Reshoring American Manufacturing – its comeback, its importance
and its value
HARBEC Plastics Inc. was established in 1977 as a contract
Tool and Die/general machine shop. Its founder, Bob Bechtold, understood that
opportunities existed in that market for innovative solutions and problem
solving. Today, through implementing state-of-the-art technologies and offering
an array of manufacturing solutions in one U.S. location, HARBEC offers customers the
opportunity to reshore their manufacturing. Founder Bob Bechtold discusses why he supports
the reshoring trend:
“The idea of having a homegrown economy that can support the goods that exist here is an important part of our country’s past, present, and future success—it’s a sustainable endeavor. Our economy grew out of an era of industrialization, bringing us a great deal of new innovation and technology that helped spearhead the manufacturing sector in the U.S., and also afforded us the opportunity to invest in the sciences and technology. As a result, new skills and capabilities were created in the workforce, which in turn reinforces domestic employment and entrepreneurship. For the U.S. economy to continue regaining ground and once again thrive, manufacturing needs to be a substantial piece of America’s financial pie.
From HARBEC’s perspective, the focus of the reshoring trend is not so
much on price but that quality, speed to market, and working with trusted
suppliers are the reasons some companies are choosing to reshore their tools
and production. Bob Bechtold notes, “While outsourcing may have made economic
sense at one time, today we are realizing there are a great deal of
inefficiencies, waste, and financial loss. As a result many businesses are
focusing their efforts on creating a more sustainable economy. At Harbec we do
business globally and domestically, but we are very interested in U.S. based
manufacturing—developing new technology to become more efficient while having a
regional aspect to our work, and helping America to reinvent the notion of
manufacturing as a key aspect of its economy”.
One
of HARBEC’s customers, a manufacturer of a product used in the medical
industry, recently reshored their manufacturing from China to the U.S. due to
inconsistent quality. It was uncertain what material was being used from run to
run, which had a huge impact on quality and consistency. Additionally, the customer
had issues communicating necessary modifications, and the large inventories
issues. HARBEC was able to work closely
with them, eliminating many of the problems associated with offshore production
and developing better tools that save them time and money in the long run.
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