It is impossible to imagine the AV industry without the contribution of foreign companies from across the globe. But ours is also an industry of independent American entrepreneurs who start and sustain small and medium-sized companies, or grow them into big ones. If ever there was a month for us to celebrate some of these unique companies, this is it.
In 1933, on his last day in office, President Hoover signed the Buy American Act; in 2009, President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. These two pieces of legislation define Made in America and provide for the enforcement of those definitions. This story is not about about those specifications, although there is at least one AV manufacturer (Lowell) that meets them.
Instead, we’re looking more broadly at some of the AV companies that make their products exclusively or to a large degree in the USA, and in some cases also source most or all of their components here. The reasons they do this are similar—quality control, time to market, tight relationship with R&D, distribution and the ability to customize swiftly to customer needs, or build it to order.
One of the most significant reasons that companies build products in America is to control quality, which makes it necessary to stay close to every step of the process. It’s expensive here too, so building in America requires a commitment to constantly improving and changing process, either to better control costs or improve quality or both.
Steve Vickers lives that. As Director of Manufacturing for Biamp Systems he has helped to lead an ambitious expansion of Biamp’s manufacturing capacity in Oregon, culminating in the May opening of a new 60,000 square foot facility in the Portland suburb of Tigard. “We were bursting at the seams with no way to expand our existing building,” Vickers says of the move to the new facility. They needed more lines, and additional surface mount assembly line, more people—25% more over the past three years. But it’s not just about expansion. Like any American manufacturer, Biamp has to constantly innovate to reap the benefits of American manufacturing while mitigating the costs.
“We’ve improved every single measure of operation over the past three years, while our business was growing, so we’ve had to do both.” Three years ago the manufacturing turnaround was 14 days. “Now it’s one to three days depending on the product.” He says the transformation was “all process improvement.” They applied LEED manufacturing principles and completely re-imagined their manufacturing process through cross-training everyone on every task.
“We were a small company that’s growing up to be a very big company. Along the way there are inflection points—the old ways of business are no longer able to support the growth and complexity. We had to change the way that we were doing this process wise. We had great equipment, awesome people; we’re not always operating together in the most efficient way.”
He said they stared looking at every place the project stalls or sits and waits. It’s not one big thing, it’s 1000 smaller things. He says they started thinking about groups of steps instead of individual steps, joining segments to pull the product through. “It’s the biggest conceptual thing that we have done,” he says. “Instead of treating them as discreet steps and looking at each one individually, we started saying ‘it only counts when it goes all the way through.’” That end-to-end, start-to-finish mindset revealed areas of poor synchronization that could be fixed. But it was also a big cultural change and an exercise in trust. “You don’t show up on day one and start changing everything,” he says. “Trust comes a lot of different ways.”
Vickers said they went to a very high level of cross training, so that everyone knew how to do everything. “You’re a production operator, you are not an xyz widget tester. If an hour from now we need more people doing abc, we need you to be cross-trained, flexible and willing.” But, he says, you don’t get that overnight. “We started in the easier places and established a pattern and pointing to that pattern as the way we needed to work factory wide.” It was very hard, he says, there was resistance, even tears, and success came from a combination of empathy and leadership. Sometimes you have to say “Today’s the day we’re breaking down this comfort zone.” You have to stay committed to the vision, and when people see that they’re not going to knock you off course they start to make the move.” Vickers says that’s crucial because as more people started to work the new way, they started to contribute ideas that were better and to own the process. At a certain point it caught fire and became the new culture—the preferred culture, and people started to enjoy their work again. “I can remember when we recognized and celebrated that moment: we’re going to make it, now we just have to expand.
“I think sometimes we have lost the understanding of persistence. Discomfort is often the fertile ground for innovation. We could take the approach of saying manufacturing is a pain in the neck, it’s a lot of effort, it’s about half the headcount in the company, it’s a huge capital expense, why not go to a third party who does this for a living—build our stuff for us? But my experience here is there is nobody in the world that cares about our products like we care about our products. Other factories cannot design a process optimally for our products. You get a generalized high-quality factory flow, sure, but we can turn on a dime. Someone has an idea and a couple hours later we’re trying that. If a quality issue comes up we can identify it immediately. That huge investment in capital and people and plants really pays off with the customer, we can respond and control our quality. And that factory is the backbone of all the other departments—it creates a connection for sales, marketing, service, engineering. Everybody knows they’re working for some real, because they can walk in the factory and see it.”
For many companies, the decision of where to make products and where to source components is a complex one and there is no right answer. It depends on the products, market, and financial goals of an enterprise. Some of it’s math, and some of it is an intangible. Sometimes it’s a philosophy or a way of life. And what it means to manufacture product has changed with the rise of automation, and with that the image of a factory. So without nostalgia or judgment, here are some of the other companies in our industry that build things in America.
MEYER SOUND, BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA
John McMahon, VP of Solutions and Strategy
Describe your Made in America footprint. Our campus includes six buildings with a total footprint of about 200,000 square-thousand feet with about 150,000 square-feet of that dedicated to manufacturing. All of our products are designed and handcrafted in Berkeley.
What percentage of your product is made in America?
100 percent.
How many Americans do you employ or contract to?
We employ about 345 worldwide with about 290 people working in the USA.
Why America? Necessary expertise? Politics? It just happened that way? 🙂
John and Helen Meyer met in Berkeley in 1967. At the time, John was working at an audiophile shop and started developing products for artists such as Steve Miller before he worked for McCune audio where he was part of the Grateful Dead’s exploration of concert sound. In 1979, Meyer Sound was born in Berkeley when John and Helen started their own company. Since inception, core values of innovation, quality control, efficiency, seamless integration with R+D all played a part in building Meyer Sound into the premium brand it is today.
John Meyer (left) founded Meyer Sound in Berkeley, California in 1979 with his wife Helen. Their renowned speakers are handmade; their manufacturing campus has grown to include an anechoic chamber, a driver fabrication facility, a new assembly plant, and a unique research theater. Meyer’s John McMahon says the ability to control intellectual property (the company has multiple patents and proprietary processes) is central to the company ethos. No detail is too small: they magnetize their own magnets and formulate their own paint. And their American footprint translates to self-determination, and responsiveness to their own staff, their R&D, and customers.
What advantages does your American manufacturing footprint give you?
It starts with quality. Our products are handcrafted. With manufacturing under the same roof as R+D, we can collaborate as the products come to life from concept to reality. With our design services and tech support also on campus, we work together to provide holistic solutions to our customers. Also our Bay area location and proximity to world-class performance venues and the University of California Berkeley provides us full-scale laboratories for testing products as well as demonstration of the end results.
What challenges do you face in utilizing American manufacturing?
The Bay Area has become incredibly expensive for people to live so it can be a factor when recruiting. Currently the dollar is strong which sometimes is a barrier in certain overseas markets, but in most cases the positives outweigh these challenges and we wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.
What if any recent changes have you made to your manufacturing footprint/capacity?
With the number of spaces we have on the campus, we can adapt as we need to. For instance, we most recently expanded our CAL production area as we see our business for this product growing, especially in the house of worship and stadium markets.
Are there types of products that best lend to American manufacturing? If so, why?
If you are trying to build high-quality products designed to meet the demands of discerning clientele, the American market is necessary otherwise we can’t guarantee quality. As a general rule, American manufacturing is better suited to premium products where performance and long-term reliability are paramount, rather than mass-producing a product to meet a certain price point.
What can you do in an American factory that you can’t do overseas?
With Meyer Sound, all of the above apply. Having all administrative and warehousing functions co-located with manufacturing is more cost-effective and allows a faster response to customer needs. Product consistency is one of the hallmarks of our manufacturing process.
Any other thoughts?
From Helen Meyer, Co-Founder and Executive Vice President: John and I are proud of the company that we built together here in Berkeley, California. Our team continues to innovate and build handcrafted products with care and quality that allows Meyer Sound to provide audio solutions to customers around the world. Meyer Sound products are Made in America and this sets us apart from our competition.
DRAPER, INC. SPICELAND, INDIANA
Penny Sitler (CDT, LEED, SP), Marketing Manager
Describe your Made in America footprint.
Our Draper production facilities are all located in Spiceland, Indiana—population about 800. That’s about 45 minutes due east of Indianapolis, the state capitol. Our footprint in Spiceland is about 435,000 square feet.
What percentage of your product is made in America?
Virtually 100% of Draper screens, window shades, lifts, and video conferencing solutions are produced in the United States.
How many Americans do you employ or contract to?
Well over 600. This is our historic high—Draper has experienced steady growth throughout its existence, and the company has never had an employee layoff.
Why America?
Draper, Inc. was founded in 1902 and has since expanded it’s footprint in Spiceland, Indiana, population 800.
We were founded here in Spiceland, Indiana in 1902. Our founder, Luther Draper, had deep roots in the local community even then. Today, our owners are 4th and 5th generation descendants of Luther Draper. They are still intensely loyal to the company, its employees, and to our community.
What advantages does your American manufacturing footprint give you?
Because we make our products here, we can deliver levels of customization that other manufacturers might struggle with. Customization is second nature to us—after all, we’ve been making window shades since 1902 and every single shade that has ever gone out of our factory has been made to fit a specific window that was physically measured by someone. Audio-visual equipment doesn’t always have to be customized, but when custom products are needed–whether it’s a special screen size or a fully customized lift–we are well prepared for the challenge.
In addition, we have a steady team of people on staff with a lot of experience in the industry. You know they will be familiar with our products and their uses, and with the industry in general. You also know that, when you contact us, more likely than not you will be dealing with the same person over a period of years.
What challenges do you face in utilizing American manufacturing?
The classic challenge typically presented is that of cost and profit margins. The argument goes that making products in other countries is cheaper, so companies can charge less and make higher profits. While that point is well taken, perhaps we should turn the question around: If you can provide a quality product at a reasonable price, make good profits and provide a good living for people who live and spend in the local area, why would you want to challenge that model of community and corporate success?
If you manufacture both in America and abroad, how/why did the split take shape? Are there things that work best on American soil and things that are best outsourced?
Draper owns three subsidiaries, all based in Sweden: Draper Europe, SMS, and Evoko. These companies were added to the Draper family through acquisition several years ago. Draper Europe manufactures projection screens and window coverings for sale in Europe. SMS and Evoko manufacture mounting equipment and meeting room products, respectively, which are sold worldwide.
What are your future plans for your manufacturing footprint?
Draper is experiencing rapid growth. We are currently constructing an addition to one of our manufacturing buildings. We are reorganizing our existing space to add more manufacturing capacity. And we are considering future building plans. Our campus currently consists of nine buildings, and the next expansion will happen, again, right here in Spiceland.
Are there types of products that best lend to American manufacturing? If so, why?
Our strength in manufacturing in America is our ability to tailor solutions to our customers’ needs. Companies who manufacture abroad can’t provide the same level of service and attention to detail. While we do import some components, the vast majority of our parts and materials are sourced right here in North America. In fact, we are working to integrate the production of more components into our Spiceland facility. This expands our custom manufacturing capacity, and gives us more control over lead times, costs, and quality. Everyone feels responsible for making quality products, and works hard to make sure that’s what happens.
CONTEMPORARY RESEARCH, ADDISON TEXAS
Christy Ricketts, VP of Operations & Marketing
What percentage of your product is made in America?
We assemble 100% of our products at our facility in Addison Texas.
How many Americans do you employ or contract to?
All of our 30 employees are American.
Why America?
Our owner, Scott Hetzler, grew-up in the Dallas area and started his career at AMX. In 1994, when he decided to start his own AV manufacturing company, he had many contacts in the Dallas area and felt it was a great city to start a business in. Scott used his network of engineers and friends to build a niche AV manufacturing company that has been in business for over 22 years.
What advantages does your American manufacturing footprint give you?
Manufacturing in the US allows us quick turnaround times, quality control, the ability to make changes to products quickly. We manufacture small quantities of our products daily to ensure the customers are getting the latest version of each product. Our biggest competitive advantage is our customer service. We have two full time former AV Integrators on staff that are dedicated to supporting all of our products. We are also focused on listening to our integrators and finding solutions to their system integration problems. We have always been willing to add features and resolve issues on our own products but we are often helping integrators solve issues within a system that don’t involve our products.
What challenges do you face in utilizing American manufacturing?
Cost is always a challenge. Our customers are willing to pay slightly more for products that will last 10+ years and to have experienced AV professionals available to support them if needed.
What if any recent changes have you made to your manufacturing footprint/capacity?
Two years ago added CR Assembly so we had full control of our PCB board assembly.
What can you do in an American factory that you can’t do overseas?
Manufacturing in the US allows us to perform updates or make any modifications to products in real-time. Also have support in house, it allows us to collaborate with support and service to ensure all products are performing correctly in the field. Since many of our products are integrated into systems with various other products, it is important for us to ship products with the latest firmware.
THINKLOGICAL, MILFORD, CONNECTICUT
Joe Pajer, president and CEO
Describe your Made in America footprint.
Our headquarters facility in Milford, Conn. is 50,000 square feet, of which more than half is dedicated to manufacturing.
Do you contract manufacturing to America factories (where)? Both?
Yes. We work with multiple contract manufacturers in the U.S. for components and subassemblies, the majority of the businesses are local to us in Connecticut.
What percentage of your product is made in America?
About 90 percent.
How many Americans do you employ or contract to?
We are under 100 employees in the US, with about half in manufacturing and engineering.
Why America?
The team at Thinklogical at their 50,000 square foot facility in Milford, Connecticut
Thinklogical is the world leader in high performance, secure KVM and video extension and switching solutions. We design and manufacture our solutions to meet the needs of customers with some of the most demanding requirements in the world, like most of the US Intelligence Agencies, all of the US Armed Forces Branches, International Ministries of Defense and the highest echelon of commercial customers. We need control of our final assembly process (located in house) and quick access to our contract manufacturers (also located in the US) to meet our customers’ expectations. Therefore, the company continues to invest and grow its manufacturing and final assembly resources in the US, and especially in Connecticut.
What advantages does your American manufacturing footprint give you?
We’re a build-to-order manufacturer, which allows us to address the specialized requirements of our customers. We have developed a highly-efficient supply chain, and with our contract manufacturers being nearby it reduces our cycle times significantly. Because of our build to order process, we can be more responsive and assemble and deliver to a customer much more quickly.
Being a US-based company also allows us to attract and retain top-level talent. Our employees have voted Thinklogical as a Top Workplace in Connecticut in three of the last four years.
What challenges do you face in utilizing American manufacturing?
Because of our unique solution, and the need for customized assembly and testing of our products, manufacturing and final assembly in the U.S. is optimal for Thinklogical. We do not face any challenges as a result of our decision to base these operations in the US.
What if any recent changes have you made to your manufacturing footprint/capacity?
Most companies cite quality control, testing and a tight relationship with R&D as reasons to manufacture in America.
We doubled the footprint of our manufacturing capability in 2013 to support market growth and new product development initiatives. We also achieved the ISO 9001:2008 quality certification that same year. In addition, we have undergone changes to comply with certain government security recommendations and requirements.
What can you do in an American factory that you can’t do overseas?
Being a U.S. based company provides us a unique level of customization and flexibility in our manufacturing process, and we can build and deliver products faster than if we were importing from overseas. It also allows us to be within arm’s reach of many of our contract manufacturers to be more responsive to customer requirements, and give us greater oversight of the quality of our components.
DANLEY SOUND LABS, GAINESVILLE, GEORGIA
Mike Hedden, President/CEO
Describe your Made in America footprint. Danley manufactures exclusively in the United States. We utilize four different contract manufacturing facilities. Three in Georgia and one in western North Carolina
What percentage of your product is made in America?
100%
How many Americans do you employ or contract to?
130
Why America?
For America to be economically strong we have to have a strong manufacturing base. Offshore manufacturing will ultimately bring this country to its knees and we will not be a part of that.
What advantages does your American manufacturing footprint give you?
Quality control, shorter turn on investment, much more nimble to respond to the customer’s needs. We’ve fulfilled several large orders for several hundred loudspeakers in 4-6 weeks. That simply isn’t possible except to build it here. By being innovative in using plastic molding we can actually be competitive with the Pacific Rim/South of the border products while still having shorter delivery times for our customers.
What challenges do you face in utilizing American manufacturing?
As our labor costs are typically higher we must clearly define our target markets and stay away from the commodity markets that are primarily driven by low price.
Was there ever a moment when you questioned the practicality of manufacturing in America?
Never, we will live or die here.
What if any recent changes have you made to your manufacturing footprint/capacity?
We’ve increased our manufacturing capability by adding more warehouse space and increased our manufacturing capacity by almost double.
Are there types of products that best lend to American manufacturing? If so, why?
We are innovators, the rest of the world tends to copy so absolute performance products are best made here. Our partners in Europe prefer a US-made product.
Any other thoughts?
The lure of the sirens of a cheap price, planned obsolescent product lines, and the race to zero margin we’ve seen in the MI markets should be a wakeup call to all. Business owners need to soberly consider the future they will hand to the next generations. If we take a short-term selfish view and allow the US to primarily be a service based economy, it is to the detriment of the generations that follow.
LOWELL, PACIFIC, MISSOURI
Kathy Lane, Marketing Communications Manager
Describe your Made in America footprint
Lowell develops and manufactures rack, power and audio products for professional integration at manufacturing, research and development facilities in Pacific, Missouri, which is about a half hour southwest of St. Louis.
What percentage of your product is made in America?
95% of products (more than 1400 items) meet the requirements set forth in the Buy American Act and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Lowell manufacturers from certified US steel for quality. Lowell works with some domestic and offshore partners when production specialties and cost efficiencies make sense.
Why America?
Lowell strives to support the country and the American worker.
What advantages does your American manufacturing footprint give you?
Manufacturing domestically ensures quality and efficient production timelines. Manufacturing domestically also allows for custom or semi-custom product designs, which are sometimes needed for particular applications.
Was there ever a moment when you questioned the practicality of manufacturing in America?
No. Lowell is a privately held company started by Ben Lowell. Three of his sons now run the business (John, Wilhelm, Tom Lowell). They want to continue the tradition of developing and producing quality products. 2017 will be the 70th anniversary (1947-2017)
ALCORN MCBRIDE, ORLANDO, FLORIDA
Alan Wheeler, Production Manager
Describe your Made in America footprint.
Alcorn McBride makes products used in theme parks worldwide. We are based in Orlando, Florida, and use Florida contract manufacturers to produce the majority of our products. This includes circuit board assembly and final assembly and test.
What percentage of your product is made in America?
The final assembly of nearly all of our products is done in America. Only the raw electronics parts (resistors, capacitors, IC’s, etc.) are manufactured offshore.
How many Americans do you employ?
We have 20 in-house employees (mostly engineers) based out of Orlando, two electronic contract manufacturers in Central Florida, and approximately 30 parts suppliers, including devices, packaging, printed materials, sheet-metal, etc in the states.
Why America?
We try to keep as much manufacturing in America as possible. Having local contract manufacturer partners allows us to have greater control over the process which increases our quality level. Our engineers have close relationships with the people manufacturing our products. Having them nearby allows us to be involved directly and improves communication. Being local also avoids the inefficiency of moving product back and forth, import delays, and reduces shipping costs. Most importantly, if there is a manufacturing issue we can quickly address and correct it.
What advantages does your American manufacturing footprint give you?
Making our products locally increases our product quality because we are directly involved. It also shortens our time to market, allows for lower inventory levels, and reduces carrying costs. Plus, is it important for us to support fellow US based businesses and proudly stamp our gear “Made in America.”
What challenges do you face in utilizing American manufacturing?
The costs to manufacture in the US are higher, but we believe we achieve greater quality levels and have tighter control over the manufacturing process.
Was there ever a moment when you questioned the practicality of manufacturing in America?
No. Manufacturing locally is part of our company philosophy.
If you manufacture both in America and abroad, how/why did the split take shape? Are there things that work best on American soil and things that are best outsourced?
Raw electronics parts are manufactured offshore (resistors, capacitors, etc). These items cannot be made in the USA at or near the same total cost as offshore.
What if any recent changes have you made to your manufacturing footprint/capacity?
We have moved some offshore sourced items stateside to take advantage of greater flexibility in production scheduling.
Are there types of products that best lend to American manufacturing? If so, why?
Out products are very complex so they all benefit from domestic manufacturing. Our involvement in the production process is important, which is why we partner with contract manufacturers in Central Florida.
SEVERTSON SCREENS, MESA, ARIZONA
Toby Severtson; president and CEO
Describe your Made in America footprint.
Family-owned Severtson Screens has manufacturered in Mesa, Arizona for 30 years.
Severtson operates three cinema screen manufacturing facilities in Mesa, Arizona with a combined total of 47,000 square feet.
What percentage of your product is made in America?
100% of our cinema screens are manufactured here in the U.S. out of 100% American made materials.
How many Americans do you employ or contract to?
We have 22 employees
Why America?
Severtson was founded in Mesa, Arizona and it has been our base of operations for the 30 years we have been in business. We live here and we work here.
What advantages does your American manufacturing footprint give you?
The biggest advantage we have is the ability to directly monitor the quality of our product. We make our screens here in our own shop and have our own eyes watching every part of the process to ensure that it meets our standards. As we develop new products and processes we are able to test and implement them immediately without having to travel to an overseas factory. If adjustments need to be made we can make them as soon as they are identified. When our customers have time critical orders, we are able to immediately verify that their order is given the priority it needs to ship out on time.
What challenges do you face in utilizing American manufacturing?
Our biggest concerns have less to do with manufacturing capabilities and more to do with the costs associated with doing business in the current economic environment. Rising healthcare costs and high tax rates are among our biggest concerns with manufacturing in the U.S.
Was there ever a moment when you questioned the practicality of manufacturing in America?
Our main competitors have factories for their products in other countries. This gives them proximity to key markets that we don’t have because of our home base here in the U.S. The cost of shipping effectively priced us out of many of these markets for several years, but we have found a way to mitigate this effect. By developing folded cinema screens we dramatically reduced our shipping costs while preserving the quality of our product. Proximity is no longer as significant a factor for us.
What are your future plans for your manufacturing footprint
The company is in the process of developing a campus-style manufacturing facility here in Arizona that will expand our manufacturing capacity.
Any other thoughts?
At a time when so many manufacturing companies are moving their operations to other countries, Severtson is proud to be successful by remaining in the U.S. Not only do we enjoy the advantages we mentioned earlier, we are providing jobs for our friends and neighbors here in our home state of Arizona.
PEERLESS-AV, AURORA, ILLINOIS
Nick Belcore, Executive Vice President
Describe your Made in America footprint.
Peerless-AV’s headquarters are located in Aurora, IL, where the company maintains a 319,000 square foot factory that employs over 400 people. Peerless-AV also runs a factory in Mexico to best serve the Latin American market.
What percentage of your product is made in America?
95+% of Peerless-AV’s SKUs are made in America.
How many Americans do you employ or contract to?
Approximately 400
Why America?
As an American-based company, we have chosen to expand upon the skillsets of our in-house employees and manufacture our kiosks and outdoor TVs and displays in our Aurora, IL facility. By manufacturing solutions that require advanced training in our own facility, we are able to manage quality control as well as aid our employees in advancing their skills.
What advantages does your American manufacturing footprint give you?
Our American manufacturing footprint has allowed us to become the most responsive and adaptive leaders in the industry. We are able to work with our customers to provide truly custom solutions and offer them the opportunity to see the process of their solutions being developed. With our large Aurora facility, customers can come on-site to see the way we manufacture products. Our customers can trust that we personally develop solutions that will help them meet their needs. Being made in America also allows the flexibility to change or tweak our products in a dynamic and rapidly evolving marketplace.
What challenges do you face in utilizing American manufacturing?
Cost can be a factor when utilizing American manufacturing as overseas manufacturing tends to be less expensive for high volume product. The additional cost can easily be factored into projects when we provide a high quality product that reflects the time and aesthetic the customer is looking for in a timeframe that meets their rigorous requirements.
Was there ever a moment when you questioned the practicality of manufacturing in America?
When we decided to return our manufacturing to America, we were very measured and strategic in our approach. Until recently, we were actually running all of our SKUs in the Aurora facility. With the rapid expansion of our large format kiosk and outdoor display business, we have repurposed a much larger percentage of our manufacturing facility to respond to this rapidly growing market need.
If you manufacture both in America and abroad, how/why did the split take shape?
Are there things that work best on American soil and things that are best outsourced? We manufacture our kiosks and outdoor TVs and displays in America and some of our higher volume run rate product overseas. Products that are large in volume, small in footprint and travel well are best served by outsourced manufacturing.
What if any recent changes have you made to your manufacturing footprint/capacity?
In bringing back manufacturing that requires higher skillsets, we have been able to advance our manufacturing process to develop more intricate solutions. We made strategic hires of employees with AV and electrical experience, which has helped us to upskill and further train our other employees that have been repurposed from the high volume run rate SKUs that they used to manufacture.
What can you do in an American factory that you can’t do overseas?
All of these factors—quality control, efficiency, and innovation—play a role in our decision to manufacture our products in America. With the ability to actually see what is being developed and maintain our intellectual property in-house, we are able to create more unique solutions that add more value to our customers. We are also able to create new and adaptive AV solutions in very short time periods that meet our customers’ expectations.
ANCHOR AUDIO, CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA
Emily Golding, VP of Marketing
Describe your Made in America footprint.
In order to get the benefit of American manufacturing while mitigating the costs, companies like Anchor Audio keep manufacturing process agile and innovative.
We own a building in Carlsbad, CA, where we run our company and manufacture our products. Our factory manufactures sound systems from the smallest part into the final polished product, intricately involved in all processes. Anchor Audio products have always been made in America, and we are proud to have our highly productive factory in our headquarters.
What percentage of your product is made in America?
100% of our portable sound systems are made in America.
How many Americans do you employ?
All of our employees are American workers; we are about 40 people currently.
Why America?
We believe that to manufacturer top quality sound systems, the tight quality control methods can only be employed when our leadership has a direct involvement with the factory. Having hands on training with management, engineering, and factory workers results in products that work well, and work forever. We see products engineered and manufactured overseas are of sub-par quality in comparison. We can adapt quickly to the changing needs of our industry, and we can offer careers to our workers–most of our factory staff have been with the company for over 15 years.
What advantages does your American manufacturing footprint give you?
Being agile and flexible is key to our success. We run a lean manufacturing plant, which means we do not overbuild. This allows us to quickly implement new product upgrades, change our processes when needed, and adapt to changing safety measures. This also ensures our customers are getting ‘fresh’ product, and not a stagnant unit that has been sitting on the shelf for months. Our engineers and factory team work closely on a daily basis to test new boards, make improvements to processes, and ensure we are receiving top quality components.
Was there ever a moment when you questioned the practicality of manufacturing in America?
Never—USA manufacturing is the cornerstone of our business and allows us to deliver quality product, quickly.
What can you do in an American factory that you can’t do overseas? Quality control practices? Efficiency? Innovation?
Time to market? Sourcing materials? Time to market is key. Engineering and marketing are able to work together flawlessly to ensure products are ready to hit the market on time and in top quality fashion. We are able to brainstorm in one room, and then head directly to the factory to see the decisions in immediate implemented into the product. This allows for the highest quality, most agile manufacturing, and innovative in our audio manufacturing world
EARTHWORKS, MILFORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE
Daniel Blackmer, VP
Describe your Made in America footprint.
100% of our finished electronics products are made at our factory in New Hampshire. Our in-house machine shop produces the overwhelming majority of our mechanical parts, and all of the associated servicing for these parts is done with regional American factories.
What percentage of your product is made in America?
99% – We do source a small fraction of our materials from outside America through a US supplier, however these materials are all modified in house. Our products are all 100% assembled, tuned and tested in America.
How many Americans do you employ or contract to
Between employees & contractors, over 50.
Why America?
The decision to produce in America comes down to supply chain logistics. Earthworks microphones are made to order. As the order comes in it is built for the customer, with very few finished goods stocked in any quantity. There is no way to respond quickly and dynamically enough to the changing demands of our customers with a quality product unless we manufacture and test it all here in the United States.
What advantages does your American manufacturing footprint give you?
We have the ability to take advantage of lean practices to respond quickly to new demand while generally keeping inventory fairly low. With over 70 variations (and more each year) of our installed sound microphone SKUs, manufacturing in America allows us to respond rapidly to orders of varying sizes and requirements without having to maintain high finished goods on the shelf that may not reflect the needs of our customers. By maintaining parts in various stages of assembly, we are able to complete the manufacture of orders within a very short window (typically 24-48 hours) without committing a large volume of parts to a variation that may have widely ranging demand.
What challenges do you face in utilizing American manufacturing?
On the line at Anchor Audio, Carlsbad, California
Cost & Expectations. When people think about manufacturing in America they usually think about the cost. While managing cost is always a challenge it is perhaps the expectation that people have that anything can and should be made cheaply that is the bigger challenge. Often when people hear your product is made in America the assumption is that you are over-priced; for Earthworks this couldn’t be further from the truth.
Keeping costs under control is far more complicated when the product is manufactured in as high a cost environment as the US is. And the expectation of quality on the consumer’s part is also very high.
Was there ever a moment when you questioned the practicality of manufacturing in America?
The costs are definitely higher, but the tradeoff is the level of control you have. There have been moments of questioning the benefits of maintaining such a large diverse product line, since trimming down the line to a few key SKUs and making them overseas could cut costs. But in the end the ability to meet the dynamic needs of our customers with an ultra high quality product has superseded any desire to outsource our production process.
What if any recent changes have you made to your manufacturing footprint/capacity?
Over the past several years we have invested in additional manufacturing equipment that has expanded our overall capacity and allowed us to expand our service offerings. A new turning center in our machine shop has allowed us to increase our capacity for manufacturing metal parts, which account for a large percentage of our microphone parts. We have also invested in laser engraving and cutting machines, which allows us to move in house several services that were previously completed using local vendors and provide customization services upon request.
Are there types of products that best lend to American manufacturing?
If so, why? Certainly products with high degrees of customization or variations. One of the main benefits of producing overseas is the lower cost per unit of a product, which results from high volume. At Earthworks, we make a real effort to ensure as many of our products within a series share key parts, such as the flange for the IM, IML and IMB Series microphones, so that we can take advantage of both mass manufacture on key parts and a large offering of variations (i.e. varying gooseneck lengths, finish, light ring).
What can you do in an American factory that you can’t do overseas? Quality control practices? Efficiency? Innovation? Time to market? Sourcing materials?
Because we manufacture in house and have the machining capabilities in the same building as our engineering, production and sales team, we are able to respond to custom requests in a way that we would not be able to overseas. If a customer is looking for the Earthworks performance, but we do not have the exact form factor they require, we are able to work with the customer to design, prototype and manufacture a product that precisely fits their needs.
This is also true when it comes to developing new products. Face to face meetings are easier to schedule, which generates a hands-on collaborative process. Some great problem solving has occurred as a result.
Our CAD modeler is able to work directly with our head machinist, who can advise on the capabilities and most efficient ways to manufacture parts. Engineering is able to easily interface with production while developing the product to ensure that it is designed in a way that optimizes the production process and does not have any unnecessarily difficult assembly stages. Sales can share unique insights from the market and customers that allow us to offer a unique problem solving solution. This all lends itself to a product that is intelligently engineered and meets the high Earthworks standard of performance.
MIDDLE ATLANTIC PRODUCTS, FAIRFIELD, NEW JERSEY
Mark Tracy, VP of Marketing
Describe your Made in America footprint.
CAL system testing at Meyer Sound, Berkeley, California
Middle Atlantic’s primary factory in Fairfied has more than 425,000 square feet of manufacturing and warehouse space under one roof. We also maintain warehouses in Illinois, California, and Canada to make sure our products are more readily available to integrators in other parts of North America.
What percentage of your product is made in America?
The majority of our Middle Atlantic products are manufactured in our New Jersey plant, along with products for other Legrand divisions. Being part of Legrand, we do source some of our products from other Legrand-owned factories in North America and around the world, including a new facility in Mexico. This gives us the opportunity to offer even more of the products that provide the foundation of great AV systems.
How many Americans do you employ or contract to
We employ over 500 people to support Middle Atlantic’s operations throughout North America
Why America?
We choose to manufacture in America for a number of reasons, mostly because it allows us to be more nimble and solve problems for the integrators more quickly. We listen to our customers, design innovative products that solve their challenges, and can get those solutions to market faster. Another key reason is to ensure world-class quality control that we hold ourselves, as well as our vendors, accountable to.
What competitive advantages does your American manufacturing footprint give you?
American manufacturing gives us an edge over our competitors in a few important ways:
First, we can deploy our own automation and cellular manufacturing to make a wider variety of products more quickly to accommodate different applications. Our aim is always to help integrators deliver the perfect customer experience, and part of that means making sure we’ve got the right products available when they need them for a given installation. Cellular manufacturing lets us do that.
Next, we can customize our products whenever we’re asked. Because we’ve got a factory right here, our customers don’t have to wait weeks or months for a custom product to arrive. Instead, we can solve the problem right away and help our integrators get their jobs done.
Finally, having such a large American facility means our product management, design engineering, and manufacturing engineering teams are co-located, so they work together closely — literally and figuratively — to come up with innovative, customized solutions to integrators’ most perplexing problems. We can go from customer request to design to prototype to finished product far more quickly and efficiently by having everything under one roof.
What challenges do you face in utilizing American manufacturing?
The challenges are no different than manufacturing anywhere else: balancing material costs, maintaining a highly skilled workforce and operating as efficiently as possible while maintaining a responsible, sustainable footprint.
What are your future plans for your manufacturing footprint?
We will continue to align our manufacturing efforts with the customer experience. One example is expanding and optimizing our processes to accommodate configured rack orders designed in our online Configurator and purchased via our e-commerce portal. We will continue to invest in technology to stay close to customers, to minimize damage, improve delivery times and be as cost competitive as possible.
Are there types of products that best lend to American manufacturing?
If so, why? American manufacturing is especially critical when it comes to customization of products like our furniture solutions built for AV applications.
What can you do in an American factory that you can’t do overseas? Quality control practices? Efficiency? Innovation? Time to market? Sourcing materials?
The importance of having dedicated employees who care about the customer at the manufacturing site can’t be overstated. That’s a “made for the customer” approach that we believe in and drives our business no matter where our products originate. Every person involved in creating the product has the freedom and the capacity to make suggestions to everybody else up and down the development and engineering chain. That ability to collaborate has a positive impact on everything from innovation and customization to quality control and time to market.
Any other thoughts?
Middle Atlantic has made a concerted effort to lead the way in sustainable manufacturing, and part of that effort is continuous improvement toward zero waste. This year our New Jersey, manufacturing facility earned GreenCircle certification for “Waste Diversion from Landfill” from GreenCircle Certified LLC. Specifically, the certification verifies that Middle Atlantic’s factory diverts 96 percent of non-hazardous and hazardous materials from landfills. We believe that we have a responsibility to operate in an eco-conscious manner, and work hard to maintain our ISO 14001 certification, to hold ourselves accountable to the high environmental standard we’ve set.
JUICEGOOSE, HOUSTON TEXAS
Peter Cook, VP
Describe your Made in America footprint. Do you own factories (where and approx how big)? Do you contract manufacturing to America factories (where)? Both?
The word “factory” brings to mind smoke stacks and rail cars. We certainly don’t have any of that. But, we do have a manufacturing facility in Houston, where the company was founded and where we produce our US made products. We do not contract final assembly to any other US companies.
What percentage of your product is made in America?
There are 35 Juice Goose products in our catalog. Twenty-nine (85%) of them are made in Houston.
Why America?
We make products in America because we live here. Houston, in particular, is a great place to do business. We have a large, capable workforce, tremendous local infrastructure and support companies in design, fabrication and electronics distribution.
What competitive advantages does your American manufacturing footprint give you?
Quality control and the ability to react quickly to opportunities and the rare occurrence of a quality issue. Inventory management is more dependable without the extended delivery time of an overseas production model.
What challenges do you face in utilizing American manufacturing?
Cost is the only negative to American manufacturing.
If you manufacture both in America and abroad, how/why did the split take shape? Are there things that work best on American soil and things that are best outsourced?
This is the key question. We do manufacture in the US and overseas. Products with greater inherent value can command a higher margin, that is a higher price relative to the manufacturing cost. Those products generally tend to be more complicated and have a higher technological component. That allows them to tolerate higher manufacturing costs in the US and requires greater quality control than can be achieved overseas on a small to medium scale (relative to many global industries). Similarly, purchasers seek low prices for simple products. Costs have to be contained to achieve those prices.
Any other thoughts?
In 1983, Juice Goose was the first company to introduce power-conditioning equipment into the commercial AV market. Those were certainly US-made. There weren’t many thoughts of outsourcing at that time. By the end of the ‘80s we were the first company to import rack-mounted power products, a necessary step to gain a pricing advantage in the developing consumer music market.
Consumers complain about manufacturing moving out of the country. But, it is the consumers (including each of us) who encourage the price competition that drives production to lower cost countries. That trend is not unique to this country or this era. The period of the industrial revolution and many other times have seem similar shifts in economics and labor requirements.
NANOLUMENS, ATLANTA, GEORGIA
Rick Cope, CEO
Describe your Made in America footprint.
We design and assemble all of our products here in the Atlanta area and ship them around the world. We have a full staff of electrical, mechanical and manufacturing engineers as well as a manufacturing staff that design build and assemble our displays. We have a 32,000 ft.² facility in Norcross and a 17,000 ft.² facility in Atlanta. We also work with a company called Partner Tech that has a 200,000 ft.² facility about 10 miles up the road and the assemble a number of our displays under our supervision, providing us with very expandable workload capability.
What percentage of your product is made in America?
All of our products are designed and assembled in America according to the legal specification of the federal government.
How many Americans do you employ or contract to?
Directly we have about 30 people in assembly and manufacturing, but we also subcontract out components to multiple facilities here and in Canada, so indirectly probably a couple of hundred or more.
Why America?
Quality, and closeness to the customer. By designing all of our parts here in Norcross we can assure that they all fit well together and meet our design requirements. We then have these components built by your subcontractors around the world and returned to Atlanta where they are turned into finished displays much like you would see on an automotive assembly line. This puts the finished display in close proximity to our US and Canadian customers. And because they’re so valuable, our customers are willing to put the displays on airplanes which means we’re only two days from anywhere in the world.
What advantages does your American manufacturing footprint give you?
Quality consistency and the ability to ensure the product is right, before it leaves the facility. It also gives an advantage in time to the customer as well as service and support.
What challenges do you face in utilizing American manufacturing?
Cost is the biggest hurdle in assembling products in America. You therefore have to create a value proposition that the customer will appreciate and therefore be willing to pay more for, in order to get something of higher quality and value.
Was there ever a moment when you questioned the practicality of manufacturing in America?
Never, it’s always been around how to get it done versus the value of doing it
What can you do in an American factory that you can’t do overseas?
The American worker is uniquely skilled to adapt quickly to changes in processes, and inherently thinks about innovative ways to do things differently. However that brings both good and bad aspects to the production process. In many other countries employees will robotically do what you tell them to do, even if it damages the product or process. In America however, employees believe they have the individual freedom to speak up and try and change the process or sometimes even the product to make it better. This requires a different type of leadership and the ability to listen, work with, and guide the production employees to success. Designing products, building and assembling them in America takes more leadership, more involvement, thought and planning, but the rewards can be equally gratifying.
PLANAR/LEYARD, PORTLAND, OREGON
Jennifer Davis, CMO
Describe your Made in America footprint.
Oregon. We have continually operated US manufacturing operations for over 30 years.
What percentage of your product is made in America?
“Made in America” is a very specific, technical term that is governed by a regulatory body. That is not the question I am answering here. For the AV products sold to US customers, a majority of them are assembled in our factory in the US, including the award-winning Clarity Matrix LCD video walls, Planar Direct-Light LED video walls, and Planar UltraRes™ 4k/UHD video displays. Customers in Europe are supported by factory operations in the States and in France and Slovakia.
How many Americans do you employ or contract to
We employ 300 people in the US. The contract number is difficult to know, as we have lots of local/regional vendors and service providers, but I would say that conservatively on any given day we have 150 or more full-time equivalent employees at our partners that work in the States.
Why America?
We like to have local manufacturing in the States, to support our customers who are located here. It provides more timely deliveries and shorter lead times. It provides more customization and modularity options to our product offering. It provides an opportunity for customers to visit the factory directly. It provides a center for technical support and service that is close to the customer base. The same is true for our operations in the EU for those local customers.
What advantages does your American manufacturing footprint give you?
We have not only operations and sales, but marketing, engineering, and executive management in the USA, which provides us unique and direct insight into the needs of the US customer. It builds the confidence of our customers knowing we are in their time zone, speak their language, understand their needs, and have a long history of fulfilling the needs with quality and innovation.
What challenges do you face in utilizing American manufacturing?
We strive to have an experienced and highly capable workforce and with manufacturing jobs becoming more scarce, we strive to make sure the labor pool is ready to support our growth into the future. We invest in our local communities, in technology and education charities including Business Education Compact (BEC), Oregon Museum of Science and Industry(OMSI) and Marathon Scholars. We also make ourselves accessible to tour groups and mentoring opportunities, to help encourage students to explore careers in science, technology, engineering, and math, as well as understanding the range of career options available in the market.
If you manufacture both in America and abroad, how/why did the split take shape? Are there things that work best on American soil and things that are best outsourced?
We have company-owned facilities and key manufacturing partnerships all over the world. We always decide where to manufacture product based on the product design, the readiness of various facilities to take on the product, the proximity and needs of the customers for that product line, and over all capacity planning.
Are there types of products that best lend to American manufacturing? If so, why?
Some highly complex products benefit from close proximity to our design engineering teams (which we have in our US factory with our headquarters for R&D just down the road).
TEKVOX, SAN ANTONIO AND AUSTIN, TEXAS
Jim Reinhart, CEO
Describe your Made in America footprint.
TEKVOX operates component assembly and system manufacturing locations in San Antonio and Austin, Texas, respectively. We utilize contract manufacturers in Texas to produce our critical, highly proprietary electronic and mechanical sub-assemblies. We use manufacturers in Asia for highly-standardized components where cost is more critical than proprietary content. Our local manufacturing partners are very cost-competitive on a global basis and offer flexibility and responsiveness that are critical to our mass-customization of Drop-In A/V solutions.
What percentage of your product is made in America?
By unit volume, approximately half of our product is made in America. By profit margin, two-thirds.
Why America?
Local manufacturing is essential to maintaining our pace of innovation. We also benefit from outstanding quality and get to work without concern for protection of intellectual property.
Was there ever a moment when you questioned the practicality of manufacturing in America?
For our proprietary products, no. We expect to grow our Made In America footprint.
If you manufacture both in America and abroad, how/why did the split take shape? Are there things that work best on American soil and things that are best outsourced?
Many of the AV components that we utilize in our solutions are manufactured predominantly in China. Our vendors are able to customize the products per our requirements at lower cost than we can design and manufacture ourselves. Our partners are able to spread development costs across multiple customers and purchase key components in higher volume which lowers the total cost for our builds even though our volume is a fraction of our partners overall volume.
What if any recent changes have you made to your manufacturing footprint/capacity?
We have repatriated a number of mechanical and electrical components to local manufacturers to allow us to improve our rate of innovation.
What can you do in an American factory that you can’t do overseas?
Real-time interaction during the normal 12 hour work day!
ZEEVEE, LITTLETON, MASSACHUSETTS
Bob Michaels, President and CEO
Describe your Made in America footprint.
Our initial strategy was for the products to be manufactured in the Far East and a partner in China was ultimately selected. Our initial product range was focused on the consumer (residential) sector and thus volumes and low cost of manufacturing were important considerations. Consequently, while the entire design effort was US-based, all of the products offered during the first 4 years of our existence were manufactured in China. In 2011, with our shift to the commercial sector, the decision was made to bring the manufacture of the entire product range back to the United States. The most prudent path for us at the time was to locate and qualify a contract manufacturing ‘partner’ in the New England area and we have remained with the same organization since 2011.
What percentage of your product is made in America?
96%
How many Americans do you employ or contract to?
50-75
Why America?
The most important advantage is regular and convenient access to our partner personnel and facility. We maintain a presence with 2 people on site full time and are able to command attention, effectively monitor the quality of workmanship and exercise a high degree of flexibility in determining the size and scope of production runs. Being in the same time zone allows for ease of communication and the ability to address issues in real time. Being local, together we are able to better understand challenges managing various factors that influence overall costs such as access to qualified labor and thus work together to identify and define acceptable solutions.
What challenges do you face in utilizing American manufacturing?
Controlling labor and material costs are an ongoing concern and we have programs in place to constantly monitor efficiencies of the local operations versus other potential avenues.
Was there ever a moment when you questioned the practicality of manufacturing in America?
In making the decision to bring manufacturing onshore, we had to consider a number of factors that would affect our ability to compete in a competitive and (often) price sensitive market. There were certainly the standard concerns relating to overall costs of labor, materials, processes and facilities, but people get hung up on those very easy to quantify numbers and don’t look at the big picture. Transport costs, the cost of working capital (since payment for services in China are now required up front), travel costs to/from Asia, exchange rate fluctuations and then the cost of fallout from any quality escapes are critical factors that led us to project that we could make the overall net cost to the business lower here in the states.
If you manufacture both in America and abroad, how/why did the split take shape? Are there things that work best on American soil and things that are best outsourced?
We continue to purchase production volume components from abroad but these are typically, low tech, high volume and labor intensive items such as sheet metal enclosures. Individual items required for prototype runs and small volume specialty built products that require engineering support continue to be sourced locally.
Are there types of products that best lend to American manufacturing? If so, why?
The US does not have a lock on quality and we all have access to high quality products from all corners of the globe. That being true, we do find that the Made In America label holds us to a higher standard and sets a product apart. Since embarking on our home manufacturing strategy, we have been able to increase our warranty period to 5 years and our customers view this as proof positive.
