SNYDER, Neb. — This little village of 300 has become such a manufacturing powerhouse, its population more than doubles when the morning shifts start at the four factories lining the highway. One company alone employs 250 people making big aerial ladder trucks for fire departments all over North America.

The town also boasts another firm making smaller fire engines, still another assembling specialty vehicles for the water well industry, as well as a new food processor. “We build some pretty cool stuff here,” said Jeff Hunke, who grew up in Snyder and owns and runs Hunke Manufacturing. “I mean, this little town puts aerial ladders in New York City.”

But Snyder isn’t the only place in Nebraska where manufacturing booms. Nebraska in recent years has been undergoing a bit of a manufacturing renaissance, with the 109,000 people currently employed in the industry representing a 23-year high. Nebraska’s manufacturing employment is up more than 9% in the past five years alone, adding more than 9,000 jobs. That growth, by percentage, is nearly 16 times the national rate and one of the highest among the states.

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