Advanced Manufacturing includes operations that incorporate new technologies, production processes and systems to improve the manufacturing process. Further, it refers to those industries that are technology-intensive and employ a larger than average number of workers in research and development. Waco’s advanced manufacturing target includes aerospace and defense and companies that manufacture materials, transportation equipment, machinery, energy storage and electrical equipment and other components.
    
The Waco MSA manufacturing employment base represents approximately 13 percent of the workforce (14,400), more than 1.5 times state and national averages.

Manufacturing skill sets reflect Waco’s diverse and advanced industrial base including transportation equipment, pharmaceutical, food and beverage, electronic assembly, industrial equipment, building materials, plastic and steel manufacturers.

Area colleges supply a broad spectrum of workforce training. Baylor University’s top-rated business, entrepreneurship and engineering programs offer talent and research capacity. Texas State Technical College, headquartered in Waco, boasts Texas’ No. 1 precision production, manufacturing and engineering associate/certificate programs and is among the top 10 in the nation in awarding two-year technical engineering and computer science degrees. 

That has helped to attract industry leaders to Waco like Mars Chocolate North America, Allergan,  Coca-Cola North America, Caterpillar Work Tools, Time Manufacturing, Sanderson Farms, Inc., and a host of smaller leading-edge manufacturers and suppliers.

This sector includes companies that manufacture fabricated metal products; transportation equipment; computer and electronic products; machinery; electrical equipment, appliances and components; and plastic and rubber products.

The existing Area Industry Managers Group continues to be a forum for identifying overlapping needs of businesses in the advanced manufacturing, aerospace and defense and other local manufacturers. The group, made up of 10 or 12 representatives, has been in existence for more than five years and meets quarterly to address relevant issues collectively.

Here are a few examples of Waco's Advanced Manufacturing sector:

Caterpillar Work Tools & Services
The location was originally built to be an assembly factory for articulated dump trucks. Caterpillar ceased operations at its Waco facility in 2003. In June 2005, the facility was designated to build excavator buckets for the company's work tools division.

Caterpillar Logistics (Parts Network) completed a $38.9 million, 750,000-square-foot parts distribution center in the new Gateway area of Texas Central Park in 2008. The facility employs more than 140 people and provides aftermarket parts to six Cat dealers in North America. The building has been certified LEED silver.

Caterpillar also completed construction of a $33.5 million manufacturing and design facility in 2010 that will be the global supplier of hydromechanical tools and be home to 62 new jobs. The plant in Texas Central Park is the fourth Caterpillar site to locate in Greater Waco in five years.

Caterpillar sells its products primarily to the construction industry in North America and plans to expand its line to offer more types of buckets.


Alcoa Fastening Systems
Alcoa Fastening Systems produces Huck brand fasteners at its Waco facility, said Bart Preston, director of operations for Alcoa. The fasteners range in size from two inches to the length of a baseball bat and are used primarily in the truck, trailer and railcar industries.

Alcoa fasteners are distributed nationally and internationally, with prime markets being Mexico, Canada, the United Kingdom, China and Australia.
The 400,000-square-foot Waco facility has more than 500 employees and parts of the operation function 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The Waco site produces 200,000 pounds of fasteners every day out of aluminum, carbon steel and stainless steel. Alcoa is rated as the safest company in the world.

Associated Hygienic Products commenced a $10 million expansion project in 2010 for new production lines at their advanced manufacturing facility that opened in 2009. The expansion will create 55 new positions as well as retaining 152 jobs. A second expansion has been announced adding 50 more jobs and investing $12.55 million in two more production lines. AHP is a wholly owned subsidiary of Disposal Soft Goods International that has been manufacturing, marketing and selling disposable baby diapers and training pants for customers in North America since 1984. AHP's Waco 310,000-square-foot location in Waco employes more than 200 people in Texas Central Park.

Central Texas Iron Works celebrated a century in Waco in 2010. With 190 employees, the advanced structural steel manufacturer utliizes state-of-the-art systems including 3-D interfacing for product modeling and robotic welding for fabrication. CTIW has also diversified its service offerings to include complete project management and myriad design and prepration projects.

Coca Cola North America celebrated 15 years of service at their advanced manufacturing facility in Texas Central Park. The original operation of 16 employees and two product lines has grown to employ more than 260 and 16 product lines. The company launched a $30 million production line expansion (to include Powerade, FUZE and more) as part of its continued growth at the 600,000-square-foot facility in Texas Central Park. Employment has grown to more than 300.

Mars Chocolate North America the U.S. food, snack and pet care operations of Mars, Inc., is one of the world's leading food manufacturers. Wtih more than $7 billion in annual sales, the combined food, snack and pet care segments are a symbol of excellence for quality brands. Headquartered in Mount Olive, NJ, Mars North America employs more than 12,000 associates in United States, with 51 facilities nationwide. The Waco branch produces the Mars non-chocolate products: Skittles Bite Size Candy and Starburst Fruit Chews. The site also produces most of the world's Snickers Bars, the country's No. 1 chocolate bar.

Owens-Illinois received the Texas Enterprise Zone designation for a significant capital investment project and the retention 307 employees at its operation that has been in Waco since 1942. The company manufactures 2.5 million containers, primarily beer bottles, in Waco every day. The plant serves the larger breweries in Texas and the Southwest. The plant has been in continues operation since 1942 and currently employs 307 people at its Waco facility. The company was established in 1903 and has 81 plants in 22 countries.

ITML, a division of Myers Industry Lawn & Garden Group, expanded its manufacturing operation as a result of consolidation in 2009. The additional 60,000 square feet and product line is a $2 million investment that will create 50 new full-time employees. The company produces horticultural containers from plastic scraps, trimmings from diaper companies and other polypropylene post-industrial waste. The containers are sold to nurseries and growers. The facility uses about 800,000 pounds of plasic in the raw form each month to produce about half a million flower pots a day.

Trane celebrated 20 years in 2010 at its advanced manufacturing site that produces a full line of water source and ground source heat pumps for commercial applications worldwide. The site, which employs more than 215, has become a model for efficiency within the Ingersoll Rand network in recent years.

T Squared launched a second location in Waco in 2010 offering advanced machining services to the aerospace and manufacturing industry. The project is anticipated to create 24 jobs when fully operational and invest $1.6 million in its new facility in Texas Central Park.