The valve industry employs 50 percent more people than a decade ago, and it is expecting to add more jobs this year, according to a report by the Valve Manufacturers Association (VMA) during a briefing at its 75th Anniversary Annual Meeting.
The VMA’s Employment Snapshot Report is designed to provide insight about industry employment and new trends affecting the economic outlook of the valve industry.
“Valve manufacturers are the backbone for many other industries and a bellwether for the economy,” said VMA Chairman Mark Cordell, president of Distributed Valves for Cameron Valves & Measurement. “It’s great news that so many of our members are increasing their workforces. That means other industries are working too.”
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Over half of responding member companies reported their domestic hiring would increase by up to 5 percent this year, with only 3 percent of valve manufacturers projecting no growth.
These workforce figures are consistent with the increase in shipments that members anticipated, as reported in VMA’s annual market forecast released earlier this year. The forecast report predicted that shipments for the U.S. industrial valve industry would grow 3 percent in 2013, increasing to nearly $4.3 billion. The increase would mark the fourth consecutive year of growth following the recession, exceeding the industry’s previous 10-year peak in 2008.
The Employment Snapshot Report shows the valve industry in the U.S. and Canada employs more than 30,000 people, a 50 percent increase from a decade ago.
The Employment Snapshot Report is based on a survey of VMA member companies, including nearly 100 North American manufacturers of valves, actuators, and controls. These companies account for about 80 percent of total industrial valve shipments out of U.S. and Canadian facilities.
