Ben Napier, who stars in HGTV's "Home Town" alongside his wife Erin, dreamed of opening his own factory since childhood. Now he’s opened a factory to make butcher blocks, creating the family-supporting manufacturing jobs that he hopes will be his legacy. Listen in for Ben’s plan for the Scotsman Manufacturing Company factory — and how the 1995 movie “Tommy Boy” inspired it. 

Check out our past interviews with Ben: https://soundcloud.com/keep-it-made-in-america/hgtvs-ben-napier-shares-the-view-from-americas-favorite-small-town; soundcloud.com/keep-it-made-in-america/why-the-stars-of-hgtvs-home-town-keep-it-made-in-america

Photo courtesy of Scotsman Manufacturing Company

HGTV’s Ben Napier Just Opened a Factory in His Home Town, Fulfilling a Childhood Dream

Manufacturing is having a moment. But what will it actually take to create more blue-collar jobs and strengthen our industrial base? Alliance for American Manufacturing President Scott Paul chats with policymakers, manufacturing experts and factory workers to find out.

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As America's factory boom comes to fruition, recruiting the next generation of factory workers is more important than ever, but getting them through the door isn't always easy. Taylor Evans, the president and founder of talent recruitment agency Rust Belt Recruiting, shares how manufacturers can go beyond the paycheck to add value to employees' lives and why understanding workforce needs is crucial for today's industrial leaders. 

Photo courtesy of Rust Belt Recruiting

How This Ohio Talent Recruitment Company is Building the Next Generation of Manufacturing Workers

Amid escalating global competition and trade cheating, the Export-Import (EXIM) Bank of the United States is helping American manufacturers play offense. Owen Herrnstadt, a member of EXIM’s Board of Directors, shares how the bank’s Make More in America Initiative works in conjunction with President Biden’s U.S. supply chain resiliency effort to close financial gaps and support export-oriented projects for American manufacturers.

How the Export-Import Bank is Helping U.S. Manufacturers Play Offense

China is the world's biggest shipbuilder by far, an advantage that Beijing has stolen through decades of trade cheating and massive government subsidies. A new trade investigation launched by the Biden administration is America's first step toward course correction. United Steelworkers International President David McCall joins the podcast to share what prompted the investigation and what's at stake for American workers. 

Photo courtesy United Steelworkers

United Steelworkers President Dave McCall on How America Rights the Ship[building Industry]

China and India are the world's leading mobile phone manufacturers, but one company is moving its production away from these countries and setting up shop in the United States. Dubbed "Project Patriot," Orbic's plan to manufacture connected devices on Long Island will bring more than 1,000 jobs back to America. Orbic North America Founder and CEO Mike Narula shares how.

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New York's Orbic is Bringing Electronics Manufacturing to the U.S.

American Paper Optics has made a whopping more than 3 billion pairs of its innovative 3D glasses. Now, in preparation for the Great North American Eclipse on April 8, this Tennessee company is churning out millions upon millions of ISO-approved and CE-certified eclipse glasses so people can safely experience this rare astronomical event. In fact, it’s NASA’s go-to source for eclipse glasses! CEO John Jerit shares why solar eclipse viewers need safe glasses, how his company has been gearing up to supply them, and what the company does when it isn't getting ready for an eclipse (hint: the Super Bowl). 

Photo courtesy of American Paper Optics

HGTV’s Ben Napier Just Opened a Factory in His Home Town, Fulfilling a Childhood Dream

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