PHOENIX, AZ (October 31, 2025) — Manufacturing Month 2025 marked a milestone moment for Arizona, showcasing the state’s rapid rise as a national leader in advanced manufacturing. From record-breaking events and major investments to new partnerships and workforce expansions, Arizona’s manufacturing ecosystem was on full display.

By the numbers

Arizona continues to outpace the nation in manufacturing growth:

• 10% increase in manufacturing employment from 2019 to 2024 — more than 10x the national average.
• $39.2 billion in manufacturing GDP in 2024, up from $28.5 billion in 2018 — a 37.7% increase, nearly 5x the U.S. growth rate of 7.7%.
• Of the 415 active projects in the Arizona Commerce Authority’s pipeline, nearly 70% are manufacturing-related, representing over 96,000 potential new jobs.

Semiconductors surging

Arizona hosted SEMICON West for the first time, drawing thousands of global tech leaders and setting new attendance records — a 60% increase in registrations and nearly 50% more exhibitors. The event reinforced Arizona’s position as North America’s Semiconductor Headquarters.

Key announcements during the week included:

• Amkor’s groundbreaking for its $7 billion advanced packaging and test campus in Peoria.
• Busch Vacuum Solutions’ new 60,000-square-foot Arizona Service Center in Tempe.
• The launch of the Materials-to-Fab Center, a cutting-edge R&D partnership between ASU, Applied Materials, and the ACA.
• Brewer Science’s new innovation center in Chandler.
• The debut of SEMIquest, an interactive semiconductor exhibit at the Arizona Science Center.

Celebrating Arizona’s standout manufacturers

The Arizona Manufacturers Council and Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry hosted the 2025 Manufacturer of the Year Awards, recognizing:

• Swift Coat (renewable energy technology)
• Pure Wafer (semiconductor innovation)
• Axon (public safety technology)
• Copper State Bolt & Nut Co. - Arizona Success Story
• Associated Materials Innovation - Excellence in Innovation
• Four Peaks Brewing Company - Excellence in Sustainability
• Arizona Corporation Commission Chairman Kevin Thompson - Manufacturing Champion of the Year
• Honeywell – Winner of the Hottest Thing Made In Arizona competition

These companies were honored for excellence in innovation, operations, and community impact.

Expanding the manufacturing ecosystem

As Arizona’s manufacturing sector grows, so does the state’s strategic workforce programs. Arizona State University recently opened the Interdisciplinary Science and Technology Building 12 in Mesa, home to the School of Manufacturing Systems and Networks, which is part of the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering. The over 173,000-square-foot facility features labs and spaces that support research, innovation, and workforce development in advanced manufacturing, robotics, and AI.

Pima Community College celebrated the opening of the Regional Security Operations Center in Tucson, Arizona’s first community college–based center dedicated to real-time cyber threat monitoring and workforce training. And the Arizona Advanced Manufacturing Institute at Maricopa Community Colleges offers students hands-on training through manufacturing programs and industry partnerships.

In addition, Arizona’s Future48 Workforce Accelerators provide hands-on manufacturing training at facilities across the state in partnership with local community colleges. Since launching the first Future48 Workforce Accelerator in 2021, the Future48 network has expanded to include six training centers across Coolidge, Apache Junction, Yuma, Kingman, Phoenix, and Mesa with another planned for Tucson.

Supporting Arizona manufacturers

The Arizona Commerce Authority's Arizona Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) is dedicated to the growth and success of every small-to-medium-sized Arizona manufacturer. The Arizona MEP team combines decades of leadership and expertise across operational solutions, process improvement, supply chain optimization, finance and more to help companies achieve their business goals and improve profitability. 

In Fiscal Year 2025, the Arizona MEP completed nearly 200 separate client-specific projects with more than 100 local manufacturers, resulting in more than 1,130 jobs created or retained and over $14 million in client savings. 

To learn more about how Arizona MEP supports manufacturers, visit azcommerce.com.

Media Contact

Alyssa Tufts, Arizona Commerce Authority, [email protected]

About the Arizona Commerce Authority
The Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA) is the state's leading economic development organization with a streamlined mission to grow and strengthen Arizona's economy. The ACA uses a three-pronged approach to advance the overall economy: attract, expand, create - attract out-of-state companies to establish operations in Arizona; work with existing companies to expand their business in Arizona and beyond; and help entrepreneurs create new Arizona businesses in targeted industries. For more information, please visit azcommerce.com and follow the ACA on X @azcommerce.