Industrial Business Service Providers program, staffed by trained specialists who can help your business with accessing incentives programs, navigating rules and regulations, applying for funding, and developing your workforce
• A robust network of nonprofit and public partners, including ITAC, Made in NYC, Workforce Development Institute, and the NYC Department of Small Business Services’ Industrial Workforce1 Center and Manufacturing and Industrial Innovation Council
• Industrial Business Zones (IBZs) across the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens, offering targeted support services for industrial firms and relocation tax credits to qualifying businesses
• Incentive programs to lower the cost of capital investment through the New York City Industrial Development Agency

A Track Record of Success

NYCEDC has a proven track record of success in nurturing and developing the city’s industrial and manufacturing center. Since 2013, we’ve successfully directed $3.5M in grants to 33 NYC-based fashion manufacturers through the Fashion Manufacturing Initiative, a program with $20M in combined funding from NYCEDC and the fashion industry.

In 2017, NYCEDC launched the Futureworks NYC program, an $8M commitment to foster the hardware-startup ecosystem and support advanced manufacturing by supporting hundreds of hardware innovators with entrepreneurship support, bringing together NYC’s shared prototyping and fabrication spaces, providing resources to legacy manufacturers to integrate new technology and equipment, and launching a state-of-the-art shared fabrication facility.

And when COVID-19 hit New York City last March, the manufacturing sector demonstrated its versatility and ability to adapt to rapidly changing circumstances like it never had before. The fashion manufacturing industry played a critical role in the fight against the pandemic, with manufacturers pivoting to making face masks and 4.2 million medical gowns for healthcare workers—preserving hundreds of jobs. On top of that, manufacturers across three boroughs stepped up to make test kits and face shields from scratch—producing 50,000 testing kits per week at their peak.

More and more companies are choosing to make NYC their manufacturing base, with manufacturers making products ranging from military uniforms to HVAC systems to salad dressing all significantly expanding their spaces and investments in the city.

It’s a new beginning for manufacturing in NYC—and there’s never been a better time to make it here.