
Seth Perlman / AP
Harley-Davidson builds its motorcycles at four factories in the U.S.
Try taking your everyday shopping trip to your nearest department or grocery store and buy only American. A little difficult? Employment in America’s manufacturing sector has experienced a precipitous decline in recent years. The U.S. lost 33.1 percent of its manufacturing jobs between 2000-2010, according to the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation. Many of those jobs ended up going to countries such as China, India and Brazil that provide cheaper labor and have looser employment regulations.
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But because costs of labor and energy are now on the rise overseas, manufacturing may be in the early stages of a rebound in the U.S. An April study by the Boston Consulting Group found that a third of manufacturers with revenue over $1 billion were considering moving jobs back to the United States. “At 58 cents an hour, bringing manufacturing back was impossible, but at $3 to $6 an hour, where wages are today in coastal China, all of a sudden the equation changes,” Harold L. Sirkin, a managing director at BCG told The New York Times.
While some companies are considering returning jobs to the U.S., some brands never went away. 24/7 Wall St. compiled a list of 10 highly visible American brands that are still made in the States. All of the products are well known to consumers. While most are market leaders, what makes them unique is that the competition manufactures their products abroad -- or they’re the only game in town.
Just because a company’s product made the list doesn’t mean that it hasn’t taken advantage of overseas labor. Companies such as 3M and Whirlpool both employ thousands of people outside of the U.S. But these companies still manufacture some products at home. Several companies on the list, like Oreck Corp. and Weber-Stephen, have products that are manufactured in the U.S., but not every piece used to make the product was made here.
These are 10 surprising products still made in America:
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1. Intel chips
Parent company: Intel Corp.
Headquarters: Santa Clara, Calif.
Chipmaker Intel currently produces more than 75 percent of its microprocessors in the U.S., despite international purchases accounting for 75 percent of sales. The company is currently working on a state-of-the-art semiconductor production plant in Arizona, which is slated to open in 2013. The new plant is expected to cost approximately $5 billion and will employ thousands of American workers.
Maybe the competition is taking a hint from Intel. Rival Samsung, which is based in Seoul, began manufacturing A5 processors, critical components of the iPad 2 and iPhone 4S, in Austin, Texas, late last year. Although that new iPad you received for your birthday was still made overseas, it had a few American parts in it.
2. Pyrex
Parent company: World Kitchen, LLC
Headquarters: Rosemont, Ill.
Pyrex is one of the most widely-known makers of kitchen containers and bakeware found in 80 percent of American households. Corning Inc. started producing Pyrex in the U.S. in 1915. Though the brand changed owners in 1998, when it was sold to World Kitchen, production has never left the country. The tempered soda-lime glass products have been made in Charleroi, Pa. since the 1940s. About 2,500 people are employed in the United States for manufacturing and distributing.
3. Oreck XL
Parent company: Oreck Corporation
Headquarters: Duluth, Minn.
Oreck, one of the nation’s top vacuum makers and a staple among late-night infomercials, was founded by David Oreck in 1963. Though the company began by supplying products to the hospitality industry, the popularity of its products with hotel workers inspired later expansion to the consumer market. The company’s marquee vacuum, the Oreck XL, is manufactured in Cookeville, Tenn. Some of the world’s largest retailers such as Target and Costco sell store-specific versions of the XL. The company’s other vacuum, the Oreck Magnesium, is manufactured in China, but all XL vacuums are still manufactured at the Cooksville plant.
4. Post-it Notes
Parent company: 3M
Headquarters: St. Paul, Minn.
If you bought your Post-it note in the U.S., you can be sure it was made in the U.S. too. The product, invented by 3M employee Art Fry and hitting the market in 1977, has been manufactured in Cynthiana, Ky., since 1985. The company also manufacturers Scotch tape at the plant. Post-it is important to the town, employing roughly 500 residents who work at the plant. The company is green, too. Post-its are manufactured using recycled home and office paper.
5. Weber grills
Parent company: Weber-Stephen Products LLC
Headquarters: Palatine, Ill.
Weber grills have been made in the United States since 1952, when George Stephen built his kettle grill from a buoy at Weber Brothers Metal Works in Mount Prospect, Ill. All but one of latest models are still manufactured in Palatine, Ill. Because the company uses globally-sourced components it has been exposed to a class-action lawsuit over its claims that it was “Made in America.” Still, as of 2011, 98 percent of Weber’s workforce was located in the U.S. According to many grill reviews and grilling enthusiasts, it is the most popular grill of all time.
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6. KitchenAid mixer
Parent company: Whirlpool Corp.
Headquarters: Benton Charter Township, Mich.
Appliance maker KitchenAid still makes many of its products in the U.S. -- notably, its highly popular mixer is made at a plant in Greenville, Ohio. This is despite large appliance makers having moved manufacturing mostly outside of the U.S. and into emerging markets such as China, India and Latin America. It is important to note that Whirlpool, the makers of KitchenAid, hasn’t exactly shunned the globalization trend. In October, the company announced plans to cut 5,000 jobs, many of those in North America. The cuts include a plant closing in Fort Smith, Ark. Still, the company hasn’t shown any signs of abandoning the manufacturing of the mixer in Ohio anytime soon.
7. Harley-Davidson Motorcycles
Parent company: Harley-Davidson, Inc.
Headquarters: Milwaukee, Wis.
Founded in 1903, Harley-Davidson is an iconic, cult-like American motorcycle company facing stiff foreign competition -- think Yamaha and Honda. But the American company actually builds its motorcycles here in the United States. The company has four major factories in the U.S. -- two in Wisconsin , one in Missouri and one in Pennsylvania. Many manufacturing executives point to the need to stay competitive when they move work overseas. But Harley-Davidson doesn’t seem to be suffering too much by making its products at home. Shares of the company are up 17 percent over the last year and the company holds about half the market share in the U.S.
8. Sub-Zero and Wolf
Parent company: Sub-Zero, Inc. and Wolf, Inc.
Headquarters: Madison, Wis.
Westye Bakke’s invented the world’s first free-standing freezer in the basement of his home in Madison, Wis., in 1943. Two years later, Bakke founded the Sub-Zero Freezer Company, which has maintained its prominence in the manufacturing of “premium built-in home” refrigerators for over 60 years. The company acquired Wolf, Inc., the world leader in professional cooking equipment, in 2000. Wolf now creates stoves and ovens for the “serious in-home cooks” in addition to appliances for restaurants and hotels. The company employs more than 1,000 Americans in plants in Madison, Wis., Phoenix, Ariz., and Richmond, Ky.
9. Spanx Products
Parent Company: Spanx by Sarah Blakely
Headquarters: Atlanta
Sarah Blakely’s revolutionary line of slimming footless pantyhose and undergarments were invented in 2000 in Atlanta. Most of the products are made in the U.S., according to the Spanx website, but some may be manufactured abroad. The company has a line of about 200 products, employs 125 people and manufactures about 36,000 items everyday. A Spanx representative told 24/7 Wall St. that Spanx’s best-selling “In-Power” hosiery line is still manufactured in the U.S.
10. Duraflame Fire Logs
Parent company: Duraflame Inc.
Headquarters: Stockton, Calif.
In 1968, when California Cedar Products Company was producing pencils, it found it could recycle the sawdust created in the wood manufacturing process by mixing it with petroleum wax to make fire logs. By 1986, Duraflame, Inc. became independently owned and operated, employing 250 Americans in its Stockton corporate office as well as California and Kentucky manufacturing facilities. Duraflame’s revenue exceeded $100 million annually as of 2007, and the company has expanded its production to charcoal, lighters, and more environmentally conscious logs.
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Useful reporting. Now find the other things which are made here and give them some free advertising so Americans can buy from home base!
There is a much longer list, but many of the products are not made by HUGE corporations. If I can find them on the WEB, so can MSN and other media sources.
Educate the American public instead of infuriorating them with sensationalism.
Thanks for this article. Waiting for more...
Good point! Much is lacking from this article! For that reason I would like to add that most Americans do not know how highly valued ALL American products are cherished by those living in foreign countries. There are MANY product imitations overseas especially in growing markets like China, India and SE Asia where the locals ALL prefer American made products i.e. "Made in America" for their quality, durability and functionality. Even the brand colors of American products are copied and used by imitators of American products in these markets. But the locals ALL know that imitation is not duplication and shun local and regionally produced products in favor of American products where ever they can. Products made in America are so valued in these countries that even used aka second-hand products made in America are sold at or higher prices than domestic brands. Even American brands produced in foreign countries are viewed with suspicion and avoided by many local consumers. Even most if not all of America's detractors overseas buy "American" products for their personal households! Living overseas has allowed me to make these observations first-hand and ask whether or not Americans back home know how highly valued they are regarded by those citizens of foreign countries along with the highest regards for American made products.
Most people don't realize this, but the #1 manufacturer in the world is...the U.S. Not China, but the good 'ol US of A. We still make good stuff, and plenty of it...
I work for CUTCO Cutlery and we're still made in the USA! Have been since 1949, and are currently the largest manufacturer of kitchen cutlery in the U.S.! www.cutco.com.
Don't hold your breath too long on Harley. As a long term Harley driver, check out the showrooms. The older guys (me) don't buy them like they use to..... $25,000K?... get a life... the big bikes are not selling.... too much money... and the average age of a Harley rider is getting older!
Not to mention more and more of their componets are made overseas (china).
Victory Motorcycle is made here but like Harley some items are outsourced
You didn't have Longaberger Baskets on your list. The baskets are still hand made in Dresden/Frazyburg, Ohio. Would love to see a list of all products made in America so I can buy them.
Love this list! Once you start noticing how many thing are actually made in America, you start finding them everywhere. I have a master list that I'm making to create a resource for finding things made in USA. There's a few on here I need to add!
ZT Systems computers, in NJ
When Harley Davidson starts building bikes in India... that will be the end of Harley Davidson.. I would never ride a bike made in India!
Bazerkly
Too bad you never finished reading the articles on HD building bikes in India. Those of us that did, know they will be knock downs, like the Sprinter trucks sold here. What is a knock down you ask, it is a bike that is made in the USA, then knocked down put into a crate and shipped in an un-assembled state, when it gets to the plant in India it will simply be put back together and then sold in India.
They can call them "Harley Tata Davidson motorcycles".
I was made in the USA!
What about Zippo lighters
How about Schwinn?
Hi Hot
I am pretty sure Schwinn bikes are made in China now. Sad. I have owned many.
Chinese tariffs on U.S.A. imports is 25%.
U.S.A. tariffs on Chinese imports is 2.5%.
Fare trade??
We should encourage small manufacturers with very few employees making simple things we import from overseas. We also reduce substantial start up and regulatory burden on them. We need to encourage retailers, value adders to buy from these companies.
Under 10 employee companies can operate at low cost and are flexible. However marketting is very difficult for them and regulatory burden is too much for sometime less educated owners or managers in these establishment.
All the times very simple things like kitchen gadgets or tools, nails, screws imported from foreign countries. This do not have to be.
Big companies can manage themselves. We should not give them tax breaks and incentives.
We should all support the companies manufacturing products in the USA even if they are slightly more expensive. In the long run we all win.
Look up Imperial range hoods and most Elkay sinks as they are made in America. Also Shrockworks custom truck/Jeep armor is also the best of the best. Fluke multi-meters too!
McIntosh Labs stereo equipment is still made in Binghamton, NY and last a lifetime...
Is anybody else amazed that they were able to find 10 products made in the U.S.?
It's nice to say that many things are "made in the USA" but what many of them should say is "assembled in the USA." Most things have multiple components and parts, and example would be Harley Davidson motorcycles. The parts are not all made in the USA, but they put them together here. Does it really count? Depends on how picky you are :)
If you add all the people that these companies employ here, it counts for less than 100,000 jobs.
I view this list as a bad thing, which it is. It just shows you how little we have left in this country in terms of manufacturing.
Check you facts dude. America is the #1 manufacturer in the world. The facts don't support your Chicken Little (we have left) comments...
Make it a habit to check the tags. Make it a habit in the stores to ask if they have a (whatever you're looking for) made in the US, or at LEAST made somewhere other than China. You'll be FLOORED how much crap you almost buy that supports China.
not true for pyrex, you'll find their cheaper storage containers are made in china, i bought tons of them for 10bux for a 14-piece set and such and give it away for various christmas gifts
Americans want the lifestyle but aren't willing to support their lifestyle with others. Dissolve the middle class and this country is doomed, Middle class is what creates jobs.
On a further note with the demise of the Middle class it forces the middle class to have to choose Chinese products to servive
The article failed to mention weapons. America has 40% of the world market in weapons and they are mostly made in America. Some components come from allied countries. Hundreds of billions a year is spent on American weapons.
What about wind turbines? These are made in the U.S.A. I believe. They are so large that they must be built close to the wind power plant.
How many turbines did you purchase this year?
Just because something is made in the USA doesn't mean it's any good. I bought a set of tires made in North Carolina & they are the roughest riding set of tires I have ever owned. Part of my decision to buy them was because they were made in the USA.
You need to order tires from China, India or S. Korea being all sold at much, much lower prices than USA made tires!
How about posting the list of companies that outsourced jobs?
Also post a complete listing of USA made products.
Duralogs, Harleys, Post-its and Panty hose, smells like an out door party for sure...
Viking Stoves - most of their product line is USA made.
Bravo to these great American companies! Keep up the good work. I ride a Harley Davidson motorcycle and would not ride anything else. I would not buy a computer without an Intel processor. When are the American people going to wake up and understand buying American matters?