First State Manufacturing welcomes Gov. Markell

18-years ago Eli Valenzuela started his own upholstery business in the back of a white van.

“What we were doing before was the stuff like restaurants like Olive Garden, Pizza Huts, some mom and pop restaurants that had their booths or chairs torn.”

But now, through his faith and hard work, Valenzuela now calls the First State Manufacturing plant in Milford home to his sewing business.

The company produces upholstery for some big time clients, making seat covers for U.S. fighter jets at the Dover Air Force Base, Washington D.C. Metro Trains, and clients abroad.

They’re located in Milford – where they’ve seen a significant amount of growth over the past few years – adding forty-seven employees while increasing revenue by seventy-five percent.

Exceeding expectations and earning high praise from one of Delaware’s highest ranking officials, Governor Jack Markell.

“You look at this business and it’s a beautiful facility, they’ve invested in really modern equipment, they’re employing a lot of people. That’s very exciting.”

While First State Manufacturing is a home-grown gem, we’re told Delaware is doing extremely well attracting manufacturing businesses from out-of-state.

“We have a lot of global manufacturers based elsewhere that are now coming to the U.S. to open up their first facilities and they’ve chosen Delaware. Delaware has a reputation of being very manufacturer friendly.”Said Secretary Bernice Whaley, of the Delaware Economic Development Office.

It got that reputation in part because businesses can incorporate in Delaware inexpensively. If no business is done within the state, the corporation does not have to pay income tax.

The same environment that attracts out-of-state businesses makes it more likely that those who are already here, like Valenzuela,will stay.

When asked if his continued growth would make him move away from Delaware, Valenzuela replied, “I love it here.”