Hello,

Welcome back to Napa’s monthly Economic Development newsletter!

In our October edition, we’re celebrating the important role that local manufacturing plays in Napa’s economy. A healthy manufacturing sector is essential to supporting the creative community we highlighted in our August newsletter, and our goal is to help each one thrive. In fact, our Napa Makes initiative focuses on both sectors–recognizing the close relationship between the two.

This week is National Manufacturing Week, and we’ll be sharing more about the Bay Area Urban Manufacturing (BAUM) initiative below. We also have a few special interviews for you including our recent conversation with Stan Hitchcock, a leader in the local manufacturing industry.  

Finally, a quick reminder that only a few days are left to apply for grant funding through Napa’s Community Recovery Bank. The program is designed to support organizations, programs, and activities that benefit City of Napa residents and small businesses. Eligible organizations and businesses can apply until October 15! Learn more and apply here.

Neal Harrison
Economic Development Manager 

Financial/Industry Resource Highlight: BAUM and EconDev Dashboard

Did you know that manufacturing is a central component to Napa’s thriving economy? A successful city diversifies its economy to promote innovation and create stability – and the manufacturing industry is key to Napa’s success in this area. 

The City of Napa Economic Development Division is excited to unveil an interactive dashboard that helps our community understand the key components of our economy, from labor, business, and housing trends to overall business health. Our team will be tracking these indicators and updating the dashboard on a quarterly basis to continue to provide a holistic view of our economy.

Five key sectors (manufacturing, public administration, accommodation and food services, healthcare, and retail) lead employment within the City of Napa, with small businesses providing the majority of the city’s jobs. And if you take a look at the dashboard, you’ll see that manufacturing and logistics industries take the top spot, creating nearly 14,000 jobs in the City. Fun fact: the manufacturing industry also produces 18% of our county’s gross regional product!

Napa is a hub of small batch production manufacturing, with light-industrial areas sprinkled throughout our valley and key corridors in the city. From Old Sonoma Highway and California Street to north of downtown and Corporate Park south of the city (and everywhere in-between), our community is full of economic opportunities facilitated by the manufacturing industry. Explore Napa’s current land use and check out the Napa 2040 General Plan to learn more about the pockets of manufacturing throughout the City and what the future holds for this vital sector of our economy.

In the spirit of National Manufacturing Week (October 7-14), we’re so excited to highlight the success of Napa’s manufacturing businesses and the support systems that help them thrive. The Bay Area Urban Manufacturing (BAUM) initiative is a key project that connects our regional manufacturing ecosystem to support the industry. With 31 Bay Area partners, the BAUM network is an essential source of information and resources on Bay Area manufacturing. 

The BAUM initiative helps “manufacture the dream” by creating economic opportunities for people from a variety of backgrounds with a diverse mix of skills. As manufacturing evolves to become cleaner, greener, and more advanced, it continues to build strong local communities by providing pathways to additional middle-class jobs. 

Stay connected with the Economic Development Division at CityOfNapa.org/EconomicDevelopment to  learn more about our key partners and industries, and to stay informed on updates to the new data dashboard!

Business Highlight Interview: Michael Erickson from Bay Area Urban Manufacturing Initiative (BAUM)

In the spirit of California’s Manufacturing Month, the Economic Development team sat down with Michael Erickson to discuss industry insights. Erickson serves as the Regional Director of Manufacture: San Jose, as well as the Director of BAUM. 

What is BAUM? What does it do?
The Bay Area Urban Manufacturing Initiative (BAUM) is a project of SF Made. Broadly, it is a collection of Bay Area communities that are focused on strengthening their manufacturing sector. BAUM convenes those communities to understand and assist them in navigating pertinent issues facing our manufacturing sector.

What are some of those issues?
There are a few common issues we see impacting our manufacturers, such as cannabis manufacturing policy; how communities are handling research and development happening in Production, Distribution, and Repair (PDR) zoning; and successful commingling of manufacturing in and near residential communities.

How have you seen BAUM support a manufacturer?
In San Jose, we found that manufacturers felt disconnected from each other and their communities; and because of the pace of their business, they felt they had no bandwidth to explore resources available to help! We created community roundtables that allowed manufacturers to connect with each other. For example, a distillery needed to offload some barrels but didn’t know where. Through the roundtable, they connected with a coffee roaster who wanted to experiment with aging coffee in these wooden barrels – which became one of their top-selling products!

Any trends you can identify in the manufacturing sector?
The electric vehicle industry is growing so much that it’s generating many support needs, such as battery tech, autonomous vehicle tech, and more. Biomedical is also an emerging sector on the research and development side.

What are you looking forward to about this year’s Manufacturing Week (October 7-14th)?
It’s been three years since we had an in-person event! I’m looking forward to seeing new and familiar faces, and especially welcoming back our students as we host several school tours. The week is just a great way to bring greater visibility to our manufacturers, as well as celebrate the strides we’re making towards better connection and workforce.

Click here for More Information About City Of Napa Economic Development Newsletter - October 2022