Bay Area Manufacturing Week

San Leandro is building upon its deep manufacturing history, transforming into an innovation and advanced manufacturing hub, with exciting startup businesses pushing the envelope in hardware, food manufacturing, and the internet of things. The slogan, We Make Things, goes beyond San Leandro’s industrial sector, with the many innovative businesses, entrepreneurs, and students who are working to find new solutions for business, environmental, and social problems.

San Leandro has a long industrial history, first in making plows and Caterpillar tractors, then in canning, and then in Chrysler vehicles. This has created a legacy of skills in metals and machining, food processing and distribution, and instruments and process controls. This is precisely why San Leandro continues to preserve around 23% of its land for industrial use, as the industrial/manufacturing sector continues to contribute significantly to San Leandro’s economy ($52 million 2014-2017). In 2020, approximately 32% of San Leandro’s jobs were in the Production, Distribution, and Repair (PDR) sectors, employing over 14,000 people with a median wage of $68,000. Manufacturing jobs have historically been the cornerstone of the local economy, providing good wages to persons with a diversity of skill and education levels and offering career pathways for advancement.

In 2022, the City of San Leandro's Economic Development Team worked on a supplement in the San Francisco Business Times that features stories on San Leandro's rich history in manufacturing and innovation.

Each year, National Manufacturing Day and Bay Area Manufacturing Week are held to highlight the value and importance of Manufacturing in America. In 2022, there are several chances to celebrate Bay Area Manufacturing Week:

Made in San Leandro Celebration Day - October 1, 2022

This event was part of the City's sesquicentennial celebration and took place at Gate510 - San Leandro's growing hotspot for innovation. The event was located on the Ale Trail, between Drake's Brewing Company (1933 Davis Street) and 21st-Amendment Brewery (2010 Williams Street) and incuded events for the whole family, including food trucks, a pumpkin patch for kids, ice cream, and manufacturer showcases.

San Leandro Manufacturer Tours - October 7-14, 2022

The following manufacturers are hosting in-person tours during which you will have the opportunity to learn how products are made.

21st-Amendment Brewery (One of the Greater Bay Area's largest breweries) - Sign up for a tour HERE.
- Friday, October 7 - 4:00-4:45pm
- Friday, October 14 - 4:00-4:45pm
Scandic (Manufacturer of springs and metal stamping) - Sign up for a tour HERE.
- Tuesday, October 11 - 8:00am-9:30pm
- Thursday, October 13, 8:00am-9:30pm

If you aren't able to attend tours in person, you can watch these condensed video tours of local manufacturers.

Made in SL: 21st-Amendment Brewery

Made in SL: Halus Power Systems

Made in SL: Scandic

Made in SL: Torani

Advanced Manufacturing Day Student Tours - Late October/Early November 2022

In late October/early November, Eden ROP and Chabot College are partnering on morning tours of local manufacturers for local high school students. These tours will be from 9am until 10am and will bus 30-40 students to Scandic and UrbanBloc.

You may also enjoy this video from the 2015 East Bay Manufacturing Day event collaboration between San Leandro, San Lorenzo, Hayward, and Castro Valley unified school districts, Eden ROP, the San Leandro Chamber of Commerce, PilotCity, Chabot College, and East Bay Career Pathways Consortium that shuttled over 450 eager high school students to various local manufacturers in an effort to expose the students to potential career paths in manufacturing. This event took place from 2015 through 2019 but was halted during the COVID-19 Pandemic.