13 Oct 2026 | By Laura Putre
A look at tours and celebrations featuring Honda, Lincoln Electric, Rockwell Automation, and more.
Bay Cities Packaging and Design
A Manufacturing Day tour of Bay Cities’ packaging plant. Activities also included an overview of the design and manufacturing process, breakfast and lunch, and a networking session.
Manufacturing Day started as a national initiative in 2012 to shine a light on engaging, rewarding career opportunities in a field that was struggling to shake off its past. Memories lingered of dangerous work environments and relatives getting laid off from repetitive jobs.
The Metal Fabricators Association had an idea to correct the misconceptions: Bring young people into the plant (and sometimes, their parents as well) to see for themselves manufacturing at its best. They could geek out on cool machinery and technology, walk the well-lit shop floors, and talk to the engineers, technicians, and operators that make it all go.
Fourteen years later, Manufacturing Day has become as reliable an October event as fall foliage and football. This year, hundreds of companies around the country brought in high school and K-12 students for plant tours, conversations about manufacturing careers, and hands-on activities on October 5. Still more festivities are planned for the rest of the month.
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