Contract manufacturers are some of the most important parts of the East Bay’s manufacturing ecosystem. They employ tens of thousands of local residents, make products and components for other manufacturing businesses, and accelerate the growth of new firms, but they don’t always get the attention they deserve.
Co-packers
Imagine that you decide to turn your grandmother’s super popular pasta sauce recipe into a small business—you want to sell it in jars! You may not have access to a commercial kitchen, packaging equipment, or the ability to produce at scale. This is when a contract manufacturer comes in. A larger facility can take your recipe, ingredients, and label, and produce it for you. When your business has grown in size, you can decide whether it makes sense to invest in producing it yourself. In the food manufacturing sub-sector, this is called “co-packing.”
Business to Business (B2B)
Contract manufacturers support other manufacturers. When they need a custom part for a machine or their product, they turn to a contract manufacturer to have it made. If that contract manufacturer is local, that cuts down on production time and the cost of transportation.
Business Profiles
Ramar Foods — Based in Pittsburg (Contra Costa County), Ramar Foods is a long-established food manufacturer and co‑packer of frozen Filipino specialty foods, egg rolls, desserts, and other products. The company has 150 employees and has grown alongside the region’s diverse communities, helping bring authentic ethnic flavors to wider markets while supporting local food entrepreneurs.
ILM Tool, Inc. — Located in Hayward (Alameda County), ILM Tool is an AS9100 and ISO‑9001 certified precision CNC machine shop that handles everything from prototype to production runs for biotech, semiconductors, and other high‑tolerance industries. They have about 35 employees and specialize in quick turnaround for complex parts, helping startups accelerate product development cycles in cutting-edge technology sectors.
Our region is fortunate to have contract manufacturers across a wide range of sub-sectors, including food, semiconductor, precision metal, and more. These businesses include dozens of small and mid-sized production facilities that help other businesses scale efficiently. This robust network enables startups and established firms alike to access commercial-scale production without the need to invest in their own large facilities.
Global disruptions in trade have pushed many larger manufacturers to explore re-shoring their supply chains, which makes having a strong local ecosystem of contract manufacturers more important than ever. When manufacturers in the Bay Area partner with local contract manufacturers, the regional economy is stronger, there are more good jobs, and there is greater shared prosperity.
If you’d like to learn more about contract manufacturers in your region, reach out to Claire Michaels, Regional Manufacturing Careers Specialist at cmichaels@ehsd.cccounty.us.