U.S. manufacturing can make sense, dollars

There is a small but growing number of U.S. manufacturers that obviously have not heard the fat lady sing.

Companies like Copeland, McCreary Modern, Elite Mfg., Seco and American Leather all believe it’s still possible to manufacture domestically and stay in business.

While I can’t name names, I can tell you that Furniture/Today will be reporting on similar companies.
And these efforts have not been lost on retailers. Andy Thornton, president of Richmond, Va.-based La Difference International Furnishings, is one dealer that’s adamant about the need to maintain a strong U.S. manufacturing base.

He’s just wrapped up a successful Made in America promotion, designed to draw attention to vendors that still are producing in the states. During the promotion, which ran from June 1 to July 17, La Diff featured products from domestic suppliers and tagged those goods with a special Made in America sticker.

La Diff has sold furniture made offshore for some 25 years, but Thornton is quick to point out how important manufacturing is for any healthy economy. “We can’t end up a nation of insurance salesmen and hamburger flippers,” he said.

Thornton believes, as do I, that what has made America great is a willingness, and ability, to create and design, and to challenge the past. The brightness of our collective future may well rest on our desire and willingness to challenge our past.

Andy is worried that if we stop manufacturing here in the states, we will relinquish much more than the jobs required to make the goods. As he told me, “We lose technology, we lose the creativity, we lose the spirit of curiosity and we become a much poorer country in financial terms and in creative, spiritual terms.”

Make no mistake. Thornton is not an isolationist. Nor am I. We both believe it’s time to acknowledge that our business is global. But this is not the time to throw in the towel on all domestic manufacturing. It is high time to take the towel, wipe the slate clean and look for domestic opportunities that make sense — and dollars.  (to add public comments click on "Add your Comment" below, or to email Ray directly click here.)