In our backyard

For this year’s Entrepreneurs Issue, we sought out Butte County entrepreneurs who run companies that have integrated local manufacturing into their business practices. That’s not easy to do in today’s business culture, where to maximize proceeds many American companies have moved production offshore.

Still, CN&R found several companies in our backyard with national—and in some cases international—clientele. These are highly successful enterprises, the sort that provide numerous jobs to members of our community.

Most of the companies featured in these pages have always focused at least a portion of their business on local production—whether for quality control, sustainability or to contribute to the local economy. (One of them—a maker of sunglasses frames—only recently has gotten into the practice.) In this special issue, CN&R recognizes the work they do, their creative visions and the business savvy they have to make products right here in Butte County.

We hope their stories inspire a new generation of local entrepreneurs.