Top contract manufacturers in the U.S.

According to recent data collected by IndustryNet, contract manufacturing is growing at more than twice the rate of manufacturing as a whole, reporting a 9 percent increase in employment, compared to an overall industry growth rate of only 4 percent.

Sales growth follows this trend, with contract manufacturers in the U.S. reporting three times the growth rate of manufacturing. The industry boasts a sales growth rate of 3 percent compared to the industry rate of only 1 percent.

To learn more about growth in the U.S. contract manufacturing sector, read our detailed report on top trends in U.S. contract manufacturing.

 This article will explore some of the main highlights of the report, and look at some of the nation’s top contract manufacturers, broken down by employment, job growth and square footage.

Regional differences

Regionally, the Midwest portion of the U.S. (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota) is the place to be if you are a contract manufacturer. This region contains 217 contract manufacturers, or 30 percent of the nation's total contract manufacturing population. It also boasts the strongest employment growth rate at 25 percent.

In terms of company location, the Pacific region (Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington) takes second place with 116 contract manufacturers, representing 16 percent of the nation's total. It is followed closely by the Mid-Atlantic area (New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania) housing 103 contract manufacturers, or 14 percent.

The South Atlantic section (Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, the District of Columbia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia) takes fourth place with 89 contract manufacturers, which is 12 percent of the U.S.' total contract manufacturers.

Three of the four remaining regions contain a similar number of manufacturers. The New England region (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont) has 71 contract manufacturers at 10 percent of the total.

The Mountain portion (Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming) runs only slightly behind with 57 contract manufacturers or 8 percent of the total. The West South Central area (Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas) hosts 51 contract manufacturers at 7 percent of the total number of U.S. contract manufacturers.

The East South Central region (Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi and Tennessee) trails all other regions in the number of contract manufacturers at only 26, or 4 percent of the nation's total.

In terms of employment growth, the statistics differ slightly. The Midwest portion still dominates, but the Mid-Atlantic region, the South Atlantic region and the Pacific region all tie at 16 percent of the nation's contract manufacturing employment growth.

Next in line, the West South Central section and the New England region tie at 11 percent of the national contract manufacturing growth.

The East South Central and Mountain regions tie for last place with only 3 percent of the nation's contract manufacturing employment growth.

Noteworthy trends in contract manufacturing

Also noteworthy is the breakdown of ownership. The manufacturing industry is primarily male dominated and Caucasian dominated, reporting only 2 percent of companies owned by women and 1 percent owned by minorities.

Contract manufacturing again blows those figures out of the water with 4 percent of contract manufacturing companies as women-owned businesses and 4 percent as minority-owned businesses, making it an extremely diverse sector.

In another upset, contract manufacturing bucks the distribution trend of the manufacturing industry. Contract manufacturers report that 54 percent of their distribution is domestic and 42 percent is international.

Industry-wide, 70 percent of distribution is domestic and 29 percent international, indicating a much more balanced approach between domestic and international distribution in contract manufacturing than is found in general manufacturing.

IndustryNet found that out of 730 contract manufacturers in the U.S., the following companies are the top of the sector according to various measurements:

Top 10 contract manufacturers by employment

1. PRIDE Industries; Roseville, California; 3000 employees.
Pride Industries works with diverse market sectors from small businesses to large, local governments to state agencies, federal agencies and military complexes. Most strikingly, PRIDE offers your company the opportunity to work with a contract manufacturer that promotes employee diversity, specifically designed to accommodate employees with disabilities.

2. Canon Virginia Inc.; Newport News, Virginia; 1560 employees.
Canon Virginia Inc. is the global manufacturing facility for its office and consumer products. It manufactures copiers, printers and cartridges and provides reverse engineering services for older Canon models.

3. PCI Pharma Services; Rockford, Illinois; 1200 employees.
PCI Pharma Services concentrates on the medical contract manufacturing sector. It offers integrated drug development, clinical trial supply and manufacturing of solid dose products. Additionally, PCI Pharma Services provides exceptional packaging services to increase your speed to market and commercial success.

4. Genco Electronics; Fort Worth, Texas; 1200 employees.
Genco Electronics focuses on product lifestyle and reverse logistics solutions in the electronics sector. Its solutions are designed to maximize your profits while reducing your overhead.

5. Tessy Plastics Corporation; Skaneateles, New York; 1075 employees.
Founded in 1973, Tessy Plastics originally focused primarily on precision molding. Since then, it has grown to a global contract manufacturer for everything from specialized medical devices to consumer products.

6. Albany Molecular Research Inc.; Albany, New York; 760 employees.
Albany Molecular Research works in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. It provides a continuum of services from development through candidate selection, manufacturing and product approval.

7. AccessAbility Business Services Inc.; Minneapolis, Minnesota; 643 employees.
While AccessAbility provides kitting and bundling services, bagging, sealing and a whole host of other contract manufacturing services, its true strength lies in its ability to provide you with a skilled and trained workforce.

AccessAbility offers individuals with barriers to employment full training and supervision so that they can seamlessly integrate into your existing workforce.

8. Plexus Corp.; Nampa, Idaho; 600 employees. Plexus Corp. serves the healthcare and life sciences, industrial and commercial, communications, and aerospace and defense sectors. Since 1979, Plexus Corp. has partnered with countless companies to solve their most complex electronics needs.

9. Penn United Technologies Inc.; Cabot, Pennsylvania; 525 employees.
Penn United Technologies works in the energy, oil and gas, medical, defense and aerospace, fluid handling, automotive, electronics and telecommunications markets. From design to machining, tooling and assembly, Penn United Technologies partners with you every step of the way. As an employee-owned company, you are always working with an owner regardless of where your product is in its development or production.

10. IFB Solutions; Winston-Salem, North Carolina; 500 employees.
IFB Solutions manufactures textiles, mattresses, office supplies and new products. More importantly, IFB manufactures hope for the visually impaired, training them to become productive members of the IFB team through the assistance of programs such as AbilityOne.

Top five contract manufacturers by employment growth

1. Tessy Plastics Corp.; Skaneateles, New York; 1075 employees on-site.
Tessy Plastics consistently updates its technologies through robotics and precision testing equipment. It works with the latest innovations in raw plastics materials and advanced technology to provide you with high-quality, state-of-the-art products.

2. Tweet-Garot Mechanical Inc.; Green Bay Wisconsin; 450 employees on-site.
Since 1924, Tweet-Garot has employed world-class mechanical engineers, plumbers, steamfitters, sheet metal workers and others to put their skills to work for your mechanical contracting needs.

3. CARC Inc.; Lake Charles, Louisiana; 418 employees on-site.
CARC provides services such as commercial janitorial, laundry, lawn and document shredding, utilizing carefully supervised mentally-challenged employees, enabling them to lead productive, meaningful lives.

4. Plexus Corp.; Neenah, Wisconsin; 350 employees on-site.
As a contract manufacturer, Plexus Corp. takes your company from product design through manufacturing, supply chain issues and aftermarket services. By integrating all of these services under one roof, Plexus is able to ensure that your product moves smoothly and cost-effectively throughout its lifespan.

5. Goodwill Industries of Southwest Michigan; Kalamazoo, Michigan; 332 employees on-site.
Goodwill Industries of Southwest Michigan manufactures clothes, completes product assembly and light manufacturing, die cutting, laminating, packaging and other services. All Goodwill Industries employees are citizens in need of a helping hand.

Top 10 contract manufacturers by square feet

1. Freeport Center Associates LLP; Clearfield, Utah; 7,010,000 square feet.
An excellent transportation network including highways and railroads make the Freeport Center Associates an excellent partner for contract manufacturing and logistics.

2. Plexus Corp.; Neenah, Wisconsin; 3,300,000 square feet.
In addition to providing world-class contract manufacturing, Plexus Corp. vigorously pursues world-class environmental stewardship. From ensuring that its minerals are sourced only through non-conflict partners to providing complete supply chain transparency, Plexus Corp. produces quality products with a conscience.

3. Visual Pak; Waukegan, Illinois; 2,000,000 square feet.
Visual Pak develops, manufactures, packages and delivers products for small companies and Fortune 500 companies alike. From product development to warehousing and logistics, Visual Pak enhances your product ideas.

4. Tessy Plastics Corporation; Skaneateles, New York; 1,600,000 square feet.
In spite of its large size, Tessy Plastics emphasizes an even larger goal throughout its corporation - environmental responsibility. Tessy Plastics maintains its ISO 14001-2004 certification and concentrates on reducing its carbon footprint throughout its manufacturing enterprise.

5. NYSARC Inc.; Latham, New York; 1,300,000 square feet.
NYSARC is a community-oriented contract manufacturer, training residents with learning disabilities to work in light manufacturing such as assembly and packaging. As part of its training program, NYSARC provides these services to its partner companies.

6. Services Plus Inc.; Green Bay, Wisconsin; 1,000,000 square feet.
Services Plus is a custom manufacturer that provides specialty packaging and brand enhancement as part of its suite of services. The company works with orders small and large.

7. Fas-Pak Inc.; Michigan City, Indiana; 990,000 square feet.
Fas-Pak offers a variety of packaging options, including induction sealing, nitrogen purge, viscous liquid and steamed can. It also creates display and retail boxes, hot stamp ink jet bar coding and tanker filling.

8. Canon Virginia Inc.; Newport News, Virginia; 920,000 square feet.
In addition to providing global manufacturing services for its office products, Canon Virginia has taken the lead on environmentally friendly processes since its inception. The company focuses on energy and resource conservation and the elimination of hazardous substances in all of its world-class products.

9. UPM Pharmaceuticals Inc.; Bristol, Tennessee; 825,000 square feet. UPM Pharmaceuticals takes your product from ideation to manufacturing and warehousing. It provides formulation development, analytical services and clinical manufacturing to bring your product to market.

10. Warren Industries Inc.; Racine, Wisconsin; 500,000 square feet.
Bindery, board games and a variety of specialized packaging products, warehousing and distribution have been the hallmark of Warren Industries for nearly 40 years. If you have ever played Trivial Pursuit or Monopoly, chances are good that you were using cards supplied by Warren.

Discover more with IndustryNet

To learn more about these top contract manufacturing companies, as well as hundreds of thousands of other U.S. companies, visit IndustryNet, the one-stop resource for all of your industrial supply needs, providing information on 400,000 U.S. manufacturers as well as suppliers of over 10,000 industrial products and services. To connect with contract manufacturers near you, start your free search on IndustryNet. Here, you can request a quote, contact a company directly, connect on social media, obtain a list of industrial suppliers in your area and more.