Recognizing October 2020 as Manufacturing Month, and further honoring Oat Foundry for their innovation and dedication to the Manufacturing Industry in the City of Philadelphia.

WHEREAS, Careers in manufacturing are characterized by above average wages and rewarding work with a well-defined career path. There are over 20,000 manufacturing jobs in the City of Philadelphia, yet area manufacturing companies regularly have difficulty filling open positions; and

WHEREAS, Thanks to the ongoing work of the Mayor's Manufacturing Task Force, manufacturers, government and nonprofits have started to address the skilled-labor shortage they face, through outreach, education and program development; and

WHEREAS, Philadelphia's manufacturing companies add to the vitality and prosperity of our community by providing above average wages and creating family sustainability. Manufacturing makes a significant contribution to the local, state and national economy; and

WHEREAS, Philadelphia and the region helps to support an estimated 17.2 million jobs in the United States-about one in six private-sector jobs. Nearly 12 million Americans (or 9 percent of the workforce) are employed directly in manufacturing; and

WHEREAS, Since 2012, the first Friday in October has been recognized as National Manufacturing Day and has been previously recognized by this body. To celebrate Manufacturing Day, groups locally, regionally, and nationally will sponsor projects and programs designed to create greater awareness and consciousness of the manufacturing sector; and

WHEREAS, In years past, the City, led by the Office of Industry and Manufacturing, with external partners including the School District of Philadelphia, Delaware Valley City of Philadelphia Industrial Resource Center, Philadelphia Works, Weber Display and Packaging, NextFab, Rhoads Industries, First Quality Retail Services, expanded the celebration to span the month of October; and

WHEREAS, This year events around the City will spotlight local manufacturing businesses by spotlighting and showcasing the ongoing work of the industry and highlighting how adaptive and resilient the manufacturing industry has been even during the COVID-19 pandemic; and

WHEREAS, Manufacturing Month aims to communicate the opportunities in the sector and spotlight the range of products made in the City of Philadelphia for fields including aerospace, food and beverage, healthcare, packaging, and technology; and

WHEREAS, Oat Foundry is a unique and award-winning team of engineers who handle the design and manufacturing of products for brands and companies. They pride themselves on their innovation and design work which brings projects to life and allows them to work one-on-one with brands to meet their design and manufacturing needs; and

WHEREAS, Founded in 2013, Oat Foundry made its home in the Frankford Arsenal where they use the facility for all of their design, prototyping, and manufacturing. Oat Foundry has worked with some local and global brands such as La Colombe, American Airlines, The Philadelphia Eagles, Samsung, Google, Starbucks, and many others; and

WHERAS, Oat Foundry has had many nationally recognized projects, one of which the City of Philadelphia looks at near weekly during the NFL Season. They designed the Philadelphia Eagles’ play calling signage to allow for the creation of a highly visible, durable, and lightweight sign that adhered to all NFL; and

WHEREAS, Split flap displays are the main product that Oat Foundry is known for producing. Taking inspiration from the old school train boards like the one removed from 30th Street Station, Oat Foundry has redesigned split flap boards with modernized technology to allow them to integrate into many industries. Their split flap boards can be found at Google’s “Grow with Google” space in New York City. They also reimagined the split flap board for Shinola Detroit who utilized the picture flap for visual marketing at their King of Prussia location; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That we hereby recognize the month of October, 2020 as Manufacturing Month in Philadelphia.

RESOLVED FURTHER, That an Engrossed copy of this resolution be presented to Mark Kuhn of Oat Foundry in the City of Philadelphia as further evidence of the sincere respect and admiration of this legislative body for their innovation and dedication to the Manufacturing Industry in the City of Philadelphia.

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