Sacramento Valley Manufacturing Alliance SVMA

03/04/2026

$20,000. Two weeks. Together, we can do this!!!

The High School Manufacturing Challenge is more than an event — it’s SVMA’s flagship workforce initiative and a powerful investment in our region’s future talent. Over the next two weeks, we’re raising $20,000 in new sponsorship support. If you believe in strengthening the future of manufacturing, now is the time to step up and stand with SVMA. Let’s build what’s next — together.

01/27/2026

We’re excited to announce the SVMA High School Manufacturing Challenge is coming to Citrus Heights on Saturday, March 14, 2026. This event connects local industry leaders with the next generation of manufacturing talent through hands-on competition, scholarships, and real-world exposure.

📣 Sponsorship opportunities are now available with multiple levels to support students, showcase your company, and invest in the future workforce.

Interested in sponsoring or hosting? Let’s build the future of manufacturing— together.

01/11/2026

We asked 2025’s Grand Prize Winner of the High School Manufacturing Challenge, Dorian Todd, what last year’s challenge meant to him, as well as what he’s been up to. Here’s what he had to say:

“I am currently pursuing a degree in Mechanical Engineering at San Jose State University. I have also been developing open-source, low-cost walking robotics project that I plan to release soon.

Winning the SVMA challenge for me was a reflection of my growth as a student engineer and designer. One of the biggest goals for this project was polish without perfection. Projects can often fall into a design loop focused solely on optimization, which sometimes comes at the expense of functionality. However, for this project, I aimed to strike a balance between design considerations, achieving a polished look, and ensuring functionality. Winning the challenge proved that I had found the right balance. It gave me a solid foundation to keep learning and improving my skills.”

If you would like to sponsor the 2026 High School Manufacturing Challenge, and help other individuals like Dorian shape the future of manufacturing, find more info here: www.sacvalleymfg.org

10/28/2021

SVMA is thrilled to see this comprehensive article featuring two of our members and SVMA membership benefits in the latest edition of CNC West. Learn about Garner Products Inc. (garnerproducts.com) of Roseville and Ruxco Engineering Inc (ruxco.net) of Diamond Springs. http://www.cnc-west.com/2021cnc10-11/ =34 (magazine pages 32-34)

About CNC West: "CNC WEST is a west coast metalworking print magazine devoted to machinist and metalworking decision makers in machine shops and job shops on the west coast. The magazine features articles on cnc machining, machine shops and the west coast metal working industry."

CNC West Oct-Nov 2021

10/27/2021

There's a new publication in town! Follow the area's latest news in , and economic developments. Meet Sacramento Inno: Our new platform covering the region's innovation economy https://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/inno/stories/news/2021/09/08/meet-sacramento-inno.html

10/26/2021

Kevin McGrew's Keynote Address for the Sacramento Manufacturing Expo held October 1st, 2021
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/my-keynote-address-from-sacramento-manufacturing-expo-kevin-mcgrew/

Thank you, Kevin... for the excellent keynote speech and for being such an important part of the Sacramento Area community!

First, Happy National Manufacturing Day and thank you all for coming to this event We manufacturing professionals tend to have our heads down solving our customers’ toughest problems with tight deadlines and thin margins. So thank you for looking up and reaching out today.

10/22/2021

How ‘Sewer Credits’ Are Bringing New Life to the Old Campbell Soup Plant https://bit.ly/3BVOLzx via Comstock's Magazine - "A first-of-its-kind credit program is helping to fund the redevelopment of a former soup factory in south Sacramento."


Comstock's magazine

A first-of-its-kind credit program is helping to fund the redevelopment of a former soup factory in south Sacramento.

10/20/2021

The California Community College (CCC) North Region Advanced Manufacturing initiative hosted another train the trainer session for teachers on October 8th. Two community colleges represented, several instructors from UCD and seven different high school teachers!

The intent of the training exercise was to force the participants to troubleshoot the entire CNC system ( , , Post Processor, code, and CNC setup. They were asked to identify dimensional issues in the part, and trace the errors in the part they were given to it's source and suggest corrective action. There was some basic code reading and mill set-up issues also addressed. It was concluded, common user issues are related to improper setup, cutter compensation formatting, and measurement error. There were a number of small issues designed into this part which required the participant to correct.

All in all, this was a very relevant training since it focused on what classroom instructors and their students regularly deal with.

10/18/2021

SVMA has partnered with the Northern California World Trade Center (NCWTC) to host an export 101 for : A STRATEGIC BUSINESS GROWTH OPPORTUNITY ~ Date: Nov. 3rd - 8:30--9:30AM (PT) | Learn more and register (free) here: https://www.norcalwtc.org/event/exporting-a-strategic-business-growth-opportunity/

Northern California World Trade Center

10/14/2021

California Community Colleges Training Welders to Meet a Growing Statewide Need via California Community Colleges https://www.cccco.edu/About-Us/News-and-Media/California-Community-Colleges-Outlook-Newsletter/welding-statewide-need

Siemen’s Mobility has recently inked a deal with Amtrak to build 73 train sets by 2030, opening up jobs for at least 100 new welders in the Sacramento area. But that’s not all. “California is steeped in agriculture, and we also have some of the largest structural manufacturers here, plus canneries and aerospace. All these industries need welders with different capabilities. The industrial maintenance a winery needs requires a different skill set than needed for construction,” explains Taddei.

To address the issue, community colleges like Delta and Sierra College in Rocklin offer several specialized, eight-week certificate programs, as well as associate degree programs in welding. The certificates are stackable, so credits can be applied toward the associate degree.

10/13/2021

Virtual Machines for Instruction - Mark Martin, Regional Director, California Community Colleges (CCC) Advanced Manufacturing Bay Area Region, is setting up virtual learning tools for teachers to use.

"I'm in the final phases of getting the American Welding Society (AWS) virtual machines (VM's) up and running for Autodesk/PLTW and Adobe software," said Martin. "This will be useful for any students doing distance learning or for students who want to work on the software after class hours at home."

Below are the three different VM's being offered. He requests that fill out this survey https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdGdjpHCbhoUoJMAPePyqvk5Li90fzv_riFZ7nDQVQ8VL-7pA/viewform so he knows which schools are interested in using the VM's. There is also information on the survey about how to get started.

There is one variable that will be based on the school name that Martin will assign to your school. Martin asks teachers to get the one's set up that they need and test them out. And, then let Martin know if you experience any issues.

VM1 - Autodesk -- PLTW software (AutoCAD 2022, Inventor 2022, InventorCAM, Maya 2022, RevIt 2022; PLTW SW - Bridge Designer, CNCMotion: Benchmill 6000, FlowArm PLTW 4, MDSolids, RobotC, VexCode 5)

VM 2- Adobe CC -- Package 1 software (After Effects 2021, Dreamweaver 2021, Illustrator 2021, InDesign 2021, Lightroom Classic, Photoshop 2021, Premiere Pro 2021)

VM 3- Adobe CC -- Package 2 software (After Effects 2021, Illustrator 2021, Media Encoder, Photoshop 2021, Premiere Rush)