Aug. 16--During the past decade, key American manufacturing sectors have been reduced to nearly the vanishing point -- steel, textiles and apparel, furniture, trucks, automobiles.

But on the Emerald Coast, manufacturing connected to the aerospace and defense industries keeps humming along.

Of the 2 million jobs lost in the United States since January 2008, only about two-thirds are predicted to return by 2013. Leading the way back is the production of high-tech goods, including defense electronics.

The U.S. Department of Labor recently released manufacturing data for 331 metropolitan areas, including Okaloosa County.

Between May 1999 and May 2009, 16 metro areas had net gains in manufacturing employment. That's about 5 percent of metro areas where data was available.

Las Vegas-Paradise, Nev., was tops with 4,700 jobs gained. And No. 2? The Fort Walton Beach-Crestview-Destin Metropolitan Statistical Area, with 1,500 jobs gained.

Larry Sassano, president of the Economic Development Council of Okaloosa County, notes that five of the 10 most active projects on the EDC's list are manufacturing facilities.

"These projects represent a projected 800 new manufacturing jobs with an average projected pay that is approximately 125 percent higher than the average wage ($18.40) in Okaloosa County today," Sassano wrote in a recent e-mail. "We are leading Florida out of this recovery and this recession."

Not many defense contractors speak on the record to the media. But Barry Steiner of L-3 Communications Crestview Aerospace recently discussed the success of his company as a defense and aerospace contractor.

When it comes to aircraft modification and maintenance, L-3 is at least partially vertically integrated. That means it can make its products from scratch. Employment numbers have fluctuated in recent years, but Steiner estimates that about 940 people work there now. He declined to discuss wages.

"But our sales per employee are higher than in the past," he said. "Certainly our close proximity to all the military bases helps us in what we call 'the noble cause.' We provide the jobs and they provide the talent. They're good, hard workers and companies would be foolish not to take advantage of the training they've received. They have a great sense of work ethic and patriotism."

For this type of company, the issues are fairly simple, even though the processes can be extremely sophisticated. It's all about delivering parts and modifications on time with the fewest possible flaws and at the lowest possible cost.