Friday, September 14, 2012

Bay Area technical manufacturing has a future, technical skills are needed


Silicon Valley.com/Mike Cassidy (Mercury News columnist), 9/2/12. "Bay Area poised for manufacturing revival"

"The Bay Area is in the midst of a modern manufacturing revival that could help shape the region's economy for years to come. 

....  More than 162,000 people are working in Silicon Valley factories today, up by 7,900 from two years ago. And state economists say the gains will continue, with the manufacturing sector growing by 5 percent by 2018. In the East Bay, fewer than half as many people work in manufacturing, but
that number will rise to 79,800 from 78,200 in the next six years.

....  "..Global economic shifts and the rapid advance of technology provide the Bay Area with the potential for growth in new manufacturing jobs and in the fields that support production -- including research and development, product and production design, supply-chain management, logistics and even marketing and the law." 

....  So when Henton (below) talks about reasons for optimism, he points not to figures that show modest gains in manufacturing jobs in Silicon Valley. Instead, he focuses on what he calls "innovation and specialty services," generally well-paying positions that support the business of making things. Such jobs comprise about a tenth of the jobs in Silicon Valley, as defined by Joint Venture: Silicon Valley, which considers San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, southern Alameda County and a slice of Santa Cruz County as the valley. A quarter of those 144,000 jobs are linked to manufacturing, Henton estimates.

 ....  The Bay Area will be an especially attractive production site for companies making complex products that consist of expensive, high-tech components and a relatively small amount of labor per unit, says Gary Guthart, CEO of Intuitive Surgical, which last fall opened a new 150,000-square-foot factory in Sunnyvale to build its robotic surgical systems."   Read article,  includes embedded video about Intuitive Surgical, a surgical robotics company, 3:21 minutes.  

Reference - Doug Henton, CEO Collaborative Economics.  Gary Guthart, CEO  Intuitive Surgical.

Posted by Kathy Meeh

43 comments:

Anonymous said...

I want a job. A manufacuturing job. Where do I go to apply?

Anonymous said...

Meeh, what does this have to do with Pacifica?

What does Pacifica manufacture? Zip nada nothing.

Oh wait we manufacture nothing but debt!

Hutch said...

What a dope 810. Aren't we part of the Bay Area? And BTW Pacifica has attracted some manufacturing lately. The new french pastry factory on Francisco. I think we can attract some high tech companies here as well.

Anonymous said...

Hutch, keep clipping your magic glass slippers.

Anonymous said...

click click isn't that the same company that's been here a few years? mothership on Palmetto?

Anonymous said...

Did someone mention dope? We definitely have a dope industry in Pacifica. What's your pleasure?

Anonymous said...

I don't think that article is talking about fancy cremepuffs as a new Bay Area industrial revolution.

Hutch said...

Can we afford to be picky? Cream puffs, Circuit Boards. It's all manufacturing baby. The quarry would make a great industrial campus for a pharm company. And they'd have plenty of subjects (Like anon 722) to test their anti depressants on.

Anonymous said...

Ya I see the long list of companies fighting and tripping each other to open offices in Pacifica..

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Kathy Meeh said...

"Can we afford to be picky?" Hutch 9:33 AM

I agree that it hardly matters exactly what gets built, or what moves into commercial/retail spaces. Its business. A plan would be nice, but...

As for perfect planning, FMV that hasn't happened since the initial mapping-out of city sections, whenever that was (late 1950's (?).

One thing, whatever gets built, access and parking should be a serious consideration. Driving past the up hill Dental office and Veterinary hospital on Oceania Boulevard, broadly between Eureka Square and Manor Drive, its clear that realistic parking considerations didn't happen.

Anonymous said...

Giddy optimists aside, the reality is that no one is lining up to build anything economically significant here.

It's creampuffs and meth for Pacifica!

Anonymous said...

Gee, wonder if Silicon Valley wishes they'd gone with a creampuff factory instead of circuit boards? To be perfectly clear, I'm glad we at least have a creampuff factory but I'd much rather for this city's sake that it was a circuit board factory or some such industry.
Again, thank God for the creampuffs, and, for our ability to see the difference between French pastry and circuit boards on a dying local economy.

Anonymous said...

whatever happened to that assisted living facility on oddstad? have they started to build yet? that will bring us some longterm jobs and revenue from sales and property tax and ancillary spending in this town. we're a good fit for more of those. plenty of smaller parcels around town that are suitable that shouldn't start a war to develop. well, maybe a skirmish.

Tom Clifford said...

The assisted living project on Oddstad has received all needed approvals from the Planning Commission and The City Council. their next step is to submit plans for a building permit.[plans for a building permit are more detailed then the ones needed for a site development permit.]Once the building permit is issued all they need is a lot of money and a contractor.

Anonymous said...

Thx Tom. Trying to be optimistic but at this rate of progress Len Stone could be the first resident.

Anonymous said...

No lender will loan these guys the money to build this project. The skilled successful assisted living vented builders are not getting construction money to build new centers.

Tom Clifford said...

anonymous 6:42 ? Are you a banker or a venture capitalist. Do you have Data to back up your statement? I asks because as a builder I have seen a lot of less likely things built. I will also admit that as a Planning Commissioner I have approved a lot of projects that were never built.

Anonymous said...

True, it's not easy to get financing unless you don't really need it. Tough on the little guys. Who knows how often approved projects fail to be built because of money woes or partner problems.

Steve Sinai said...

I seriously doubt the people behind the assisted living center would go through all the trouble of getting approval if they didn't have financing lined up.

Anonymous said...

Hope so!

Anonymous said...

So where is it? I'm old. I'm in a hurry.

Anonymous said...

Steve Sinai said...
I seriously doubt the people behind the assisted living center would go through all the trouble of getting approval if they didn't have financing lined up.

September 15, 2012 10:16 PM

More comments from the peanut gallery. Call a few commercial banks and ask them what they are lending on.

I will give you a list to make it easy.

1. BOFA
2. Wells Fargo
3. US Bank
4. First National Of Northern California(was First National of Daly City)
5. Citibank
6. First Bank
7. First Republic Bancorp
8. Bank Of The West
9. HSBC
10. California Bank & Trust

Oh great one Sinai, what about Skyfield USA, they didn't have any money lined up?

What about your buddies at Whole Energy? They didn't have the money lined up??

The guy who owned the lot at the corner of Beach Blvd. who wanted to build the condos let the purchase money hard money lender take the property back.

Oh I almost forgot JP Morgan Chase?

Call around. Or better yet put some money where your mouth is.

For a guy who claims to be so smart you are losing creditablity a little more each day.

Anonymous said...

Wow Anon 732, you just said a lot of nothing. Why so negative? Are you one of them NIMBY folks?

You do realize the Bay Area is in the middle of a building boom? So banks ARE loaning plenty of money. And since assisted living projects are being built at record pace, they are loaning money for those too.

Steve Sinai said...

Anon@7:32 -

Projects that are profitable under certain conditions become unprofitable as the business environment changes. Or the people willing to do the financing lose confidence in the developers. Then the projects don't go forward. That's what happened to the projects you mentioned.

A guy who had to leave town because he couldn't handle his own finances shouldn't be lecturing others on how financing works.

Anonymous said...

Sinai, you know nothing about finance

Watch out you may be a victim of road rage!

Anonymous said...

"You do realize the Bay Area is in the middle of a building boom?"

He left California several years ago, so he wouldn't know.

Steve Sinai said...

"Sinai, you know nothing about finance"

Of course I do. I'm Jewish.

Anonymous said...

A bank will finance the Oddstad Assisted Living. It is the one Industry that is profitable for banks.

Anonymous said...

@1011 Please, you seem to really care about this town, but for your own education and credibility, take a real close look at where the building boom is in the Bay Area. You generalize and you offer false hope. Look beyond just the geographic location, because, yes, we're close. Look for all the other factors that go into a surge in development, the things that developers look for, like a healthy infrastructure, access to major highways and especially good public transit, close proximity to lots of jobs, an abundance of developable land (ideally some of it city or county owned), popular amenities like shopping areas, educational variety and quality, cultural richness, eligibility for and access to fed or state funds or solid private funding for quality projects, etc. These things are not at all descriptive of Pacifica. In fact, we have taken decades to create a town that embraces decay. We might pick up a little in-fill housing as the housing market improves but there is nothing in the facts to suggest any more than that and the usual opening/closing of small businesses. My dream is that Kimco calculates they can make more money off this area by seriously upgrading Linda Mar Center and that Eureka Square becomes much needed apts. Back to reality, that assisted-living facility is extremely important to this town. Keep your fingers crossed!

Anonymous said...

@306 Thanks for the inside scoop.

Anonymous said...

This group knows nothing about building or running an assisted senior apartment complex.

The big assisted living builders are not getting financing

Anonymous said...

Some of the big ones are funded by insurance companies who know a growth industry when they see one.
Hope the one on Oddstad goes forward but starting to worry.

Anonymous said...

anon 306 Maybe they will, maybe they won't. A bank's decision to make a loan is about more than what industry is involved. Many factors are considered.

Anonymous said...

Most important factor is the developer, their track record, financial statement. Don't know anything about the Oddstad group.
Banks can wait for the perfect match.

Anonymous said...

This reaks of Skyfield USA all over again.

Rumor is Diaz and Stewie Newton, have their grubby fingers in this assisted living.

Everything Diaz and Stewie, touch turns to sh*t

Anonymous said...

@511 been burned? do you know who the "official" developer is? i guess it's somewhere on the city website but i give up.

Hutch said...

14 senior and assisted living complexes in San Bruno http://www.aplaceformom.com/senior-living/california/san-bruno

Seems like it is a booming industry that Pacifica could participate in once we get a city council that wont listen to every NIMBY group fighting every project that comes along.

Anonymous said...

If it's the Skyfield gang we got trouble.

Anonymous said...

Hutch

The assisted centers in San Bruno were all built a long time ago. In better economies and lending situations.

Anonymous said...

Pacifica needs Assisted Living badly. A bank knows this. The Industry is booming and the baby boomers will more than make up big profits for banks. Its a win win for all. Plus, I wan to live in pacifica when I am old and gray. Maybe I will get to stay in the new place. If I am good.

Anonymous said...

bythI believe we have at least 7 senior facilities in Pacifica. All levels of care from independent living to SNF. Why not more? Don't need to be on huge parcels. That one planned for Oddstad is on a 2.13 acre property. Jobs and revenue.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, so there Hutch!The other thing is people don't get old anymore. What were you thinking!

Anonymous said...

anon 720 don't piss off the kids just yet. you made need them. this place is looking unlikely.