The Manufacturing Report

During World War II, the Brooklyn Navy Yard served as a sprawling wartime factory, employing a staggering 70,000 workers at the time. When the COVID-19 pandemic swept New York City, the Brooklyn Navy Yard once again stepped up to serve frontline heroes. Now a home for manufacturers rather than shipbuilders, the Yard's many companies teamed up, in often unlikely partnerships, to produce 25 percent of the city's PPE needs. In this episode, Scott Paul speaks with the Navy Yard's chief development officer, Johanna Greenbaum, about the incredible history of the Yard and the role it's playing today.

Photo courtesy of Brooklyn Navy Yard

In 2016, the Rev. Georgiette Morgan-Thomas rescued the historic S&S hat factory in Philadelphia after a long career in social work. Earlier this year, we shared what brought the reverend to make this dramatic career switch and her plans for the factory, which she renamed American Hats LLC. Today, Rev. Morgan-Thomas reveals how she’s tackling the dramatic reduction in her brand’s wholesale business and storefront traffic during the pandemic by appealing directly to her passionate customer base.

Find out what brought Rev. Morgan-Thomas to buy a hat factory in 2016: https://soundcloud.com/keep-it-made-in-america/american-hats

Photo courtesy of American Hats LLC

Amid supply chain headaches and a seismic shift in the retail landscape, Gina Locklear of organic sock brand zkano is launching her fall collection later this month, from her parents' legacy mill in Fort Payne, Ala. We caught up with Locklear to see how zkano is adapting to the pandemic's challenges.

Listen to Scott Paul conversation with Locklear in 2019: soundcloud.com/keep-it-made-in-america/zkano

Photo courtesy of zkano.

When "Working Man" Writer/Director Robert Jury found plastic injection molder Makray Manufacturing in Norridge, Ill., he discovered the perfect setting for his factory movie. Unfortunately, since the release of "Working Man", the film has been sadly prescient of Makray's fate.

In this episode, Scott Paul continues his behind-the-scenes look at "Working Man" in a conversation with Jury and Makray Manufacturing General Manager Brian Miller, who served as a consultant for the project.

Photo courtesy of Brainstorm Media

In this second part of Scott Paul's conversations with the cast and crew of the factory film "Working Man", he speaks with actor Billy Brown (How to Get Away with Murder) about the stark reality U.S. workers face and how "Working Man" has redoubled Brown's personal Made in USA commitments.

Photo courtesy of Brainstorm Media.

It’s a rare thing for Hollywood to turn its gaze upon America’s industrial heartland and rarer still that it portrays factory communities with full accuracy. However, a new film accomplishes just that. Shot in an operational plastics plant in Illinois, “Working Man” reveals the devastation wrecked upon a community when the town’s lone factory closes.

In this episode, Scott Paul speaks with the film's stars, Peter Gerety (The Wire)and Talia Shire (Rocky), about what "Working Man" revealed to them.

“Working Man” is now streaming on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Google Play, VUDU and Fandango.

Photo courtesy of Brainstorm Media.

As Congress considers a massive investment in rebuilding America's crumbling roads, bridges, public transit, railways, and more, China is preparing to steal these valuable contracts from American workers. In this episode, researchers from Horizon Advisory explain China's playbook as it leverages the catastrophe of COVID-19 to infiltrate America's critical infrastructure.

Read the report: https://www.horizonadvisory.org/ccpsubversionreport

Photo courtesy of New York State Thruway Authority.

After years in the footwear industry, brothers Tim and Tommy Gibb were fed up with seeing jobs go overseas. In 2014, the brothers realized their dreams of bringing those jobs home with a flip flop that's manufactured in New Rochelle, N.Y., using sustainable materials sourced from other U.S.-based family-run businesses.

In this in-depth interview, TIDAL New York Co-founder Tim shares the genesis of his company and where he hopes U.S. manufacturing is heading next.

Tim Gibb's Medium Opinion: https://medium.com/@tim_30152/the-relevancy-of-local-manufacturing-in-the-age-of-covid-19-73cdf398520a

Photo courtesy of TIDAL New York.

Duluth Pack CEO Tom Sega returns to the podcast to share how the Made in America outdoor gear company formed a unique partnership with another legacy brand to keep their communities safe and their employees paid.

Photo courtesy of Duluth Pack

Channeling the same gutsy determination that guided her when she first launched her uniform manufacturing business, former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader Terra Saunders recently repurposed her factory to make personal protective equipment (PPE). In this episode, Saunders shares how she transitioned from cheerleading to manufacturing and how she brought her workers back when the pandemic brought her business to a halt.

Photo courtesy of Dallaswear/Waitressville