Pennsylvania has secured a nearly $100 million investment from Rhoads Industries to grow its manufacturing operations at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. This project will create at least 450 new jobs and retain 541 existing full-time positions.
Rhoads will build a new 95,000-square-foot manufacturing facility to increase its production capacity for the U.S Navy’s Maritime Industrial Base, supporting its submarine program. This new onsite facility will allow for a continuous fabrication process speeding up their manufacturing, additional outfitting, and provide direct access to a pier for barge shipping of completed products.
Rhoads received a funding proposal from the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) that includes a $4 million Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP) grant. The company is also located in a Keystone Opportunity Zone (KOZ), which provides significant tax savings. The Commonwealth has invested in Rhoads throughout the years, investing more than $17 million in multiple RACP grants to support the company’s expansions and facility upgrades.
“Rhoads has called Philadelphia home for nearly 130 years, and the Shapiro Administration is glad they’re doubling down and investing yet again in our Commonwealth,” said DCED Secretary Rick Siger. “This investment supports our national security and economic security, and strengthens our manufacturing sector in Southeastern Pennsylvania, one of the key industries we’re focusing on in the Governor’s economic development strategy. DCED is proud to make investments like this one that give our businesses the support they need to grow and thrive.”
Founded and family‐owned since 1896, Rhoads is a provider of large-scale industrial fabrication, along with mechanical and maintenance maritime services. In addition to field service and project skilled labor, the company has expansive shipyard facilities, and more than 300,000 square feet of heavy manufacturing space located in the Navy Yard in Philadelphia.
“This investment by the Commonwealth will expedite and accelerate our production output and rapid hiring by at least one year,” said Dan Rhoads, Jr., CEO, Rhodes Industries. “Governor Shapiro’s commitment to our company is significant and signals the importance of the defense industry’s growth in Pennsylvania.”
Rhoads also offers a paid, three-year state-accredited apprenticeship program that prepares high school technical education graduates for careers in the submarine industrial base. In partnership with Boilermakers Local 19, the program trains apprentices to meet all military specification requirements by graduation.
