CERTIFIED INC.
February 19, 2015 Leave a comment
Cans of Campbell Soup Co. Campbell’s chicken noodle and tomato soup are arranged for a photograph in Washington, D.C., U.S., Photo: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg/Getty
Campbell Soup CEO Denise Morrison said consumers don’t trust big food makers, and the company announced a $200 million a year cost-cutting program to help its sagging profit margins. Read more of this post
February 19, 2015 Leave a comment
By Suzanne Bower, Editor Made in USA News
It’s almost here! The pet industries largest annual trade show by the American Pet Products Association (APPA) and the Pet Industry Distributors Association (PIDA). Last year the show had over 985 exhibitors, almost 2,900 booths and thousands of new products were introduced at the show.
Each year companies come from all over the globe to attend this outstanding event which represents the best and newest products, retailers, distributors, private label companies, and qualified professionals. The show is upbeat, exciting, and truly brings together an amazing synergy of people in the pet industry.
There is a growing trend at the show is that many companies claim to be “Made in the USA”, proving that this is important to the consumer as well as company brand and marketing. Stephen Trachtenberg, owner of Chasing our Tails who was recently quoted in the December 2015 issue of Pet Age Magazine as saying “Certified Made in USA” used in conjunction with organic certifications, may be one of [the industry’s] best combined attempts at approaching a truly all-natural product.”
We wish everyone involved with the show great success!
.
February 13, 2015 Leave a comment
Under current Federal Trade Commission (FTC) guidelines, a product may be advertised as “Made in the USA” if “all or virtually all” of the labor and materials in the product are domestic. While this standard is relatively strict, it allows a bit of flexibility in at least two situations. Read more of this post
February 11, 2015 Leave a comment
BURLINGTON, VT, There is a huge push nationally to buy what’s made locally, “Made in Vermont, New Hampshire or New York. Read more of this post
February 11, 2015 Leave a comment
By Suzanne Bower, Made in USA News
Many manufacturers are moving their businesses back to the United States due to the increasing rise in income levels in China and lower fuel costs here in the U.S. Made in USA products have seen a steady increase and a resurgence of company expansion in the United States. Many companies also want to protect their designs from overseas copycats and to have better quality control of their products.
Manufacturers also contend that the cost and amount of time to ship from China has also increased as well as maintaining additional offices in China, frequent business trips, cost of housing and translators all come in to play when it comes to the bottom line. It is becoming more clear about the advantages of coming back to the U.S. as the gap continues to grow between China and America.
Over the next five years, we will continue to see the trend of U.S. manufacturing return to the U.S. and a continued increase in products Made in the USA, jobs in the manufacturing sector, and continued growth in our economy.
Please connect with us through “Leave a Comment” above.
February 10, 2015 Leave a comment
FAIRBURY, Neb. — The American flag flapping above the McBattas Packaging and Printing building on the north edge of town is unremarkable as flags go.
At 3-by-5-feet, it’s not especially large. Its colors, of course, are the standard red, white and blue, and it has 50 stars and 13 stripes. But unlike $4 million worth of Old Glory replicas that were sold in the United States in 2013, this flag was made in America — right here in Fairbury, in fact.
Fred Arnold, owner of MSA Brand Products, which began making the flags in mid-2014, said that’s a big deal symbolically and economically. “We started with one person sewing part time and now we’ve got about nine (employees),” Arnold said. “For a town this size, that’s a lot.”
Not quite 4,000 people live in Fairbury, and neither it nor Jefferson County has a formal economic development entity.
Both fall under the purview of the Southeast Nebraska Development District, and the district’s executive director, Dave Taladay, says towns like this are especially reliant on existing businesses to innovate because the prospects of, say, attracting a large manufacturer are slim.
“For some communities, just hanging on is economic development,” Taladay said. “If people like Fred Arnold can create and maintain new businesses, those are the ones that make it work in smaller towns. If it can work, they find a way.”
Arnold and Peggy Galloway, MSA Brand Products’ new business development manager, agree and have taken matters into their own hands. Like Arnold, Galloway is a Fairbury native. She left a job with an architecture firm in Lincoln after living there for 20 years to come home and help stimulate the local economy.
“This isn’t just about making flags. It’s about bringing jobs back to this community,” Galloway said. “We’ve lost so much business here over the years.”
Vise-Grip pliers, manufactured for more than 80 years in nearby DeWitt, Nebraska, have been made in China since 2008. Fairbury Brand Meats’ famous red hot dogs have been made not here but in West Point, Nebraska, since Wimmer’s Meat Products bought the once-local company in 2004.
MSA Brand Products also recently submitted an application to the Flag Manufacturers Association of America, a 14-year-old, six-member organization that certifies flags made in the U.S. of domestic materials with all manufacturing in U.S. facilities with American labor.
The U.S. flag makers trade group is small but mighty, says Chairman Reggie VandenBosch, who is also vice president of sales for Pennsylvania-based Valley Forge Flag. By its own math, the FMAA represents “somewhere between 80 and 85 percent of the industry (production) volume” of U.S.-made flags.
By Cole Epley / World-Herald staff writer
February 6, 2015 Leave a comment
The trend of outsourcing to overseas suppliers and contractors may be losing some of its luster. Many businesses are returning to U.S. manufacturers — also known as re-shoring — to obtain goods faster and at lower costs than foreign suppliers can offer. Moreover, “Made in the USA” tags can win over domestic customers who want to feel good about their purchases. Read more of this post
January 15, 2015 Leave a comment
Global Pet Expo, the pet industry’s largest annual trade show, is presented by the American Pet Products Association (APPA) and Pet Industry Distributors Association (PIDA).
In 2015, Global Pet Expo will take place March 4-6 in Orlando, Florida. Global Pet Expo is open to independent retailers, distributors, mass-market buyers, and other qualified professionals.
January 8, 2015 Leave a comment
National Retail Federation NRF 2015 Big Show NYC
January 11-14, 2015
Jacob K. Javits Convention Center | NYC
NRF’s Annual Convention & EXPO earned the nickname “Retail’s BIG Show” years ago and because the name was so appropriate, it stuck. Today, Retail’s BIG Show is NRF’s flagship industry event held annually in New York City. The four day event offers unparalleled education, collegial networking, and an enormous EXPO Hall full of technologies and solutions.
After more than a century, Retail’s BIG Show is still the place – the only place – where you can see and experience all things Retail. It is truly one-stop-shopping for industry professionals from the around the world.
January 5, 2015 Leave a comment
By Michael Kling
Updated By Adam Reiser
John Ratzenberger on FOX NEWS Neil Cavuto
The lack of young people entering the manufacturing field threatens the future of the U.S. manufacturing renaissance, warns a new study.
Older workers, who dominate manufacturing, are leaving the work force in droves, but few young people are entering the field to replace them, according to the study from information and technology company ThomasNet.com. The study included responses from 1,209 engineers and purchasing agents, business owners and managers and sales and marketing executives from manufacturers, distributors and service companies.
Over three-fourths of manufacturing employees are 45 and older, the survey indicates.
“With Generation Y (18 to 32 years old) expected to make up 75 percent of the work force by 2025, and older employees exiting in droves, manufacturing’s ‘biological clock’ is ticking away,” the report notes.
Yet most manufacturers show a lack of urgency to fill their pipeline with skilled workers.
Three-quarters of companies surveyed say 25 percent or less of their work force are in the Generation Y age group. While 29 percent say they will increase employment of Generation Y workers in the next two years, almost half expect their numbers to stay the same.
Manufacturers say negative perceptions about work in their industry prompts young people to avoid the sector. But instead of being dirty, boring work, modern manufacturing is a high-tech world of computer-aided design and production. Half of survey respondents say a career in their industry provides satisfaction as well as competitive wages and benefits.
The shortage of skilled workers comes at a time when the industry is rebounding. Over half of manufacturers grew in 2012 and nearly two-thirds expect to grow this year. Nearly seven out of 10 will introduce new products this year.
“Considering that many companies (42 percent) are increasing employee headcount this year, the time to cultivate a new work force is now,” the study stresses.
Lack of basic skills in young workers is a drawback.
Manufacturers are developing partnerships with schools to help improve training and increase their emphasis on science, technology, engineering and mathematics. “The jury is out on whether these efforts alone will be enough,” the study says.
The United States is well-positioned to revitalize its manufacturing sector, says Philip Odette, president of Global Supply Chain Solutions, in an article for ManufacturingNet, an industry news site.
“The only thing missing is enough skilled workers to maintain the momentum.”
Companies must work to educate young people about the advantages of a career in manufacturing, he explains.
“Even something as simple as recording yourself demonstrating a process can boost the credibility of your company and increase its presence in the minds of students and teachers in your local area,” he advises. “Videos of new equipment or an impressive process don’t have to be reserved to sales pitches — they can be investments in attracting a new work force.”
Source: http://www.moneynews.com/Economy/manufacturing-skill-workers-US/2013/11/07/id/535317
