Positive Signs for US Manufacturing

[AmericanPreferred]

I thought Husky pre-dated Home Depot and was made by the Stanley works. I did run into a guy with a vendor badge in the tool corral a long time (at least 20 yrs) ago that told me the Husky sockets were made at the same place as Mac. I still have some of that set around here too. I am not placing blame, just noting the sad end of an era. It does not make sense to me either that we should have to pay more for US made goods. Who started this thought? some union rep?

 

[zakmartin]

The letters USA will sell me a tool quicker than anything. I am buying them like a collector now(at bargain basement prices), before they go the way of the refillable soda bottle.

This describes my situation to a 'T'. The only problem is, so many products have a US flag on them and then in tiny print (sometimes only readable using a magnifying glass,) you see the phrase, "Manufactured in the USA using domestic and foreign parts." This is a deal killer for me. Mayhew does it, MAC does it, hell, even PEZ does it. It drives me crazy. They advertise as a USA product, but in all honesty, they're not. To me, honesty is a HUGE part of the buying process. If I can't trust Mayhew because they put a large USA flag on a the packaging for a product that includes parts made overseas, then I'm going to conclude that all of Mayhew's products are suspect. Therefore, I'm not going to be interested in buying anything from Mayhew.

I wish manufacturers could understand that. Maybe, like the OP said, it will mean that you're going to see fewer and fewer brands stamping their names on products they don't actually make. To be honest, I think that's a good thing. When I asked Mayhew customer service about why they put a USA flag on their hook set, when then handles have the word TAIWAN embossed on them, they told me that they simply couldn't find a place in the USA that could make them a handle. I find that VERY hard to believe.

 

[cburnscrx]

Stanley has massive amounts of US manufacturing in texas, under the name "proto". heard of them?

apex, bain, who ever the hell they are called this week, still maintain quite the production line in arkansas and other locations.

what you are seeing is retail level, where sellers choose which lines to carry, based on the price point of their customers. sears/ace/lowes/hd customers are mostly cheap and warranty centered, so they cater to their customers needs.

neither "danaher" nor stanley, dumped their USA lineup. retailers chose to persue other cheaper options that match their customer base.

look in any industrial supply store, and the us equivalents are still sold, as their is still a market for them.

It's good to be the CEO of Danaher...

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/04/01/danaher-culp-executive-pay/2042399/