Northeastern Pennsylvania -
It is a Facebook meme that is actually true: buying locally-made products is good for business and the community.
So crack open a Stegmaier beer (made in Luzerne County) or scoop up some Manning’s ice cream (made in Lackawanna County) for a look at how trying to buy what we make can go in unexpected directions.
There are 39,963 people working in manufacturing in Northeastern Pennsylvania, according to John L. Augustine lll, president and CEO of Penn’s Northeast, an economic development agency. (That number includes Carbon, Columbia, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Monroe, Pike, Schuylkill and Wayne counties.)
Manufacturing is 9.1 percent of total employment and there are 853 manufacturing establishments. The average annual wage is $65,519.
“These statistics show that manufacturing jobs and the wages associated with them continue to be on the increase in NEPA,” Augustine said in an email.
One obvious way to buy locally is from businesses bearing company and family names that go back decades, and have their own stores, such as candy companies Gertrude Hawk (based in Luzerne County) and Michael Mootz Candies (Luzerne County.)
Also making sweets here: Bimbo Bakeries USA, which pretty much owns the bakery aisle. Bimbo brands include Entenmann’s, Sara Lee, Thomas’, Arnold, Brownberry, Little Bites and more. You can follow the crumbs from Luzerne County to your shopping cart by buying certain Entenmann’s products and a less known brand, Bimbo Panque, said Bimbo company spokesperson John Reynolds.
In Luzerne County, Entenmann’s makes All Butter Loaf, Marshmallow Iced Devil’s Food square cakes, Iced Party Cake square cakes, Louisiana Crunch Cake and Classic Crumb Cake.
As of late August, Bimbo was hiring in Luzerne County, Reynolds said.
Also local: internationally-sold Ring Pops, made in Scranton by candy giant Bazooka. (Some specialty variations are made elsewhere.) In late August, Bazooka was bought by private equity firm Apax Partners for $700 million from owners Madison Dearborn Partners and former Disney CEO Michael Eisner.
The online news site Axios reported that despite the famous name, gum is a very small part of Bazooka’s business, with the bulk coming from non-chocolate confectionery, such as Ring Pops and similar products and that company revenue was up in 2023.
In Scranton, what they make at North American Manufacturing isn’t on store shelves: textiles, load management systems, storage systems and field gear for the military and related markets. But CEO Greg Stanton would be thrilled to sell you an American-made US flag. Just give him a call.
You won’t find the flags on Amazon.
Stanton considered it last year. “I did have high hopes, but Amazon is so ridiculous with their costs,” he said.
North American Manufacturing flags are large, cost more than most imports, and are usually bought for occasions such as military retirements or burials, he said.
Fold-Pak, which makes disposable food storage containers such as the iconic Chinese takeout pail, does sell on Amazon and some stores. But the company could not be reached for comment about which products the large company makes in Luzerne County or what companies use those products. The Hazleton manufacturer notified the state it is closing and will lay off 70 workers by Oct. 31.
It is common for manufacturers that make products for multiple brands to keep that information a trade secret.
Amapharm, a German company that pioneered gummy vitamins, has a plant in Drums and could not be reached for comment.
It makes private label brands and the only product sold under the Amapharm name is sold in Germany. Product types on the Amapharm website include colorful examples of gummy bear, gummy chew and jelly bean forms of supplements that can be formulated to brands’ specifications. That ranges from multivitamins to very targeted categories, such as a gummy chew for video gamers.
The home and health multinational giant Procter & Gamble makes Bounty paper towels, Bounty napkins, Charmin toilet paper and diapers under the Pampers and Luvs brand names in Wyoming County, according to its website.
Penn’s Northeast encourages local companies to support each other, Augustine said.
Business-to-business promotion is “the DNA” of the Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce, Robert F. Durkin, president, said in an email. “Our team has undertaken scores of one-on-one communications with local manufacturers through the state-wide Engage program and coordinated forums with groups of manufacturers in collaboration with the regional Workforce Development Boards.
The Chamber’s membership guide, magazine and email blasts encourage buying local, he said.
The top manufacturing industries here are plastics product manufacturing, architectural and structural metals manufacturing and pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing, Augustine said.
