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Economic Development
Centre County is home to numerous cutting-edge, dynamic companies representing a variety of industry sectors.
Industry leaders include high tech and advanced manufacturing, life sciences, construction, agriculture, and transportation. Education, health care, hospitality, and retail are among the major employers.
Among the diverse business base in Centre County are technology companies that are driving industry advances and driving innovation on a global scale. Home-grown technology companies are creating breakthroughs in the medical device industry that are dramatically improving patient care with products and services that reduce the cost and time associated with the drug-discovery process. Local companies are revolutionizing modern manufacturing.
Companies here are developing transit solutions for nationwide customers.They are leaders in the development of media technology and in chromatography.The directory below contains a summary of who’s here – dynamic companies that count as their clients some of the most recognizable corporate names in the nation and world.
Centre County’s world-class companies are impacting global initiatives – from NASA technology to vaccines to sensors in automobile factories.
Private equity is investing in pharmaceuticals, video production, sensors, manufacturing, electronics, and other industries.
Among the diverse business base in Centre County are technology companies that are driving industry advances and driving innovation on a global scale.
Home-grown technology companies are creating breakthroughs in the medical device industry that are dramatically improving patient care. their products and services are reducing the cost and time associated with the drug discovery process.
Local companies are revolutionizing modern manufacturing. Companies here are developing transit solutions for nationwide customers. They are leaders in the development of media technology and in chromatography. These dynamic companies count among their clients some of the most recognizable corporate names in the nation, if not the world.
Centre County is proud to be the home of two Certified Benefit Corporations – West Arete, a home-grown custom software development company, and AE Works, a Pittsburgh-based architectural engineering firm. Centre County also boasts the nation’s first Gold LEED certified distillery, Big Spring Spirits.
These companies are just a few standouts in a local business community committed to local sourcing, social and environmental responsibility, and related best practices – from 1% For the Planet to being a certified Bicycle Friendly Business.
Supporting and expanding existing businesses and attracting new businesses contributes to economic development in key ways – including helping businesses create jobs, encouraging entrepreneurship, expanding and diversifying the tax base, and improving quality of life with new services and amenities.
Centre County is home to an educated, skilled workforce that continues to grow. More than 92.7 percent of adults have at least a high-school education, and 40 percent have a bachelor’s degree or higher. Centre County is an importer of labor, drawing the bulk of its workforce from six surrounding counties.
Centre County is famous for livability that coexists with top-ranking research and innovation as the home of Penn State. It’s consistently at the top of nationwide rankings as one of the best places to live based on health care, outdoor recreation, cultural amenities, wages, safe neighborhoods, and easy commutes.
Henry Ford
Through collaborative initiatives such as SuccessWithHonor, HappyValleyAgventures and DRIVEForward, the Chamber is addressing issues critical to business growth and competitiveness, including workforce preparedness, agritourism, NIL initiatives with Penn State student athletes, and transportation infrastructure.
Expand personal and professional relationships, gain career-enhancing knowledge and develop your business with others who share common goals.