Made in Colorado.

• Author: Peterson, Eric
• Position: MADE IN COLORADO

AS FAR AS GERUNDS GO, MANUFACTURING IS A PRETTY BROAD ONE. IN COLORADO ALONE, IT ENCOMPASSES ROBOTIC WELDING, MACHINING AND PLATING PARTS OF ALL KINDS. FERMENTING GRAINS, DISTILLING MASH, CUTTING, SEWING, CARVING, CURDS, WHEY, YOU NAME IT.

The origin of the word says it all: Manufacturing is derived from the Latin manu factum: made by hand.

Of course, it's not just hands anymore. It's minds and machines and computers and centuries of time-tested rechniques that are often passed down from generation to generation. It's a diverse industry with one common thread: Every sector is visceral. Tangible. These companies make things.

And manufacturing is trending up in both Colorado and the U.S. at large. Companies are reluctant to offshore production any longer with rising costs and a loss of control. The time it takes to ship a container on a slow boat from China is an eternity for some of the more fickle markets.

The total output of Colorado manufacturers jumped from $20 billion in 2012 to $21.6 billion in 2013, according to data from the National Association of Manufacturers, a galloping 8 percent clip--and that's before the economy really got rolling in late 2014.

This most recent stare rally meant manufacturing made up for 7.3 percent of gross state product, $7.9 billion of it in exports (or about 90 percent of Colorado's total exports). This emanated from just 5.6 percent of me State's total jobs, more man 150,000 workers in all. And these jobs pay quite nicely, about $80,000 a year on average, or roughly $30,000 more man the non-farm mean income for me state.

Small is big

For Colorado in 2015, neighborhood breweries, small-batch manufacturers of clothing and bacon and whiskey, and other micro-makers are flourishing.

At the same time, big is going small. Massive manufacturers like Ball Corp. are increasingly working with small breweries. There's plenty of opportunity in the supply chain to provide local ingredients for end products gobbled up by a marker that's increasingly keeping it in-state.

The supply chain is coming back with work force, as manufacturing supportS upward of 100,000 jobs that are dependent on the sector in Colorado.

While mere's a concerted push by all levels of government to attract advanced manufacturing, the smaller, craftier makers shouldn't be ignored. With nearly 300 breweries, 60-plus distilleries, and craft manufacturers making everything from ice cream sandwiches to pinball games, small batch reigns in Colorado.

The Web has allowed small businesses to sell to a worldwide marker. Makers can live wherever they want, and Colorado hits a quality-of-life sweet spot for many.

For larger companies, the state has good logistics and infrastructure with a central location on major freight routes, relatively low land and labor costs, and an economy that's helping set me pace for the nation.

It follows that Colorado can really shine in me bigger picture of the national manufacturing resurgence. As the comeback accelerates, we are in an enviable position to grab a big chunk of manufacturing as it gets re-shored, restarted, and reinvented.

Finishing Professionals

(Denver)

finishingpros.com

Who: Founded in 1976, Finishing Pros is the state's only ISO 9001:2008 metal finisher certified by the National Association for Defense and Aerospace Contractors (NADCAP).

Michael Webb took the reins as president in mid-2014 to help the growing company make the jump from a contract shop to first-tier vendor for aerospace and medical device companies.

Growth drivers: Finishing Pros offers electroless plating, electroplating, and chemical conversion, but anodization has proven key to its recent growth. "Anodizing is absolutely critical if you want to be inaerospace." Webb says, referring to an electrolytic passivation method to increase the thickness of the natural oxide layer on the surface of metal parts.

Aluminum has become omnipresent; the new Ford F-150 even uses it to shave 700 pounds from its weight, Webb notes. "The use of aluminum is on the rise," he says, "That's underpinning our growth."

Training: Finishing Pros has partnered with Colorado State University to deliver continuing education to employees via their smartphones and tablets. "The most difficult thing about manufacturing in Colorado: finding people with technical skills," says Webb. "We'll be able to have our people access all of the information for our technology on their smart devices:"

Next: Webb says his aim is to position the 50-employee company for "large-scale industrial growth." He forecasts an uptick of about 50 percent for 2015, due in large part to growth in aerospace.

W.H. Ranch Dungarees

(Berthoud)

whranchdungarees.com

Who: Ryan Martin has been making jeans to order from raw denim since 2012. Priced at $335 and largely sold to European customers, W.H. Ranch Dungarees are the rare luxury good that double as durable work wear--one rancher wore his pair daily for months without serious damage.

Inspirations: Family and the mass market. "My mom's a fifth-generation pattern maker and sewer," says Martin. "My jeans definitely have a Lee influence."

Toughness, technique and style: Martin employs "heirloom" skills learned from his mother and grandmother. For the latter, sewing "was a matter of survival during the Dust Bowl," he adds. "You made your own clothes and you dam well better make them built to last."

Utilizing small runs of raw denim from Japan, the attention to detail in a pair of W.H. Ranch Dungarees also stands out. "Everything is cleanly made--the jeans look as good on the inside as they do on the outside," he says. "I've been known to rip out an entire inseam because one stitch was a little wonky." As for the Western style, he adds, "I just made what I wanted to wear."

Why Colorado: The market's not local, but the quality of life is. "We just love Berthoud. It's a nice little Mayberry town."

Next: Thanks to a 10-week backlog, operations are expanding with the help of a Los Angeles cut-and-sew facility with 1950s-era machinery. Martin's handmade process will remain in Berthoud as W.H. Ranch Origins, and the factory-made jeans will retail for $220.

Dry Dock Brewing Co.

(Aurora)

drydockbrewing.com

Who: In 2005 Kevin Delange and Michele Reding from The Brew Bigger Hut home brewing store came up with a pioneering model that's since gone mainstream.

What: "In Colorado, you can have a manufacturing license with a tasting room," says Delange. "Nobody had opened up with a manufacturing license and sold all of their beer retail. We were the first to do that in Colorado and now there are probably 150." He's since moved into wholesale with cans of Hop Abomination and four other beers, as well as 22-ounce bottles.

Why cans: "It was a tough decision," says Delange. "If you do a good job getting the beer into a can, it's just as good. I thought, 'If the beer's the same, which would I rather have?'"

DeLange went with cans for their weight and portability and bought a canning line from Boulder-based Wild Goose in 2009. Five million cans and a $4.5 million production facility later, he says the line is going strong. "Their sales girl says, 'You've abused your line as much as anybody:"

Premier Manufacturing

(Frederick)

pmscs.com

Who: President and founder Edmond Johnson launched Premier to make custom printed circuit boards (PCBs) in 2000.

Next: After 20 percent revenue growth in 2014, Johnson is looking to a booming entrepreneurial ecosystem in Colorado to catalyze more growth. He wants to partner with startups in Denver and Boulder. "The opportunity to engage in technology," he says, "makes for good manufacturing opportunities."

And it works both ways. "There's not a lot of companies left [making PCBs in Colorado]." he says. But the benefits of working with a local partner are obvious. "You have access to your manufacturing arm."

A Plea to D.C.: Johnson says Congress needs to lower the federal tax burden on small business and implement a longer-term plan for accelerated depreciation. "It keeps us at bay," he says. "Stop talking about it and do something about it."

EarthRoamer

(Dacono)

earthroamer.com

Who: Bill Swails built himself an "Xpedition Vehicle," or XV, in 1998 before going into business making up-to $500,000 vehicles that are designed to go literally anywhere. There are about 150 EarthRoamer XVs on the road today, including one that was delivered to musician John Mayer in late 2014.

Innovation: RVs usually run on propane; XVs are solar-powered. "It allows you to be 100 percent off the grid;" says Swails.

Next: An even burlier vehicle: the $1 million XV-HD. Swails hopes to deliver the first one this year.

Lessons learned: The company went through bankruptcy after the 2008 crash. "We were pretty leveraged," says Swails. He took the opportunity to retool the company, now 26 employees strong and growing. "Now we can stay in business on the service side alone."

Why Colorado: "The Colorado image and brand is very important to us," Swails answers. "It's also a perfect testing ground for our vehicles."

The ends of the Earth: Many customers have driven their XVs around the world, but one Australian customer put his to the ultimate test in Mongolia. "You're not even on roads," laughs Swails. "You're just driving on trails at that point."

David Rasmussen Design Group

(Carbondale)

davidrasmussendesign.com

Who: David Rasmussen started building high-end tree houses before shifting his focus to custom furniture and cabinetry in 2006. Now his 11-employee shop in Carbondale turns out a wide range of kitchen products in barware--think wooden martini glasses and colorful cutting boards --between furniture and cabinet jobs.

Retail and custom: He's selling the houseware products through accounts like Uncommon Goods and TJ Maxx, and makes custom creations for such clients as Kate Spade and Calvin Klein. "There's not a lot of companies doing quite what we do." says Rasmussen of the latter business. "They have a hard time finding...