Iconic Lehigh Valley manufacturers with global brands joined with emerging companies that are pioneering new innovations, to demonstrate Lehigh Valley’s manufacturing power at the recent Annual Meeting of Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation (LVEDC). 
The March 18 event, attended by about 800, included a special “Made in Lehigh Valley” exhibit hall where 18 companies displayed products and ideas that have helped pave the way for Lehigh Valley’s economic success.
Guests were able to hold products ranging from candy to semiconductors, and talk with company leaders to learn how they are made. Some manufacturers showed videos of their products being produced and used.
Participating companies were: A-Treat/Jaindl Land Development, B. Braun Medical, Broadcom, Crayola, Evonik, Freshpet, Hardball Cider, HindlePower, Intel, Just Born, Lutron, Mack Trucks, Mussel Polymers, Niagara Waters, Olympus, OraSure Technologies, PPL Electric Utilities, and Soltech Solutions.
Manufacturing has long been a driver of the Lehigh Valley economy, and that continues today with about 750 companies producing a collective output of $9 billion. That represents 16% of the Lehigh Valley’s Gross Domestic Product. Nationally, manufacturing is 12% of GDP.
"At the core, the Lehigh Valley's economy is about manufacturing. We make things here. We always have, going back to the early days of the Moravians in the 1740s who produced goods both for themselves and a growing U.S. economy," said Don Cunningham, President & CEO of LVEDC. "We make everything from medical devices to semiconductors to steel pipe valves and airplane parts to beer and cranberry juice to Mack Trucks and Crayola crayons, and a lot in between."
Lehigh Valley is the 55th largest manufacturing market in the U.S. and ranks among the top 15% of manufacturing markets in the nation.
The addition of new manufacturers such as German pharmaceutical maker Gesellschaft für Micronisierung mbH, and the expansions of existing manufacturers such as ATAS International and Phoenix Tube Co., helped to make Lehigh Valley the No. 3 mid-sized market in the U.S. for the number of new economic development projects in 2024.
In regional rankings, Lehigh Valley was No. 5 in the Northeast, among communities of all sizes, beating out many larger communities.
LVEDC Annual Meeting
In addition to the "Made in Lehigh Valley" exhibit, LVEDC’s Annual Meeting celebrated the 30th Anniversary of the regional economic development coalition. 
Leaders from business, education, government, labor, community organizations, and more gathered at SteelStacks at ArtsQuest in Bethlehem to hear how far the Lehigh Valley has come and how it is primed for more growth in the years ahead.
The meeting program highlighted how the Lehigh Valley is thriving because its quality of life is attracting people to work and live here. Four inspiring individuals who moved to the Valley in the past 30 years shared why they came here, and why they have stayed.
Jay Garner, a site selection consultant who is President and Founder of Garner Economics in Atlanta and has done extensive work in the Lehigh Valley, said the region has come a long way.
“You haven't relied on others to shape your destiny. You've stepped up. You've made a difference,” he said.
Garner said Lehigh Valley’s population growth of about 6.5% since 2013 – a higher rate than the state and U.S. – is a key indicator of the region’s strength and puts Lehigh Valley in a class with fast-growing regions in the South and West.
“This is huge,” he said.
Cunningham shared the story of how the Lehigh Valley's economy has grown and diversified over the past three decades. It was a communitywide effort.
“Economic success requires a village, and we’ve got a great one,” Cunningham said..
Rick Siger, Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, said the Lehigh Valley is “an exceptionally powerful part of Pennsylvania's economy.”
“You can sort of feel it on the street when you're in the community, that the Lehigh Valley is doing well,” Siger said.
The Annual Meeting was livestreamed by WFMZ and can be viewed here.