Thinking of moving to Salem, Oregon and getting a job manufacturing lead weights? Or perhaps you just want to know more about industry in Salem. If either of these things are true about you, you've come to the right place. Salem isn't a city that's known for its industry, but this page is all about Salem's industry, it's past, present, and future. If you're looking for an industrial job or thinking of investing in an industrial venture, this information could prove quite useful to you. Read on for more about industry in Salem, Oregon.

Salem's first industry after the arrival of Europeans was fur trading. As early as 1812 trappers moved into the area looking for animals whose pelts they could sell to the big fur trading companies in Astoria. 1812 is, however, quite a late start, even for North America. Consider that by this time the United States of America was already established, and had gone to war with the British in Canada. Factories on the east coast were already turning out lead ballasts and machined parts like their counterparts in London.

As the Industrial Revolution migrated through Europe and North America, changing economies and air qualities in cities, Salem remained largely unaffected. Instead of building factories and installing pressure calibrators, the people of Salem planted crops and reaped them. The cherry industry was the city's largest, earning Salem the nickname "The Cherry City." In 1861 Salem was deemed so important to the state's agricultural prowess that it was named the permanent site of the Oregon State Fair. To this day agriculture is still a very important industry in Salem. Salem's farmers grow a variety of goods including vegetables, fruits, and decorative plants on farms an in greenhouses.

It wasn't until the 1990s that heavy industry really gained a toehold in Salem in the form of computer parts manufacturing. This has added an extra dimension to the city's economy. There had always been a few manufacturing plants for things needed or produced locally, like growers supplies and dairy products. Today there are many things made in Salem, including grass seed, snowboards, cell phones, wood products, and even prefabricated houses.

However, one of the computer parts firms has since closed, so the future of industry in Salem is uncertain. Although the initiatives like the Oregon Gateway Project have been formed to attract and maintain industrial workforces and check valves factories in the area, it is likely that given the pro-environment attitudes of many Oregonians that heavy industry is unlikely to ever be a major player in the economy. Growth areas are likely to be in high tech industries, and even then they probably won't topple government as the city's largest employment sector.