Monroeville manufacturing company expands with state backing, aims to grow industry in region

Mike Gunniers has a plan to expand his Monroeville-based automated systems company — Premier Automation — into a manufacturing hub for Southwestern Pennsylvania.

The product of Gunniers’ vision, Premier Labs, a 70,0000-square-foot corporate venture studio in Murrysville, was introduced Thursday.

It will focus on helping innovation and manufacturing startups, President Joel Reed said.

“We think it’s a way to kind of rise the tide and lift all of the boats in this area,” he said. “I think the biggest takeaway here is that we have these technologies that are changing our society, and Pittsburgh’s one of the leaders in that.”

The project got a boost from Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration Thursday, when it announced $3 million in state-assisted loans and grants, including $222,000 in workforce training.

State backs Premier expansion

Premier Automation, founded in 2002, creates equipment for companies in heavy industry, data management, aerospace and space exploration. The company, which employs about 130 workers, has maxed out the space in its three buildings along Rico Drive, Gunniers said.

That’s why the company purchased a nearly 170,000-square-foot building just off of Route 22 in Murrysville.

A 40,000-square-foot section in the back of the building, abutting Premier Labs’ location in the center of the facility, will serve as additional space for the company’s current operations.

Premier Automation will lease a space in the front of the building, opening its doors only to manufacturing and innovation companies with a similar vision, Reed said.

The Murrysville facility, which formerly housed the Thermal Industries window and door manufacturer, is estimated to employ 110 people and generate $20 million in local economic impact, said Rick Siger, secretary of the state Department of Community and Economic Development.

“This is a company in an area — robotics, AI, manufacturing — of particular interest to us,” Siger said, “and it’s really part of our core strategy in growing Pennsylvania’s economy.”

The move is part of the Shapiro administration’s 10-year economic development plan launched in 2024 — which has, so far, invested more than $25 million in private businesses, created nearly 11,000 jobs, streamlined permitting processes for local businesses and supported development along communities’ Main streets.

The voice of Lt. Gov. Austin Davis, a McKeesport native, echoed off the walls and concrete floors of the empty Murrysville warehouse Thursday morning.

“The governor and I firmly believe that every Pennsylvanian should have the freedom to chart their own course and live the American dream — whatever that looks like for them and their families,” Davis said, as the bright yellow arm of a Premier Automation robot hovered nearby.

“And that means supporting American manufacturing. These investments by our administration will help create and retain hundreds of good-paying, family-sustaining jobs right here in Southwestern Pennsylvania.”

Regional manufacturing growth target

Premier Labs aims to generate five to seven new manufacturing companies each year, Gunniers said.

It will give startups the space and resources to establish themselves before venturing out on their own, Reed said.

“The advantage of being affiliated with a partner like Premier Automation is that we have ready access to customers, the market understanding, which allows us to get firsthand knowledge about the problems that they’re facing in their industries,” Reed said.

“A lot of new startups, they start in an academic setting or just someone who … has a vision for a product or a solution to bring to the marketplace,” he said. “They lack key resources, and many times they don’t actually have a relationship with the customer.”

Reed foresees the lab becoming a space to highlight regional manufacturing — perhaps hosting showcases and seminars for industry professionals.

“We want this to be a beehive of activities,” he said.

The new space could, in future years, employ 200 more workers than initially estimated, Reed said.