אלבום חברות התעשייה וההיי-טק המובילות בישראל

Dear Friends, With this album we are celebrating 100 years of the Manufacturers’Association of Israel. The good news is that the Israeli industry has emerged from the initial Covid-19 crisis in a very good condition, above and beyond expectations. We remained standing and held our heads high. We knew how to respond in time and provided creative solutions. We were the first to adopt the capsule concept so there were very few adhesions in the factories; bottom line, a stunning 85% of the Israeli industry worked in full capacity during the whole crises. Quite an achievement. In 1921, exactly one hundred years ago, the employers in the Jewish economy segment in the country were united for the first time and formed the “Association of Industrial Owners and Employers”. Four years later, the partnership disbanded, and the manufacturers established the “Association of Industrial Owners in the Land of Israel”, which later became the “Manufacturers’Association of Israel”. Despite the humble beginnings, the vision of the industry pioneers at that time is being implemented today. Our industry forefathers understood that the industry is the solid foundation for Israel’s economy, for the advancement of society and for the political resilience. For example, they realized that a wide range of products had to be produced locally and not to rely only on imports. The validity of this vision has been proven several times already. More than once, we were refused when we asked to purchase vital products abroad, especially during harsh periods like wars. The same is valid for our times. At the beginning of the Corona plague there was a shortage of masks, there was a shortage of toilet paper, and it was difficult to even get alcohol to produce ‘alcogel’ sanitation fluid. By the way, we overcame the shortage of alcohol through a typical Israeli improvisation: the conversion of a whiskey brewery in Jaffa from the production of alcohol from barley to the production of alcohol that is suitable for alcogel production. Thanks to the Corona we rediscovered that if Israel wants to live and thrive, it must rely on self-production capacity, to achieve industrial and economic independence. This independence is a significant component of our national resilience. This truth has been well proven in global economic crises in the first decades of the millennium. The second issue that passed down since the early days of the association until today is the special effort dedicated to the betterment of the periphery. In principle, industry pays higher wages than the average wages in the economy. In the periphery, there is basically no substitute for working in industry, if you want to build a plausible economy there for the benefit of the quality of life of the residents. Recognition of the duty to maintain local FROM A START-UP NATION TO A SCALE-UP NATION