Looking to relocate, expand, or start a manufacturing business? Then it’s time to look at Maryland. We’re confident that the closer you look, the more you’ll like what Maryland has to offer:
Global Reach, Local Access

What’s the strategic advantage of a Maryland location? In a word, ACCESS . To customers. To competitors. To potential partners. And to the rest of the world.

Located halfway between Boston and Atlanta, London and Los Angeles—and boasting a modern, efficient inter modal transportation infrastructure—Maryland is a global access center with:

• Overnight trucking access to one third of the U.S. population
• Deep-water, inland port that handles more than 40 million tons of cargo annually
• Two Class 1 railroads and five shortlines
• Six interstate highways that link the state to every major U.S. market
• Three international airports within an hour’s drive—with BWI Thurgood Marshall alone handling more than 550 million pounds of air cargo every year

Strength and Numbers

They say success breeds success. That’s why some 300 years after its birth, Maryland’s manufacturing industries continue to attract established leaders and entrepreneurs to an area that already leads the nation in high-tech, biotech, and aerospace manufacturing, with more than 4,000 manufacturing businesses currently calling Maryland home.

Take advantage of a Maryland location to network with the industry’s leaders and innovators, and ultimately find new business, right in your own backyard—just like some of the manufacturers
who already call Maryland home: Northrop Grumman, Conopko/U nilever, Lion Brothers, Lockheed Martin, McCormick & Co., Domino Sugar, Paul Reed Smith Guitars, General Dynamics, W.L. Gore & Associates, Perdue Farms, Sherwin-Williams, Volvo Powertrain and many others.

An Exceptional (and Growing) Workforce

Companies in Maryland can easily find "high-tech" talent. Maryland’s numbers speak for themselves:

• First ranked among U.S. states in percentage of professional and technical workers (25.7%) in the workforce
• First ranked among the states in percentage of population 25 or older with a graduate or professional degree (15.7%)
• Ranked second among the states in percentage of population 25 or older with a bachelor's degree or higher  (35.1%)

An Atmosphere of Creative Innovation

Home to more than 50 research-intensive federal institutions, several world-class academic institutions and an ever expanding number of private research facilities, Maryland’s economy is driven by, and rooted in, an atmosphere of creativity, innovation and entrepreneurial spirit.

Maryland’s leading R&D facilities of interest to manufacturers include:

• The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL)
• Center for Environmental Energy at the University of Maryland (CEEE)
• Department of Defense (DoD)
• National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)

A Business-Friendly Environment

Maryland has worked hard to construct a framework to support the formation, expansion and growth of manufacturing businesses—and to encourage entrepreneurship and excellence across the industry.

Among the elements in this framework are:

• Active and supportive group of local/regional alliances and organizations devoted to the manufacturing sector.
• Private sector union membership is 6.0 percent of the workforce, which is lower than many Northeast and Midwest states. Maryland also boasts a workforce  with a strong work ethic and sense of community that contributes to the state’s historically stable labor-management relations.
• Tax structure known for the taxes manufacturers do not have to pay.

Maryland’s Tax Structure—Made For Manufacturing

• No gross receipts tax for manufacturers
• No sales tax on capital manufacturing machinery and equipment
• No sales tax on tangible personal property consumed in manufacturing
• No sales tax on equipment or materials used or consumed in R&D
• No sales tax on gas, electricity, steam, oil or coal consumed directly or predominantly in a production activity
• No state business personal property tax
• No corporate franchise tax
• No income tax on foreign dividends (if corporation owns 50 percent or more of subsidiary)

Maryland companies also benefit from the State’s commitment to partnerships, networking, and alliances aimed at helping businesses thrive. Key manufacturing partners include:

• Maryland Technology Extension Service   
• Maryland World Class Manufacturing Consortium
• Regional Manufacturing Institute of Maryland   
• Technology and Innovation in Manufacturing Education (TIME) Center   
• World Trade Center Institute

Contact the MD BizTeam at 410-767-6870 to learn more about Maryland's confidential site selection services for growing businesses.