North Central Pennsylvania Pressed Materials Consortium Releases New Plan for the Transformation, Growth of the Region’s Primary Manufacturing Sector

The Consortium spent the past 18 months building an updated roadmap for the Pressed Materials industry in McKean, Potter, Elk, Cameron, Clearfield, and Jefferson counties thanks to support from a US Economic Development Administration (EDA) grant. 

The North Central Pennsylvania Pressed Materials Consortium, a group of private industry, government, economic development, workforce development, and other nonprofit partners, has released its new Strategic Action Plan, “From Powder to Power: Positioning the Pressed Materials Industry as an Engine for U.S. Innovation and Growth.” 

This plan, the result of 18 months of planning catalyzed by a grant from the US Economic Development Administration’s (EDA) Tech Hubs program, marks a major effort to grow the region’s core manufacturing base, titled the “pressed materials” industry. Globally, pressed materials is an aggregate industry that includes activities related to powder metallurgy, press-and-sinter manufacturing, metal additive manufacturing, metal injection molding, isostatic pressing, and encompasses a broad range of substances that are shaped, pressed, or compacted to form solid objects. Pressed materials manufacturers have historically played a major role in the production of automotive gears and other precision components for consumer, medical, and industrial uses. 

North Central Pennsylvania employs 9,000 workers in the pressed materials industry, representing 43% of industry employment nationwide and 10% of all regional employment. The region is home to over 64 companies specializing in powdered metallurgy and emerging manufacturing processes, representing approximately 40% of all such companies in the United States. The region also hosts approximately one-third of the world's powdered metallurgy and carbon manufacturing facilities.

However, growth has slowed in recent years; without intervention, the industry is projected to lose a substantial share of jobs in the coming decade. The low-margin of this industry has also limited investments in innovation, automation, and next-generation opportunity development, seeing the region lose out on growth that has been realized in China and other competing countries. Paired with broader regional economic decline, the industry faces immense challenges that threaten not only the regional economy, but the dominance of the US within this sector. 

This Pressed Materials Strategic Action Plan, developed with broad industry and network participation, focuses on the retention of these employment opportunities for the region and a plan for benefiting from growth in expanding markets and applications. The plan’s two core initiatives focus on the formation  of a regional industry organization and the creation and management of a new collaborative R&D facility for the industry. These two overarching projects will create the organization and collective action necessary to drive future growth, considering the broader need for governance, programming, and dedicated facilities that can serve as the bedrock for achieving these priority projects and the focus areas they represent. Through coordinated implementation and investment from government, academia, private industry, and more, this path forward will help the industry grow - and continue to thrive - in North Central PA and the United States as a whole. 

“The pressed materials industry is our primary economic driver in North Central PA,” said John Williams, Regional Innovation Officer and leader of the Consortium. “The reversal of the industry’s decline must be rooted in innovation, alignment, and collaboration. Opportunities exist to expand the industry into emerging markets, applications, and use cases. We must work together to make this leap into a future of transformation and growth.”

“North Central Pennsylvania is a cornerstone of the powder metal industry, driving innovation and supporting a significant portion of the region’s manufacturing employment,” said Tim Robinson, Vice President at North American Höganäs Co. “The area’s unique concentration of talent, infrastructure, and supply chain capabilities makes it an essential engine for economic growth, not just locally, but nationally and globally. For our company and the broader industry, this region is more than a hub; it’s a vital ecosystem that fuels competitiveness, resilience, and long-term success.” 

“Horizon Technology is here because this is where the powdered metal industry was born,” added Eric Wolfe, President of Horizon Technology, Inc. “North Central Pennsylvania offers a strong supporting infrastructure of people, raw materials, technical expertise, education, and access to capital. For generations, this region has built an ecosystem that fuels innovation and collaboration. It’s more than just where we do business, it’s the foundation of who we are.”