- The Quad Cities region is close to major manufacturing markets like Kansas City, MO-KS and Indianapolis, IN as well as major manufacturing centers like Chicago and Peoria, IL
- Close proximity to the Mississippi River allows manufacturers to ship heavy metals and materials products, and gives them intimate access to the St. Louis, Memphis, and New Orleans river shipping hubs
- Regional manufacturers – plastic, concrete, and limestone producers specifically – have access to one of the nation’s most abundant water supplies in the Quad Cities region
- The Quad Cities Manufacturing Innovation Hub provides collaboration and learning space that enables manufacturers to leverage local and national resources, increase business-to-business (B2B) activities and share best practices to promote continued growth
A Workforce Almost 32 times More Concentrated than Average
The Advanced Metals and Materials cluster in the Quad Cities region – responsible for transforming raw or already manipulated materials into new finished products or components – is experiencing positive gains as manufacturing continues to re-shore jobs. Projections show the industry is set to grow 11.2% until 2024, adding over 1,400 jobs. In 2017, this sector generated $5.3 billion worth of exports, accounting for roughly 13.6 percent of all regional exports.
The Quad Cities region displays a clear competitive advantage in the production and processing of aluminum and aluminum products; our workforce is almost 32 times more concentrated than the average community nationwide and is growing. Over the past 10 years, jobs in this sector have grown by more than 10%.
Advanced Metals and Materials manufacturing continues to support high wage employment for the Quad Cities region. In 2018, a sector employee earned, on average, $75,326, nearly $3,600 more than the national average. The average Advanced Metals and Materials worker earned $18,000 more than the region’s annual wage for all business sectors ($56,855).
Industry Advantages
Key Companies
- Arconic
- 3M Company
- Cobham Mission Systems
- Genesis Systems
- Guardian Glass
- Lincoln Electric Automation
- Rock Island Arsenal Joint Manufacturing and Technology Center (JMTC)
- Sivyer Steel Company
- SSAB
- Sterilite Corp.