What's Made in the USA?

Doug Soltis, owner of DasPac, solves high-stakes packaging setup problems for overstressed manufacturing engineers. Headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee, DasPac acts as an integrator and distributor providing packaging equipment and materials like case erectors, stretch wrappers, shrink wrap, and bundling systems for large-scale operations across industries like food production, electrical, and horticulture.

In this episode:

- Why overstressed engineers hire DasPac to select and integrate their packaging lines

- How NAFTA drove Doug to transition into an equipment and materials specialist in 1992

- Why DasPac guarantees equipment sales at exact manufacturer list prices without extra markups

- How DasPac handles complex packaging systems like case erectors, stretch wrappers, and conveyors

- How Doug uses shake machine testing to find exact film and wrapper settings for heavy store shipments

- Why Doug is integrating AI into background proposal workflows to spend more time with clients

- Why clear communication skills are the most essential asset for the future workforce

About Douglas "Doug" Soltis:

Douglas "Doug" Soltis is the owner of DasPac, a packaging equipment distributor, representative, and integrator headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee. DasPac provides packaging machinery and materials including shrink wrap systems, case erectors, tapers, stretch wrappers, labels, and conveyors to major product manufacturers. Serving diverse sectors such as horticulture, baking, food processing, batteries, and electrical manufacturing, the company helps engineers specify and integrate end-of-line systems. Doug named DasPac using his initials and a nod to his mother's German heritage, establishing the business in the early 1990s following NAFTA's impact on regional manufacturing.

Website:

http://www.daspac.com/

About What's Made in the USA:

What's Made in the USA is hosted by Carl Holden of Zellus Marketing, a technical SEO agency in Huntsville, Alabama that gets American manufacturers ranking on Google and AI search for the exact products they make. Each episode is a conversation with an owner or operator about what their company makes, how they make it, and how they built the business behind it. https://whatismadeintheusapodcast.com https://www.zellusmarketing.com

Subscribe to What's Made in the USA to discover the companies and leaders behind American manufacturing.

Topics covered:

packaging equipment, case erectors, stretch wrappers, shrink wrap bundling, palletizing systems, conveyor integration, stretch film testing, packaging machinery, packaging distribution

Chapters:

0:00 What DasPac provides for packaging equipment and materials

3:41 How NAFTA led Doug to launch DasPac in 1992

8:04 How DasPac helps engineers select and integrate machinery

12:30 Navigating line speeds, high-volume requirements, and tariffs

14:45 Integrating AI to streamline proposals and customer communication

20:52 Testing stretch film and equipment settings on shake machines

27:18 Doug shares key advice for the next workforce generation

Cody Grandadam didn't take the traditional path to building a multi-million dollar lighting brand. The founder and CEO of Promier Products launched his company at age 24 with negative money, turning a passion for relationship-building into a business that now develops high-powered portable lights like 100,000-lumen flashlights. He shares how his Peru, Illinois team designs enthusiast-grade lights for brands like Kodiak and LitezAll, navigates overseas manufacturing realities, and revitalized a historic 400,000-square-foot factory complex.

In this episode:

- Why launching a single high-volume account beats knocking on hundreds of individual doors

- How Promier Products designs multi-use flashlights featuring magnetic bases, UV LEDs, and 100,000 lumens

- Why price points and rapid 6-month product release cycles keep flashlight production overseas for now

- How tariff spikes hit retail margins and why Promier Products chose to absorb millions in costs

- How success in the flashlight business funded the revival of the historic Westclocks building in Peru, Illinois

- Why specialized product positioning helps independent brands outshine legacy competitors on store shelves

About Cody Duane Grandadam:

Cody Duane Grandadam is the founder and CEO of Promier Products, headquartered in Peru, Illinois. Promier Products designs and distributes consumer portable lighting, including pocket lights, headlamps, task lights, and high-output enthusiast flashlights under brands like LitezAll and Kodiak. Operating out of the historic Westclocks factory facility, the company engineers and packages its product lines in the US for distribution into major national retail chains. Cody started the company in 2011 and has expanded its footprint to cover dozens of domestic team members alongside global manufacturing partners.

Website:

https://litezall.com/

About What's Made in the USA:

What's Made in the USA is hosted by Carl Holden of Zellus Marketing, a technical SEO agency in Huntsville, Alabama that gets American manufacturers ranking on Google and AI search for the exact products they make. Each episode is a conversation with an owner or operator about what their company makes, how they make it, and how they built the business behind it. https://whatismadeintheusapodcast.com https://www.zellusmarketing.com

Subscribe to the channel and watch the full video to see how American product designers are building national brands.

Topics covered:

portable lighting, flashlights, LED flashlights, 18650 battery cells, product design, retail distribution, trademarking, manufacturing tariffs

Chapters:

0:00 Flashlight innovation and lumens overview

1:27 Starting the company and brand origins

4:48 Early sales journey and retail strategy

8:50 Team culture and company footprint

11:39 Design process and overseas manufacturing

16:42 Direct to consumer versus retail

23:31 Impact of tariffs on retail pricing

28:25 Scaling market share and buyer relationships

33:07 Travel memories and advice for professionals

What happens when a seasoned entrepreneur takes over a heavy manufacturing plant to make sustainable architectural surfaces? Dal LaMagna, CEO and Owner of IceStone, joined the company after building Tweezerman to turn around an ambitious green factory in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. IceStone manufactures durable, high-end countertops made from 100 percent recycled glass, portland cement, and non-toxic pigments for commercial and residential spaces.

In this episode:

- Why Dal LaMagna stepped in to manage IceStone after selling Tweezerman

- Manufacturing 1,300-pound recycled glass and cement countertop slabs in Brooklyn

- Why IceStone countertops contain zero crystalline silica, avoiding common industry health risks

- How profit-sharing and employee empowerment drive workplace culture and retention

- Using credit cards and convertible debt instead of giving up early equity to investors

- Managing cash flow with a simple 50-20-20-10 operating budget model

- Why entrepreneurs should design a business around their ideal daily lifestyle

About Dal LaMagna:

Dal LaMagna is the CEO and Owner of IceStone, a sustainable countertop manufacturer based in Rhinebeck, New York. Founded in 2003, the company produces environmentally friendly surface slabs made from recycled glass, cement, and non-toxic pigments for residential kitchens and commercial spaces. Operating out of a 50,000 square foot facility in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, IceStone served architects, designers, and builders with durable, silica-free materials. Dal previously founded Tweezerman, which he built from 500 dollars into a 57 million dollar brand before turning his focus to green building products and tech ventures like FactFlow.

Website:

https://icestoneusa.com/

About What's Made in the USA:

What's Made in the USA is hosted by Carl Holden of Zellus Marketing, a technical SEO agency in Huntsville, Alabama that gets American manufacturers ranking on Google and AI search for the exact products they make. Each episode is a conversation with an owner or operator about what their company makes, how they make it, and how they built the business behind it. https://whatismadeintheusapodcast.com https://www.zellusmarketing.com

Watch the full interview to learn how American manufacturers build sustainable, high-performance building materials.

Topics covered:

recycled glass countertops, silica free surface slabs, concrete countertop manufacturing, Brooklyn Navy Yard factory, sustainable building materials, architectural surfaces, employee profit sharing, startup financing models

Chapters:

0:00 What IceStone makes and how it compares to consumer products

1:14 Manufacturing 1,300-pound countertop slabs in the Brooklyn Navy Yard

3:00 Startup advice on fearing success and financing with credit cards

6:30 Balancing product, sales, and business operations with a 3-person committee

8:54 Sharing 20 percent of company sale profits with employees

10:43 Protecting your brand with trademarks and avoiding legal pitfalls

12:50 Managing cash flow with a 50-20-20-10 operating budget

16:04 The history of IceStone, manufacturing challenges, and silica-free safety

22:26 Personal memories and advice for young workers entering the market

What happens when a teenager who grew up in machine shops decides to fix a broken industrial supply chain? Jacob Cox, Owner and Founder of Service Plus, started by manufacturing better valve seals before building a full-scale valve manufacturing company in Houston, Texas. His company designs and manufactures patented completion and production valves that keep upstream oil and gas wells running across the United States, Canada, and international markets.

In this episode:

- Why Jacob Cox left a previous job to start manufacturing higher-quality valve seals in-house

- Expanding from custom seal manufacturing to full upstream oil and gas valve production

- Supplying energy companies across major US shale basins, Canada, Saudi Arabia, and Argentina

- Why American technology leads global markets in innovative, patented oilfield hardware

- Achieving near-perfect employee retention in a competitive manufacturing labor market

- How tariffs and raw material supply chain fluctuations impact heavy metal forgings

- Navigating oil price volatility while investing in facility expansions and new product designs

About Jacob Cox:

Jacob Cox is the Owner and Founder of Service Plus, an oilfield equipment manufacturing company headquartered in Houston, Texas. Raised in an oil and gas family, Jacob spent his teenage years working in machine shops before launching a business to solve quality, lead time, and customer service issues with valve seals. Service Plus manufactures patented completion and production valves, precision seals, and custom components used on upstream oil and gas wells. Operating from their facility in Houston, Texas, the company serves oil and gas operators, distributors, and major energy producers throughout the United States, Canada, and select international markets.

Website:

https://serviceplusoilfield.com/

About What's Made in the USA:

What's Made in the USA is hosted by Carl Holden of Zellus Marketing, a technical SEO agency in Huntsville, Alabama that gets American manufacturers ranking on Google and AI search for the exact products they make. Each episode is a conversation with an owner or operator about what their company makes, how they make it, and how they built the business behind it. https://whatismadeintheusapodcast.com https://www.zellusmarketing.com

Watch the full interview to see how American innovation is driving the next generation of oilfield valve technology.

Topics covered:

oilfield valve manufacturing, upstream completion valves, precision valve seals, body forgings, oil well equipment, shale basin drilling, patented oilfield technology, energy industry supply chain

Chapters:

0:00 Upstream oil and gas valve manufacturing overview

1:36 Founding Service Plus and solving valve seal issues

3:05 US, Canada, and international market expansion

4:34 Customer purchasing models and direct sales approach

6:45 Employee retention strategies and workforce investment

12:49 Navigating tariffs and raw material supply chains

17:31 Oil price volatility and 5 year growth plans

22:39 Personal West Virginia roots and camping memories

What happens when an electrician wakes up at 2:00 AM from a dream showing a totally new hardware design? Jason Stile, Founder and CEO of Ajustco, turned that late-night vision into a patented, self-adjusting barrel bolt lock before launching a revolutionary pre-pour concrete anchor system. His Penn Argyl, Pennsylvania company manufactures patented construction hardware that eliminates job site drilling, saving time and keeping workers safe on major infrastructure projects across the United States.

In this episode:

- Why traditional barrel bolt locks fail when doors shift from weather and age

- How a dream at 2:00 AM led to a patented, automatically adjusting hardware design

- Bringing a consumer hardware product to Home Depot, Lowe's, and Tractor Supply

- Why drilling holes for post-pour concrete anchors creates labor and safety issues

- How the Anchor Thread system attaches directly to concrete formwork before pouring

- Partnering with national distributors like White Cap to supply major infrastructure jobs

- Expanding product lines for California seismic codes and corrugated metal decks

About Jason Stile:

Jason Stile is the Founder and CEO of Ajustco, a hardware design and manufacturing firm headquartered in Penn Argyl, Pennsylvania. A former electrician who owned a firm in New York City, Jason launched the company after patenting an automatically adjusting barrel bolt lock called the Adjust Lock. Ajustco manufactures patent-protected construction hardware, including the Anchor Thread pre-pour concrete anchoring system, which eliminates post-pour drilling for safety netting, fall protection, and MEP installations. Their products use steel bolts sourced from a foundry in Michigan, plastic parts molded in New Jersey, and final assembly at their Pennsylvania warehouse to serve major general contractors nationwide.

Website:

https://ajustco.com/

About What's Made in the USA:

What's Made in the USA is hosted by Carl Holden of Zellus Marketing, a technical SEO agency in Huntsville, Alabama that gets American manufacturers ranking on Google and AI search for the exact products they make. Each episode is a conversation with an owner or operator about what their company makes, how they make it, and how they built the business behind it. https://whatismadeintheusapodcast.com https://www.zellusmarketing.com

Watch the full interview to learn how innovative hardware design is transforming modern construction sites.

Topics covered:

pre-pour concrete anchors, self-adjusting barrel bolt locks, construction hardware manufacturing, anchor thread systems, formwork attachments, fall protection anchors, seismic slip form anchors, corrugated deck anchors, hardware distribution

Chapters:

0:00 Barrel bolt lock innovation and origin

2:54 Pre-pour concrete anchor system demonstration

9:26 Company naming and brand strategy

10:42 From electrician to hardware inventor

15:29 Manufacturing supply chain and assembly setup

18:30 Construction sales and White Cap distribution

24:18 Designing anchors for seismic and metal deck applications

28:00 Tracking school experiences in New Jersey

When a CNC machine spindle goes down, whole factory production lines stop and cost thousands of dollars per hour.

In this episode, Martin Engster, Vice President of Centerline, explains how his company repairs high-speed spindles up to 4,000 pounds to keep automotive, aerospace, and manufacturing clients running. He shares how a family business handles emergency client repairs, navigates changing tariffs, and manages 3 generations of family leadership.

In this episode:

- How Centerline fixes high-speed CNC spindles from small units up to 4,000 pounds

- Why CNC spindles wear out every 2,000 hours and need regular rebuilding

- How increased manufacturing demand drives higher repair volume for industrial equipment

- The impact of tariffs on parts pricing and passing costs to B2B customers

- Managing a 32-year family business across 3 generations of leadership

- The top piece of advice for young workers entering the modern industrial workforce

About Martin Engster:

Martin Engster is the Vice President of Centerline, a family-owned industrial repair and manufacturing facility headquartered in Ponca City, Oklahoma. Centerline specializes in repairing CNC machine spindles, manufacturing parts to print, and selling complete spindle systems for industrial clients. The business services major clients across the automotive, aerospace, dental, and circuit board manufacturing sectors throughout the Americas. Founded by his father, Centerline has been in business for nearly 32 years and operates with a team of 22 employees.

Website:

https://www.centerline-inc.com/

Topics covered:

CNC spindle repair, manufacturing operations, machine maintenance, family business leadership, B2B service operations, industrial repair systems

Chapters:

0:00 Overview of Centerline and CNC spindle repair operations

2:21 Family business structure and 3 generations of leadership

3:36 Handling urgent machine downtime for manufacturing clients

4:33 How CNC machine spindles function and why they wear out

6:26 Business revenue breakdown across sales and repair services

10:21 Managing tariffs and increased demand in industrial manufacturing

12:31 Growth plans, family succession, and exploring AI tools

16:44 Leadership advice for the new generation of workers

Most people never think about who builds the dumpster sitting at the end of their driveway. Rayder Hobbs is President of Operations at Mac Corporation in Indianapolis, Indiana, a family owned company that has spent 51 years building roll off containers, compactors, and cart dumpers for haulers in all 50 states.

In this episode:

• How his grandfather, a Vietnam veteran, started Mac in 1975, and why every family member since has started out in the shop
• What it takes to run 150 employees on 2 shifts, every day but Sunday, across a 13 acre facility
• Why sheet steel is up 4 to 5 percent and paint is up 7 to 8 percent, and where that pressure lands
• How automation and cart dumpers changed what warehouses ask for
• Why under CDL trucks opened the hauling business to a new wave of independent owners

Watch the full conversation with Rayder Hobbs on What's Made in the USA.

Guest: Paul McMinn, President and CEO, Stockton Products

Stockton Products has been making building materials since 1949, and one of its core products has no domestic supplier for the raw wire it is built from. Paul McMinn joins Carl Holden to explain how a small family owned manufacturer with 45 employees and 5 locations keeps that going while the supply chain, the tariffs and the labor pool all move underneath it.

Paul walks through Cornerade, the welded wire corner product Stockton patented in the early 60s and still makes 32 varieties of, why the 17 gauge wire behind it now has to come from China or Vietnam, and what happened to his costs when the last North American mills stopped making it. He also breaks down the other half of the business, custom metal fabrication, and where the growth is coming from now, including components for data center cooling.

The second half gets into the part most manufacturers are quietly dealing with. Paul has employees who started in the 1970s and are approaching retirement, machines built in the 1950s that nobody makes parts for anymore, and no clear feeder system bringing the next generation into the trades. He describes what he saw inside German and Austrian plants that changed how he thinks about automation, and why he believes the jobs are there if we stop pointing every 18 year old at a 4 year degree.

In this episode:

• Why Cornerade became the Kleenex of welded wire corners, and why nobody else makes it
• What tariffs actually did to a company buying 80 percent of its raw wire overseas
• Going from a 3 day lead time to 60 or 90 days, and the ocean freight risk that came with it
• How custom fabrication work starts on a napkin and ends on a CNC machine
• The Stockton product that goes into oil refineries and ships to Mexico
• Rebuilding a 1950s machine that still runs on a wooden drive belt
• What a smart factory looks like in Europe, and what it would take to build one here
• Transferring 50 years of knowledge out of a retiring workforce
• Paul's case for trade schools, scholarships and a real feeder system into manufacturing

Stockton Products is headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada, with manufacturing and distribution across Arizona and California.

Kirt Whiteside runs Whiteside Manufacturing in Delaware, Ohio, the company his father started in 1954 with a wooden board and four wheels. Nearly 77 years later they are still building creepers and mechanic seats for the best professional technicians in the world, and they are still doing it in America.

In this episode Kirt tells Carl Holden how his dad made him work every job on the floor before he was allowed in the office, why he had to come in an hour and a half early for free just to hit the piece rate, and what that taught him about effort. He also breaks down the decision that kept the company alive: three competitors chased high volume at low margins through the deep discount channel, and all three are gone. Whiteside stayed with lower volume and higher quality.

We get into how a company with 20 to 50 people competes when the entire country of China is your only remaining competitor, how tariffs pushed their supply chain back to America and helped rather than hurt, and how Kirt develops new products with roughly 90 patents to his name. His rule for every one of them is simple. Save the technician time, save him money, or make him more comfortable.

He closes with something worth hearing twice. If you have the desire, the next step is effort, and effort cannot be halfway.

CHAPTERS
00:00 Meet Kirt Whiteside of Whiteside Manufacturing
00:30 What they make and who actually uses it
01:44 What a creeper is and why there are 50 models
03:13 Selling through the mobile tool market
04:43 Why the expensive product is the right product
05:34 Quality over volume, and the 3 competitors who chose wrong
07:16 Made in America as the real competitive edge
08:32 Working every job in the factory before running it
11:52 Plant manager, 100 hour weeks, and the handoff
14:00 Bringing his brother Terry into the business
15:36 Desire, effort, and mentoring people through it
16:54 From 170 employees to a mechanized 20 to 50
19:00 Forecasting 6 months out and the trade show cycle
20:22 International customers from Paris to Japan
21:45 Tariffs, reshoring, and the real cost of importing
25:50 Where new products come from
27:36 How he figures out what technicians need before they do
30:12 The Apple problem: why didn't I think of that
32:34 Invention as part of American culture
34:19 Favorite places in the US and North America
35:51 Getting design inspiration from overseas
37:04 A station wagon, Houston, and hot grape juice
38:32 What he wants the next generation to know
43:12 Closing thoughts

ABOUT WHITESIDE MANUFACTURING
Whiteside Manufacturing builds professional grade garage creepers, mechanic seats, and shop equipment for technicians in automotive, aerospace, agriculture, industrial, and motorsports. Founded in 1954 in Delaware, Ohio.

Michael King has been building foil machinery since he was 14 years old, working alongside his father in Little Italy. Today his company, Eagle Systems in Ocean, New Jersey, has 1,500 machines running worldwide, and 85 percent of every machine is built from American made parts.

If you have ever picked up a box of hair color at CVS, a chocolate bar, a whiskey box, or a Pokemon card with a metallic finish on it, there is a strong chance it ran through one of Michael's machines.

In this episode, Michael explains the difference between hot foil and cold foil, why the printing and packaging world is growing instead of shrinking, and how a 19 person team out-earns the much larger company he used to run. He also gets into the remote diagnostics system he wrote himself in 1982 over a 300 baud modem, decades before the big manufacturers offered anything like it.

We also cover the tariff math that has kept American machine builders out of markets like India and China for years, what is finally changing, and why he thinks manufacturing has to come back or we become a service country.

Michael closes with some straight talk for the next generation: the 50 welders he interviewed in 4 years who could not weld, the intern who switched majors after one conversation and now works there full time, and the mentor who called him every Sunday night for years to yell at him or pat him on the back.

Guest: Michael King, Eagle Systems