If you read Monday’s blog post,
then you know we are well into Manufacturing Week and heading for its
culmination this Friday, October 4, when companies across the country
will celebrate National Manufacturing Day.
In Fremont, it’s shaping up to be an event-packed day, and if you plan
on visiting any of our companies that are opening up their doors for
this occasion, be sure to register. Chances are you will see us there!

Kicking off the festivities yesterday, the City of Fremont partnered with the Fremont Chamber of Commerce and The RK Group to host an Open House, celebrating Fremont’s first general-purpose Foreign Trade Zone
(FTZ) at RK Logistics. The timing was perfect, given how much an FTZ
can benefit manufacturers in the form of duty eliminations, reductions
or postponements for goods imported or exported through an FTZ facility.
What’s more, it’s the only general-purpose FTZ between South San Jose
and Oakland, so we expect it to get significant use by companies
throughout the region.

More than 50 people attended the event and enjoyed tours of the facility, great networking and the public debut of Fremont’s Innovation District brand, the new graphic identity for theareas of Warm Springs and Baylands in South Fremont, where a number of Fremont’s innovation companies reside. This brand is the product of Fremont’s Advanced and Sustainable Technology (FAST) working group, charged with positioning Fremont as a leading city for companies reflecting these industries. Be on the lookout for this brand to start appearing on marketing materials and future signage in these areas.

So how does all this tie together? We see the FTZ as one more amenity for our already robust advanced manufacturing ecosystem. The FTZ furthers our capacity to accommodate movement and storage of products at different stages of development right here within our borders. Meanwhile, the Innovation District brand leverages all this activity, supporting its continued growth and creating stronger awareness so that when you think advanced technology and manufacturing, you Think Fremont!