The Las Vegas industrial base is one of the nation's smallest and least diversified. Still, the market has
strength, and one manufacturer that's moving here said the city has what it takes to expand its industrial
economy.

"Las Vegas is far from a manufacturing powerhouse overall, but it has some very important niche specifications that the region could build on said an economist with the Brookings Institution."

The study ranked Las Vegas well below national average on several manufacturing indicators. The city placed 97th out of the nation's 100 biggest cities for share of manufacturing jobs. Just 2.4% of local jobs are in manufacturing, compared with 8.5% nationwide.

For average number of employees per plant, the city ranked 79th at 36.3, compared with 39.9 nationally. Total local industrial jobs fell 0.1% from 2010 to 2011, compared with 2.7% growth nationwide.

Las Vegas also lagged in average manufacturing wages and share of high-tech jobs. These indicators are a problem since manufacturing is important to the U .S. economy as a source of growth and good pay.

Manufacturing jobs pay an annual average of $49,000 in Las Vegas compared with a median of about $45,000 for all jobs.

"You already have a major export in your hotels and casinos, but if you want to diversify your export industry, manufacturing is a good place to start."

City officials should start with the region's strong points. More than a quarter of the valley's manufacturing base is in the miscellaneous category, which includes high-tech medical device factories. Food is the city's second biggest manufacturing sub-sector, at 14.1%.

Focusing on food processing is important as edibles are often perishable and heavy which makes shipping expensive and impractical. That means food is harder to move to offshore factories.

Printing, Las Vegas' third biggest manufacturing sector, makes up 10% of industrial jobs.

An abundant labor force recently helped Spreadshirt.com, a Boston based maker of custom T-shirts and sweatshirts. The company whose sales have grown more than 100% a quarter in recent quarters, is scheduled to open a 36,000 square foot plant in Henderson in July.

The factory will launch with 60 or 70 workers, with plans to ramp up to 100 later in the year.

In addition to a deep labor pool, the company found tons of affordable real estate, good weather, low taxes, and help with training and recruiting. Their local plant is only minutes away from McCarran International Airport and it's global flight service.

The CEO said, "rents are very favorable. Everyone we worked with in Las Vegas and Henderson has been great. Las Vegas has a huge labor force for everything from production to supervisors to customer service, and it's cost of living is very favorable."