Lehigh Valley’s growing manufacturing market has made headlines in nearly two dozen trade publications over the past few weeks, spreading the word of the region as hub of diverse and innovative manufacturing to key audiences. 
The news about a new manufacturing and distribution center by Filter King in Bethlehem Township that could employ up to 120 was shared to readers of manufacturing journals including Expansion Solutions, Industrial Equipment News, Manufacturing Business Technology, and Manufacturing.net.
Filter King’s expansion into the Lehigh Valley was also shared by several industry-specific publications including Filtration + Separation and Climate Control News.
The articles help to strategically spread the word to corporate decision makers and site selectors about the advantages of manufacturing in the Lehigh Valley. Those advantages include a talented labor force of nearly 1.8 million within an hour’s drive, and a location that’s within a day’s drive of one-third of the U.S. population.
The Lehigh Valley is one of the Top 15% of manufacturing markets in the U.S. based on Gross Domestic Product. More than 700 manufacturers collectively produce an output of $9 billion, representing 16% of Lehigh Valley’s GDP. Nationally, manufacturing is 12% of GDP.
Filter King, based in Florida, manufactures HVAC filters for residential, commercial, and industrial uses. It chose the Lehigh Valley for its 61,600-square-foot facility because of the region’s skilled labor force, proximity to major metropolitan areas including Philadelphia and New York City, and highway network.
“Filter King's new location at 2701 Baglyos Circle supports our strategic goal of expanding our presence into the Northeast. Lehigh Valley Industrial Park’s central location and outstanding logistics infrastructure make it an ideal base for manufacturing and distribution as we continue to scale our operations,” said Filter King Founder and CEO Rick Hoskins.
Some of the same manufacturing journals that publicized Filter King’s new facility also highlighted a $20 million expansion by Kervan, a candy manufacturer based in Turkey.
Kervan, which has its U.S. headquarters in Whitehall Township, recently broke ground on a 90,000-square-foot facility where it will begin its first manufacturing in the U.S. The new location, scheduled to open next year in Bethlehem and Lower Nazareth townships, will also consolidate packaging and distribution operations that are currently based in New Jersey.
“This location made perfect sense, both proximity to the ports and the workforce,” Gokhan Kacmaz, Kervan USA’s Chief Financial Officer, said at a groundbreaking ceremony on June 26. “We saw a big opportunity. All this made the Lehigh Valley a great location to make this investment.”
Publications that shared the news about Kervan USA’s expansion included Business Facilities, Trade & Industry Development, and Expansion Solutions, along with food industry journals such as Food Manufacturing, Food Business News, Nosh, and Food Engineering.
Food and beverage manufacturing is one of the industries targeted for growth by Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation (LVEDC) in its new strategic plan.
Employment in food and beverage production in the Lehigh Valley has increased by about 52% in the last decade, to about 7,100. Nearly half of all dog and cat food production jobs in Pennsylvania are in the Lehigh Valley.
Food and beverage companies operating in the Lehigh Valley include global brands such as Coca-Cola, Boston Beer, Ocean Spray, and Keurig Dr Pepper, along with Freshpet, Bimbo Bakeries, and Bakerly/Norac Foods, and smaller producers such as Kervan USA, The Granola Factory, and Mishka Vodka.