Is American Manufacturing Cool?

Yes!  Buying American is suddenly hip.  Surprised? 

Purchasing items that are Made In America has always made you feel nice – maybe even patriotic.  But has it ever made you feel ‘with it’?  The stereotypical profile of grey haired men wearing NRA hats purchasing only domestic cars and looking for the Made In America decal is fading.  Finding these decals and buying Chryslers is suddenly cool.  More and more famous personalities are pitching American products.  Trend-setting stores are installing American-made sections.  Powerful newscasts are enthusiastically highlighting American manufacturing - none more prominent than Diane Sawyer’s Made in America.

The fact is after years of decline, manufacturing is leading the American economy.  Manufacturing is booming while other sectors still struggle.  A Wall Street researcher recently went so far as to write, the “U.S. economy is in the early stages of a long-term manufacturing renaissance.”  Unfortunately it took a massive recession to show how much manufacturing means to our country.  While we have a long path yet to navigate, there are many reasons to be excited for American Manufacturing:

Leveling American vs Foreign Costs
– It’s not cheap to build overseas anymore

Technology – Lots of new tools
(we recently purchased a laser fabricator and powder system)

New Manufacturing Jobs
– 330,000 new jobs over the past two years, and rising

On the downside, costs are leveling in part because of stagnate domestic wages and rising foreign pay.  The US has new manufacturing technology without a trained workforce.  New jobs are available but not nearly enough.  However, armed with momentum, consumer enthusiasm and a new identity we absolutely can lead again.

So yes, now it’s cool to be an American Manufacturer.

Warning To All Customers

We’ve become aware of an unapproved accessory disc being sold for EDCO Concrete Floor Grinders.  This attachment was not manufactured by EDCO and we cannot guarantee it works.  In fact, we’ve received calls regarding its failures and machine damage caused by its use.

We tested this ourselves and highlighted its deficiencies in this video.

Trade Show 2012 Recap

As EDCO’s trade show season draws to a close (our largest conventions are held between Jan and Mar) we’re reflecting on the positives and negatives during our travels.

Positives:

Enthusiasm is Back!

Enthusiasm filled the convention halls of Las Vegas, New Orleans, Atlanta, Toronto, San Antonio, and other show cities.  Everyone including customers, exhibitors and convention officials had something positive to say about their industries.

Customer Confidence is Back!

We spoke with many customers, contractors, and rental storeowners who are ready to grow.  Instead of hunkering down, they’re reinvesting in their businesses.  Instead of saying “I want this but can’t get it right now,” as they did during the recession, our customers said, “I need this now to grow!”  Our customers are smart and understand its time to expand.

High-Class Exhibitor Booths

Exhibitors proudly constructed impressive booths that showcased their products and the industries they represent.  EDCO puts lots of effort into trade shows.  We personally connect with customers by creating product-driven booths and sponsoring convention events.

Negatives:

Competitors Using Our Brand To Sell

For over 50 years EDCO has manufactured reliable, long-lasting products.  During trade show season we found disgruntled former suppliers using the EDCO brand (and product photos ripped from the internet – obviously uniqueness isn’t important to them) to hock unproven accessories used on EDCO equipment.  Instead of teaming with EDCO and utilizing our experience, they threw together problematic attachments that cause damage to EDCO machines – we’ve seen this first hand.  Claims of unsafe EDCO machines are completely false.  In reality these attachments cause dangerous vibration and uneven accessory wear.

Side Note:  An EDCO customer who purchased this supposed “Quick-Change” attachment learned it was anything but fast.  The competing salespeople, who were supposed to know the product, spent hours at our customer’s facility trying to make the attachment fit onto an EDCO machine.  In the end, the attachment failed forcing our customer to ship the product to EDCO where we gladly restored it to its original working state.

Not Enough Technology

We exhibitors must understand technology helps attendees make informed decisions and increases the overall success of trade shows.  Too much paper literature lined the convention hall floors.  These pamphlets are usually never read and thrown away.

EDCO provides informational downloads via Quick Response Code instead of paper literature (paper copies are still available).  We also use iPads to distribute information and collect payments.

QR Codes & EDCO

EDCO now connects with customers using Quick Response Codes.  Knowing both mobile technology and QR Code usage is rapidly expanding; we’ve incorporated the tool into print advertising, trade show displays and soon onto machines.  Like with our social media efforts our goal is to provide customers with instant jobsite advice and problem solving tips.  The codes on EDCO machines will allow users to instantly access training videos, parts breakdowns, manuals, and other helpful information while in the field.  Rental stores can train customers via QRC before they leave the store. 

Scan the QRC to see EDCO’s helpful 2012 Tradeshow Landing Page.  The site is full of helpful videos and PDF literature.