Gordon Gagnon, vice president of Redco, shows the Chamber Leadership Institute students some of the rubber products made at his plant.
Along the Carson City Airport corridor, in the vicinity of Arrowhead Drive and closer to the city center along Fairview Drive, there are many employees who daily walk through the doors of some of this city’s major manufacturing companies to create and produce products used worldwide.
Unless you are employed in one of the plants, most residents are totally unaware of the breadth of products daily shipped internationally that are produced in our city.
We’ve been a major manufacturing community since the mid-1970s when then Mayor Harold Jacobsen and City Manager Hank Etchemendy wanted to create a more diverse work place that would create growth opportunities and jobs. Up until then, the Carson City economy centered almost solely on government and retail.
That all changed in the mid-1970s when forward-thinking elected officials reached out offering low cost opportunities to manufacturers to lease or own their own land, thus making it very desirable to relocate and expand.
Manufacturing has been a mainstay employment base ever since. Though the manufacturing community was recently hit with unexpected closures of two major companies to consolidate their operations elsewhere, there are many other companies continuing to weather economic storms and quietly do what they do best — produce a plethora of products and keep people employed.
For those traveling along Fairview, ever wonder what Ametherm produces? Electronic thermostats and circuit projectors for power supply equipment. You know the name Snap-On Tools? Well, right as you come off the freeway at Fairview, there’s the distribution center providing franchisees with more than 1,300 products.
Along Arrowhead Drive, there’s a Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) repair facility providing repair service for gas turbine engines. That facility is Chromalloy, also creating the blades used in aircraft engines and more. Duro Manufacturing has been making hose, cord and cable reels since 1991 in our city, relocating from California. Since 1979, Cubix Corporation has been making high-tech network computers used by some of the biggest names in the industry. Dura Bond Bearing manufactures camshaft bearings, powder metal valve seats and more. REDCO manufactures custom-molded rubber products used in medical equipment and products requiring seals. Next time you see a seal, it could be from REDCO.
Just off Arrowhead, you will find Basalite Concrete Products, manufacturers of the various cement blocks used in landscaping just about everywhere. Click Bond creates and manufacturers fastening systems keeping airplanes, boats and satellites intact.
We have food manufacturers such as Madeleine’s Cookies and crackers sold at Costco. Flocchini Sausage is located on Sage Street in north Carson and creates yummy sausages sold at the Reno Aces games. Vitamin Research produces top vitamins. Ganesha Enterprises creates spices and Nature’s Bakery bakes organic “on-the-go snacks.” Aloha Medicinals grows organic mushrooms used in all sorts of pills to enhance the immune system for people and pets.
So important is manufacturing that our Western Nevada College has created a technical education division to prepare students for careers in manufacturing including operating the latest robotic machines and machine tooling and welding.
This is but the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the many manufacturers calling Carson City home. On a weekend — it can be a bit dangerous during the week — ride your bicycle along Arrowhead Drive and see what keeps so many Carsonites employed. Besides, you’ll enjoy the views.