Much has been said about how difficult it is to manufacture things in the United States. Yes, our industry can provide comprehensive services when it comes to sheet metal and tube, but what about the myriad components that go into a final assembly? Zoom out and you’ll find that, from concept to product, very little can be made domestically in the U.S. Even among products that are manufactured here, we remain deeply dependent on overseas suppliers for raw materials and component parts. This is true in nearly every industry and product category.
In one high-profile example, Destin Sandlin of the YouTube channel Smarter Every Day set out to develop and manufacture a custom, made-in-America grill scrubber. He contracted with a domestic stamping company to make the handle. But his innovative design required custom chain mail, a product which—unsurprisingly—is very hard to buy anywhere but China. The single domestic vendor simply didn’t have the capacity. Out of options but unwilling to source from China, Destin found a vendor in India who could provide the material. When it arrived, Destin discovered that it had been white-labeled. It came from China after all. In the end, Destin’s made-in-America scrubber had to launch with a critical component coming from overseas.
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