The Manufacturing Report

As the mill in Coatesville, Pa., begins its recovery thanks to Section 232 trade action, so too is the city beginning a new era of revitalization. A year after tariffs on imported steel have been in place, Scott Paul discusses how recent trade action has impacted Coatesville's community with steelworkers Fred Grumbine and Vonie Long at the National Iron & Steel Museum.

* Special thanks to the National Iron & Steel Museum and Little Chef for hosting the podcast during this recording.

America’s only flatware manufacturer, Liberty Tabletop, celebrated its best year yet in 2018. However, as the company continues to grow, an ever-evolving trade environment could hold promise or peril for the company and other manufacturers. Find out what Liberty Tabletop's Co-founder and CEO, Greg Owens, forecasts for the future of manufacturing following a week spent talking trade on Capitol Hill.

*Photo courtesy of Liberty Tabletop; photo by Jim Demorast

Rather than join yet another tech startup, Tuckerman & Co. co-founders and Yale business school graduates Jonas Clark and Amanda Rinderle set out to actualize an even greater venture -- curing the fast fashion epidemic. With the help of a historic dress shirt factory in Fall River, Mass., Clark and Rinderle are well on their way to revolutionizing the way clothing is manufactured, producing a classic dress shirt for men and women made of 100 percent organic cotton.

*Photo courtesy of Tuckerman & Co.; photo by Stephen Faust

Teen CEO Zandra Cunningham of Zandra Beauty began her business at only 9 years old but has steadily found her footing as a maker and business mogul ever since. Find out how Cunningham grew her company and her advice for other young makers.

* Photo courtesy of Zandra Beauty; photo by William Charls

Over the course of just three years, Owl Manufacturing, a manufacturing company staffed and run by Seymour High School (SHS) students in Seymour, Ind., has grown from 9 to 42 staff members -- with even more expansion planned for the fall. In a conversation with students, teachers, administrators and industry partners, we take a comprehensive look at how SHS's Owl Manufacturing is inspiring the next generation of manufacturers and preparing students for bright futures.

* Photo courtesy of Owl Manufacturing/Seymour High School

Andy Liebner couldn't find ski poles that could keep up with his performance as a professional athlete, but he knew that it was possible to make the poles right and make them in America. So, he made his own and founded the United States Ski Pole Company. Here's how Liebner went from backcountry to manufacturing and why ski poles just might be the most important ski equipment you can buy.

* Photo courtesy of Andy Liebner; photo by German Madrazo

Ben and Erin Napier, the stars of HGTV’s hit show Home Town, are passionate about revitalizing America’s manufacturing and small towns. Thus, when it came time to produce their furniture lines, Laurel Mercantile Co. Home and Scotsman Co. American Heritage, they turned to the legendary Vaughan-Bassett Furniture Co. of Galax, Va. Listen in for why the Napiers sought Vaughan-Bassett out and what American manufacturing means to them.

* Photo courtesy of Laurel Mercantile Co. and Vaughan-Bassett Media

Since we featured THIS NIGHT in early 2018, the Reading, Pa., knitting mill that manufactured the company's socks closed, leaving THIS NIGHT owner and designer Kate Williamson devastated but as determined as ever to keep her products made in America. In this re-airing of Scott Paul's interview with Williamson, we share an update on THIS NIGHT since the recording.

* Photo courtesy of THIS NIGHT.

When Chris McMaster had the opportunity to make his hiking habit a profitable business by purchasing ULA, a small Utah business that made hiking backpacks, he jumped at the opportunity though he knew nothing of the production process other than that ULA backpacks were truly excellent.

Several years later, McMaster has expanded the business and sells ULA’s products internationally -- all while keeping the company’s manufacturing in Utah, earning it a place in the Alliance for American Manufacturing’s 2018 Made in America Holiday Gift Guide. Here’s how McMaster did it.

*Photo courtesy of ULA.

The latest gadget or tech toy may get splashy headlines in the news, particularly around the holidays, but it's the goods that are lovingly handcrafted that remain in our memories and are passed down from generation to generation.

In this episode, host Scott Paul speaks with the owners of two companies featured in the Alliance for American Manufacturing's 2018 Made in America Holiday Gift Guide, holiday ornament maker Hampshire Pewter, based in Somersworth, N.H., and wooden block maker Uncle Goose, based in Grand Rapids, Mich., to discuss how they came to master their crafts and how they've adapted decades-old production processes for today.

* Photo courtesy of Hampshire Pewter