By Connect Happy Valley staff writers
The ground is shifting beneath us.
Across the country—and here in Centre County—longstanding assumptions about population growth, job security, and economic identity are being challenged. Our population has been slowly declining since 2018. Outside of Penn State, fewer than 50,000 households remain. Automation, AI, and remote work are rewriting the rules of employment.
In the midst of all this uncertainty, it’s fair to ask: What’s next? What do we have that the future needs?
The answer may be hiding in plain sight.
This region is home to a globally competitive industry cluster in sensor and precision technology, an advanced, high-value sector that plays a critical role in everything from healthcare to aerospace to climate science.
More than 30 companies here are designing and building tools like ultrasound systems, environmental sensors, chromatography instruments, and signal processors—many with customers and partners across the world. Together, these firms generate nearly half a billion dollars in revenue and support thousands of skilled, stable, and future-proof jobs.
This isn’t a fluke. It’s a cluster—a term used in economic development to describe a dense network of specialized companies, research institutions, and support organizations that feed each other’s growth.
Companies like KCF Technologies, Philips Ultrasound, and Amphenol Advanced Sensors are the backbone of this ecosystem. And now, local leaders are giving it the visibility—and structure—it deserves through Project SUCCEED (Sensors, Ultrasound, and Chromatography for Collaborative Economic Expansion and Development), an initiative led by the Chamber of Business and Industry of Centre County (CBICC), Ben Franklin Technology Partners, SEDA-COG, and supported by the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development.
Their collective vision: to brand Centre County as Sensor Valley—a recognized hub of innovation, talent, and precision manufacturing.
But this isn’t about becoming the next Silicon Valley. These companies aren’t trying to reinvent the community—they’re choosing to grow within it. Drawn by Centre County’s livability, research base, and collaborative spirit, they’ve built something durable and distinctly local.
As one founder put it: “We didn’t come here to become Austin. We came here because we believe in this place.”
That belief is backed by data. Centre County has one of the nation’s highest concentrations of jobs in the sensor and scientific instrument space. The world may not know it yet—but this region is already shaping global industries.
At a time when many communities are searching for what’s next, Centre County may already have the answer: a highly specialized, deeply rooted industry that plays to our strengths—and promises to anchor our future.
The name may still be undecided, but the direction is clear. Even in uncertain times, we have something to build on.
And that might be the most powerful signal of all.
