Women in Manufacturing Opt for MadeinAmerica.com
By Rose Somma Tennent
Women are thriving in the Trump economy, and female entrepreneurs don’t put much credence in the deceptive liberal narrative about this President. Polls from late August suggest that President Trump is struggling to hold on to the support he once had with women. Supposedly the women he counted on in 2016 cannot be depended upon to support him again in 2020. Past experience dictates that polls are not reliable, particularly when applied to President Trump’s supporters. Conservative women cannot be stereotyped; they are stay-at-home moms, CEOs and owners of large corporations or both. For them, there is no call to comply with a pre-determined lifestyle. Republican women have the support of other women in their party, regardless of the choices they make.
President Trump has delivered real results for women; in his first year of office, the number of women in poverty fell by nearly 600,000. Since then, his pro-growth economic policies have improved the lives of millions of women since he took office; and the economy has created nearly 6 million new jobs, more than 3 million of which have been filled by women. Additionally, the national female unemployment rate remained close to its all-time low for many months. Female unemployment has not been this low since the days of Rosie the Riveter.
Like 2016, once again, the poll numbers are deceptive. There is a huge but silent support base for President Trump. The women highlighted in this article, however, are not silent. They and their businesses have benefitted from the Trump Administration’s policies and the President’s commitment to jobs. They recognize that President Trump is fighting for the American worker and American companies. Businesses have waited a long time for an Administration that puts them first. American workers understand that Trump is fighting for their best interests and what will benefit them long term. When President Trump looks to make deals, he does so with our country’s best interests in mind and with the skills of a businessman for whom deals have consequences, as opposed to a politician who depends on the voter forgetting by the next election day that his deals didn’t pan out.
Politics should have no place in the discussion about what will provide the greatest number of jobs for Americans. The president is not the economy nor is Congress the economy; the American people are the economy. The less the government interferes in people’s choices in life, the stronger the economy will be. Trump’s policies have lightened the burden by lowering taxes and eliminating needless and burdensome regulations that crush the spirit of capitalism. With his commitment to focus on American business, President Trump has demonstrated through policy and trade agreements that everything we’ve been told about America’s decline is wrong. We can manufacture items here at home even though we were told we could not. In the recent past we were sold the idea that America’s best days were behind her, that the new normal was 1-1.5% annual growth. That was the leveling wind of globalism. Trump’s policies shattered that idea in less than 18 months. In this new environment, the world is taking notice that the words "Made in America" mean something again.
MadeInAmerica.com Founder and CEO, Don Buckner, will be hosting the first-ever Made in America trade show in Indianapolis between October 3rd and the 6th this year. In 1998, Don hoped to find several American made products by searching online only to be disappointed. As a result, he decided to purchase the MadeintheUSA.com domain. The website served as a directory resource connecting patriotic consumers to more than 300,000 American-made manufacturers for several years. He later acquired the MadeInAmerica.com domain.
Don, himself, was in the manufacturing industry for over 30 years. He started out as a mechanic and welder with no formal education. In 1997, he launched Vac-Tron Equipment, (VacTron.com) a company that was born in his garage. In 2000, Vac-Tron was listed on the INC 500 as the 13th fastest growing privately held company, growing 6500% in just 3 years. In the same year, he was awarded the 2000 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award for the State of Florida. Buckner is also in the Business Hall of Fame and Vac-Tron was named Industry of the Year and Business of the Year.
In 2018, Don sold Vac-Tron Equipment and decided it was time to put his money where his mouth is and went all-in on the #AmericanMade plan and chose the Indianapolis Convention Center to hold the first-ever Made in America Trade show October 3-6 to highlight Made In America manufacturers and celebrate National Manufacturing Day, which is October 4th. "What more patriot thing can we do than to spend our American dollars on American made products to save American jobs?” Don asks and adds, "The power of change is in our pockets; we should above all consider where that money goes."
While manufacturing has traditionally been perceived as a male domain, more and more women are working in manufacturing and leading a myriad of companies. Appointing Linda McMahon as SBA head was a significant gesture to women by the President, demonstrating his support for female entrepreneurs. In Indianapolis in October, among the many exhibitors dedicated to using only American Made materials and products, are several female powerhouses in the industry. These women appreciate that President Trump has been supportive of the pride and commitment to "Hire American and buy American."
In 2006, Angela Horevitz, CEO and Founder of Bakers Sto 'N Go, decided there must be a better way for those who love to bake, or in her case, were called upon often to bring food and baked goods to either her son’s classroom or sporting events. Wanting a way to store or transport those baked goods without compromising the icing or simply providing storage to keep many varieties of food fresh, Angela launched Bakers Sto 'N Go in 2007, producing a food storage container with adjustable shelves on the inside. At that time Amazon was not what it is today, neither was the Internet. The only way Angela could get exposure for her product was to attend trade shows. Her product quickly became one of the year’s best new products and was available in mass merchant stores, from QVC, Target, Hobby Lobby, HSN, to many catalogs. Her product eventually caught the attention of HGTV, Cooking with Paula Deen, Real Simple magazine, and various other TV outlets.
After many USA manufacturing fails, Angela decided her best option going forward was to license her product, and she did so to Mrs. Fields Cookies. After 5 years of a great run, she decided to take the line back and market it on her own. The product was well received by outlets and HSN (now QVC) for their American Dreams program. Bakers Sto 'N Go has teamed up with Better Homes & Gardens and is being sold in select Walmart stores as the 7 Piece Dessert Carrier. Bakers Sto 'N Go is also sold on Amazon.
Making the decision to commit to Made in America was an easy one for Angela. She said she was "very disappointed in 2006 to discover that many, if not most, of our consumer goods were being made in another country. I vowed to be different. My goal was to be able to say, 'see - you can make quality, cost-effective goods in the USA.' For Angela, the actual cost of production is not much more than it would be if she were to go overseas. She is convinced, however, that the quality of the materials obtained here is far superior. To manufacture her product, she requires polypropylene, and while the cost here is similar, it’s more the assembly that is at issue.
"With minimum wage at a certain level, costs will naturally be higher. In the end, though, I prefer that the quality of the product be superior. And that is what I can depend on when I purchase what I need here in the U.S. I’ve heard horror stories from other business owners who have had delays on their purchase orders, or items arrive damaged and poorly assembled when ordering from overseas. I don’t want those headaches," she said, adding "I am benefiting from a more competitive field as manufacturers are currently hiring at an all-time high, and that’s good for everyone."
Barbara Creighton’s Sarati International in South Texas provides a natural rebalancing option for women going through menopause. In the 1990’s Barbara was on a mission to find a safe product for her personal use. Finding that, however, in the '90s was no easy task. And so, once again, necessity became the mother of invention. Barbara discovered a product that would provide a natural path towards rebalancing. Pleased to discover this for her own use, she decided she wanted to give other women that same opportunity for relief and moved towards manufacturing the product herself. Barbara is the CEO at Sarati International, and the business has gone in the direction of custom formulations and private label.
When discussing her overall satisfaction with where things stand today at Sarati, Barbara said "I’m so appreciative of what President Trump has done for consumer confidence. We are a private label contract manufacturing personal care company. Our large and small customers who sell our proprietary or custom formulations in their spas or on Amazon are expanding their businesses and enjoying the profits the expansions have provided. Business is booming for us and for our customers. The Trump effect blesses all on the inside and outside as sales and profits increase."
Beverlee Dacey, President of Amodex, a company that provides a solution to what could potentially be anyone’s worst nightmare - stains. Their product is the only one that works on both oil-based and dye-based stains. Amodex is safe to use on both washable and dry-cleanable fabrics as well as carpets, upholstery and surfaces. It's also the only stain remover recommended by Newell Brands for removing all of their inks, including ink from a SHARPIE. Amodex is the only soap formula stain remover in the world. That is significant because it means that all the materials they use are safe and non-toxic. Every material used in the product is sourced in the U.S. It was a pledge Beverlee made when she took over the company during the recession in 2008 to support her fellow manufactures in the supply chain. Beverlee didn’t care if this commitment might cost her a little more, nor did she want to worry about what might be included in the ingredients in solutions from other countries.
Many consumer product companies use contract packagers for their products, but Beverlee and her family formulate and package their products at their facility in Bridgeport, CT. She and her four children - and her husband when he was still alive - worked together building the brand and are proud of the many accolades the family has received including an airing on Good Morning America, Consumer Reports giving them a number one rating for stain remover for ink, as well as a feature in Martha Stewart’s magazine. Martha Stewart also featured the company on TV and included them in her renowned "stain removal chart."
Beverly believes the Trump Administration has "restored the Made in USA brand which has in turn revived our status in global markets. We’re finding that more and more foreign companies and consumers want American made products again. Since 2016, my company has expanded our exports to now include Spain, Jordan, Dubai, Chile, and Columbia." Because Beverlee is a strong supporter of "brick and mortar," her products can be found nationwide in mass market chains such as Lowe's and Hobby Lobby, regional supermarkets such as Giant, Stop & Shop, Harris Teeter, and ShopRite, and many local independent retailers.
President Trump has tirelessly promoted the idea of American jobs first. As a result, we are seeing a hugely competitive approach when manufacturers consider consumer products. Because of that, manufacturers are becoming more competitive with what they offer and how they approach those consumer products. As more and more manufacturers look to sourcing their materials in the United States, they are finding the price for those materials have become increasingly more competitive. Many companies have said that they saw the "trade wars" on the horizon and when they did, they began to take steps to source materials and products domestically. Additionally, they said that as the demand has grown for more American-made materials, new businesses have begun sprouting up to meet that demand. Over the last 2-1/2 years, the U.S. economy has added over 500,000 manufacturing jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Women have made incredible economic progress under President Trump, and as more women continue to enter the workforce at every level, it’s more important than ever to continue to pursue the pro-growth, America first policies that got us to where we are today. The women in business mentioned above - Angela, Barbara and Beverlee - will be joining other manufacturers in displaying their products at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis October 3rd through the 6th. Interested exhibitors and consumers can find more information at www.madeinamerica.com.
Rose Tennent has been a prominent figure for twenty years as a syndicated conservative talk show host. She is a frequent guest host for Sean Hannity and has made several appearances on Fox News. She is currently the spokesperson for the Made In America Trade Show. Rose serves on Advisory Board for Women for Trump Coalition and Moms for America. She has formerly worked with the Smaller Manufacturers Council as a political liaison.
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