Engineering Jobs Pittsburgh Expanded by Seegrid

One company is helping to increase the number of engineering jobs Pittsburgh has to offer.

Seegrid Corporation recently announced its plans to expand and move the company's headquarters from Pittsburgh to a facility near Pittsburgh International Airport. The expansion, which will create jobs during 2010 and in the future, is meant to better prepare the company for an increase in demand and orders.

Seegrid robots are used to perform put-away and long-haul tasks in warehouses, as well as parts delivery and end-of-line product movement in manufacturing facilities. The company's new facility will include its design and engineering, sales, assembly and implementation divisions.

"Because Seegrid sells a product that promotes efficiency and productivity, the recession has worked to our advantage," CEO Scott Freidman told IndustryWeek. "Today our robots are working every day alongside workers in various environments, from distribution to manufacturing. Our robots reduce the cost of pallet movement by up to 80 percent and boost overall productivity and profitability."

The additional jobs could help improve the Pittsburgh area's employment situation, as the city has continued to see a rising unemployment rate along with a monthly and yearly decrease in employment.

While Pittsburgh's November unemployment rate has not yet been released, the State of Pennsylvania saw its unemployment rate decrease from 8.9 percent to 8.5 percent, which is lower than the national unemployment rate of 10 percent.

Pittsburgh had a total non-farm employment of 1,127,400 workers during November, according to the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is down from 1,128,000 workers during October and a 2.3 percent decrease from last year.

Pennsylvania had a total non-farm employment of 5,605,200 workers during November, down from 5,615,400 workers during October and a 2.9 percent decrease from last year.