A consulting firm says a new additive manufacturing complex planned for Pittsburgh will create nearly 6,000 jobs and generate nearly $2.2 billion in wages over the next decade.
Neighborhood 91 will be built on a 195-acre site adjacent to the Pittsburgh International Airport, and it is being called the first global epicenter for 3D printing and additive manufacturing. It is being built with input from the University of Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh-based Barnes Group Advisors, which is also consulting on the project, says Neighborhood 91 will concentrate on what has been a fragmented supply chain for additive manufacturing into one focused development.
"A cluster does two key things," Barnes said. "It enables process owners to focus on developing and optimizing their core process, and it creates a skilled regional labor pool." He said the project also will boost the region "because innovative companies locate near other innovative companies, and this is an area where Pittsburgh, specifically, has been successful through the years."
The project will consolidate supply — even with a dedicated microgrid for energy supply from natural gas sourced on site.
The airport in western Pennsylvania is about an hour's drive from the Youngstown, Ohio-based America Makes, the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute.
Neighborhood 91 takes its name from Pittsburgh's 90 distinct neighborhoods, saying it will be the 91st.
For information go to www.neighborhood91.com.