How to find Made in USA products and my favorite products!

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[00:00:27] Eric Goranson: Now, here's one thing that you're seeing. There are two companies out there that are buying parts or either sending materials off overseas and having them cut and made into your cabinetry, or they're buying parts that are coming in from overseas to make your cabinetry. When it comes to remodeling and renovating your home, there is.

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[00:01:09] Eric Goranson: In hour one here, we're gonna be talking about my favorite made in USA products and how to. Made in USA products. You know, I've been doing a segment over on my TV show, which is made in Northwest, you know, for all of us people in the northwest trying to find products that are made in the northwest so we can buy local buy made in usa.

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[00:01:52] Eric Goranson: We've got some. Places to catch it there. Or if you've got the Fox 12 Portland app on your phone, you can watch it there as well as Fox 12 Plus on the [00:02:00] regular television. So there's multiple ways to see the TV show. Well, today we're talking about, uh, I wanted to start out talking work boots because there's some easy ways to do this and, uh, you know, I'll start out by saying it was absolutely fun and amazing.

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[00:02:35] Eric Goranson: There is leather there, hammer, and they are doing all this things that they do. It's really impressive. And they do it the same way basically, except for a couple tiny pieces of new machinery. It's generally done the same way that they've done. You know, for the last 105 years, and here's what I liked for the American worker out there, what I like is that, that you can go in there for, I think it's a hundred dollars, they can make [00:03:00] a mold of your foot, and then whenever you wanna order boots, They will make them off of that mold, so they will guarantee they fit every single time.

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[00:03:32] Eric Goranson: And they might, maybe, let's say they had two pair of boots. Okay, so maybe we cut that down by half. Still, that's a lot of time out of a set of boots. So what they did was, is they were rebuilding 'em and it costs, you know, 40, about 40% of what a new price of a boot costs. And they were taking 'em apart carefully, putting in the new panels, the new souls, the new bottom half of the boot, but keeping all the pieces that were still looking good and not worn out.

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[00:04:22] Eric Goranson: Okay. The words matter if you're looking for a true made in USA boot. The Berry Amendment was originally passed in Congress in 1941 to assure that the military was outfitted and fed with only bonafide American made products. Being very compliant is the, you know, it's the superstar of the Maiden USA claims out there.

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[00:05:15] Eric Goranson: So they have lines of them. They're not all that. So, for instance, Dan Boots and rocky boots both make a line of berry compliant work boots. So those are very specific and some of 'em are gonna be of course, you know, um, tactical boots, that kind of stuff. But that's the cool part about that. It's, so basically when what makes a boot berry compliant, the work boots you purchase will be made out of a hundred percent USA made materials.

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[00:06:07] Eric Goranson: So, uh, that's impressive. You know, basically anything that's called a US territory out there is very compliant with that. But of course, those are gonna be some of their most expensive boots because, you know, we're paying people living wages to make these boots versus, uh, well children overseas working for pennies on the dollar.

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[00:06:52] Eric Goranson: So those, these are very specific, but sometimes that means, you know, You know, other [00:07:00] pieces like leather or maybe the, the, the rubber outsoles or, you know, those kind of things could be coming from any place. So, but the actual manufacturing process is here in the United States, so that's one of the keys.

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[00:07:40] Eric Goranson: So, and, and to be honest, that assembled in America makes people go, huh, handcrafted, assembled. This is the next step down. Uh, in quite frankly, it's confusing, but these products are not hand. These items are basically machine made where you have parts coming in from [00:08:00] all around the world that are assembled here.

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[00:08:29] Eric Goranson: And then there's a lot of other out there. You know it, it's, here's the thing that gets confusing. If you buy stuff overseas that say American made, maybe that's not covered at all by the Federal Trade Commission, cuz you're out of the us. So you've gotta be very careful on how all these terms go if you're out.

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[00:09:13] Eric Goranson: That's where the differences are made. All right, we come back. We're gonna be talking about some of my favorite products here made in the usa from tools to knives to everything else. And uh, we've got a lot of cool stuff. Probably some brands that you haven't even heard of. We'll talk about more of that just as soon as around the house returns.

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[00:09:39] Eric Goranson: Why

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[00:09:55] Eric Goranson: So many people.[00:10:00]

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[00:10:25] Eric Goranson: This episode here is to try to help you out with that. If you have any questions or if you want to comment or if you want to hear an episode coming up with a subject that you are passionate about, you think we should be talking about, head over to around the house online.com and uh, send me a message over there or hit me up on social media.

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[00:11:06] Eric Goranson: But really when it comes to taking a look at what tools are made in the usa, There's some products out there that are pretty good. You know, Arians for instance, uh, geez, those guys started out in 1933 and they developed the first American made rotary tiller. These things are made, uh, in, uh, brilliant Wisconsin, small town with about 32 1 residents.

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[00:11:50] Eric Goranson: And, uh, of course they design manufacturer market power generators, pressure washers, lawn and garden turf. Job site products through Briggs and [00:12:00] Stratton Simplicity, snapper Ferris, Vanguard Almond, Billy Goat, Murray Bronco, and Vitra Brands. So those guys, uh, are there as well, but. Big, but here, brigs and Stratton makes about 85% of its products here in the us uh, with both US and globally sourced components.

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[00:12:45] Eric Goranson: Um, and they've got a, uh, in 2021 they opened a new, uh, battery manufacturing facility in Tucker, Georgia. So that's another one that's solid right there. Channel lock. Channel lock. Started making tools in 1886. [00:13:00] So an evansburg pa. So that's pretty cool. 130 years later they still, that that same Dement family still runs Channel lock.

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[00:13:39] Eric Goranson: Power pivot, center cut, dual compound action bolt cutters and crescent job box, cross box, uh, the crossover truck box and job tests. So interesting stuff. Um, Cub Cadet started in 1961. They, uh, designed an engineer products in their valley city, Ohio. [00:14:00] Uh, they're under M T D and here's an interesting one here too that I think out of all this that we should discuss.

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[00:14:34] Eric Goranson: S wing, you know, hammers, those guys are great. Um, Those guys are made in Rockville, Rockford, Illinois. Um, so yeah, that's a good one. FLIR Systems, that's all your cool stuff here. They're here in my local area, Wilsonville, Oregon, and they also have Arlington, Virginia. Those guys, of course, there, there are electronics in that.

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[00:15:18] Eric Goranson: That's another company, Greenly, uh, brand of Emerson Electric. Uh, those are. Basically, uh, Genoa, Illinois manufacturing, so that's another one. They've also got Louisville, Kentucky, um, hardcore hammers, Hobart Welding products, ideal industries. Uh, John Deere, which is another common one. Johnson Level Klein Tools, which is a big one.

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[00:16:11] Eric Goranson: Bench made knives. They're right here. Those guys are solid. Um, buck knives. Um, they're big. I'm actually, uh, they make their Okay. Post falls, Idaho. That's right. Is where they're made Kershaw, zero tolerance. Uh, those guys here 10 minutes from my house, which is pretty cool. And then you've got companies like, uh, craft tool company that make stuff.

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[00:16:57] Eric Goranson: Kubota Manufacturing of America was formed in 80. [00:17:00] And, uh, it's pretty interesting. They make a lot of stuff here in the United States, so, uh, people think, oh my gosh, it's Kubota. But, uh, about half of the Kubota branded equipment sold in the US is manufactured in Gainesville and Jefferson, Georgia facilities.

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[00:17:37] Eric Goranson: Miller, you know, Miller's a great welding company and Milwaukee has, uh, manufactured products in the US USA since 1924. So they've got a big one there. Um, a lot of their stuff is made in Greenwood and Jackson, Mississippi, and uh, they do have a, uh, you know, Wisconsin factories as well. But, uh, they do have some stuff, [00:18:00] of course that comes from overseas, like their batteries and stuff like that.

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[00:18:22] Eric Goranson: And uh, snap on south wire and the list goes on and on. But those are some of the good ones out there that people should be taking a look at. Alright, we come back, we're gonna take a look at some more outdoor power equipment stuff returns.[00:19:00]

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[00:19:30] Eric Goranson: If you're doing a kitchen or bathroom project and you're looking at cabinetry, you think that you see these big brands that are, many of them are in the home centers that you're buying a Made in USA product. And here's the thing, you're buying, probably assembled in s a, but maybe not made in usa. Now, here's one thing that you're seeing.

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[00:20:22] Eric Goranson: Ones that I've worked with a lot in the past. That's gonna be Craftmade Medallion, Yorktown Design Craft, serenade Schuler Smart Master Woodcraft Cabinets, 2000 Meco Med. Mastercraft, Cardell, melot, Arbor Creek, and Quality Cabinets. Now the other one is Master Brand. Master Brown has master brand, has Arista craft decor.

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[00:21:33] Eric Goranson: All of that from happening. So they're trying to keep it so, uh, that, uh, we don't see this Chinese, uh, dumping or even worse, people have been bringing in, companies have been trying to bring in, and they've seen this, they've been trying to bring in materials through other countries or made in China, and so maybe.

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[00:22:19] Eric Goranson: Bringing in materials from overseas to put into their American made cabinetry. So that really kind of takes those cabinetry lines from being, you know, in my mind, American made to assembled. In the United States because that means that some of those parts aren't being made there so many times. What it is, it's the cabinet box parts, it's the, the stretchers, maybe the sides, maybe drawer boxes, things like that.

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[00:23:05] Eric Goranson: So it's something to think about. There's a lot of other companies out there that I really trust, that I really like. And, uh, you know, that you can sure take a look at, and these are not endorsements, but when it comes down to the, the KC M A, which is the Catching Cabinet Manufacturers Association, there's a lot of local cabinet shops.

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[00:23:51] Eric Goranson: Uh, country Road products out of, uh, Napa, uh, Indiana that is up there in Amish country, which is really cool. And they spell [00:24:00] country with a K. Um, a lot of people like the well borns, the um, Uh, there's so many different companies out there that do this, that have this, uh, canyon Creek is another one, you know, and these are not endorsements, uh, but really something to take a look at.

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[00:24:33] Eric Goranson: Everything that you're looking for as far as a made and USA product. And of course many of your local manufacturers, you know, you've got a lot of great local manufacturers out there that are building cabinetry. And I do like locally built custom cabinetry. But one thing that I will say, and this is probably the one thing that I will say with cabinetry, and I've done 29 years of the cabin industry, so I know it very well.

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[00:25:20] Eric Goranson: There's a lot of great finishes out there, but that can be some of the problems with some of the smaller shops is that, uh, you know, the word custom does not have any implication of quality. So just think that, oh, I'm gonna have custom cabinets built. For my kitchen. Well that's great, but custom doesn't mean they were well built.

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[00:26:07] Eric Goranson: Like if you. For instance, they're out shopping for kitchen cabinetry. You want something that's gonna hold up, especially if it's painted. So I, I'm not a fan of the lacquer paint on that. I want to see something that's a really baked on finish. And they have flat line finishing systems now that are computer controlled, that when they paint, they make sure that they get the equal amount of paint on every little surface so it will wear better.

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[00:26:55] Eric Goranson: And then all of a sudden you've got paint wearing through in a couple years. [00:27:00] That's not something. That's good. Another one that I do like as well is, uh, dura Supreme out of Minnesota. Those guys are great as well, but do your research out there. Uh, crystal Cabinetry, another one that I enjoy. So there's a lot of great big brands out there.

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[00:27:36] Eric Goranson: Um, in, in my northwest I use a company called Miller Paint here. That's really good. We have another one that's, uh, a Northwest brand called Ratta. But, uh, you know, most of the stuff when you're talking paint, it's very expensive to ship it. So a lot of it's made here in the United States. Uh, and that's just another thing to think about when you're looking at products for around your house.

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[00:28:21] Eric Goranson: That thing is built like a tank lifetime warranty, and you've got something that's gonna be super. Durable. All right everybody. We're gonna wrap this up in the next segment just as soon as around the house returns. Don't go anywhere.[00:29:00]

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[00:29:24] Eric Goranson: Just go to playlists. Or if you want to find kind of the root of it, you can go over to around the house online. Grab one of them. And then grab the playlist from there cuz those are up on the front page of Around the House online.com led to have you check it out over there. We've got a lot of great content that we're doing in long form video, so you can check that outside of the radio show and podcast.

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[00:30:03] Eric Goranson: Right. But I'll be honest, there are some great pieces being made in Germany. There are some great pieces made in Europe, uh, England all over. So, um, just because it's made in U S USA does not mean that it's of higher quality than some of those other brands. Plenty of those outside luxury brands like Growy and stuff that are made in Germany make a wonderful product.

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[00:30:51] Eric Goranson: They make their water heaters here in the United States. They crank those things out and they are proud. Made in the US and so I really appreciate [00:31:00] that with those guys. Another company that's making some stuff in the US too, Delta in Bre. Uh, those guys make some beautiful stuff, and again, I don't know where everything's coming from, but they do have some factories here in the US that I know are producing stuff now.

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[00:31:38] Eric Goranson: So that's really cool. I do like that. I do wanna dive into Delta a little bit as well, cuz Delta, you know, they held the original patents for the, the single level faucet, you know, where the hot and cold single, you know, I mean, geez, they've been making that I think since the fifties and sixties on those single, you know, handle faucets.

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[00:32:24] Eric Goranson: So I don't, I don't want to be specific about anyone here, but I can go into the WA home center and see a faucet, get the model number made in China, and then I turn around and head over to my plumbing wholesaler for the same faucet made in. And I've seen that multiple times, so many times and, and, sorry, home centers, I'm gonna call you out on it because there is such a battle for price point in a home center.

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[00:33:16] Eric Goranson: And that's not just marketing for the shelves. Because sometimes, let's say someone's making a toilet is a great example and it's made in USA and it's got a little flaw on the side or something like that. They might high grade those. Send those to the home center. And then send the other ones that are the A-list ones over to the plumbing wholesaler, or they import the ones from China to the home center and the made in USA ones, which are of higher quality and uh, of course made here in the United States, which would be more expensive or at the plumbing wholesaler.

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[00:34:10] Eric Goranson: And it is handcrafted by great people and made in u s a Kohler companies has a lot of different stuff from Kohler generators to their stuff. But, um, they're great and they do make a lot of Maiden USA stuff. But again, go to the home center, it could be a different deal. So that's something to be very, you know, be very careful with.

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[00:34:53] Eric Goranson: And, uh, new Bern in Stanford, North Carolina, and then Pine Grove, Pennsylvania. So another one there that you see [00:35:00] has a bunch of great stuff that is made, um, just like lk for instance. Lk, many of their products are made in the United States. So you can go out there and take a look and see with plumbing, fixtures, faucets, that kind of stuff.

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[00:35:39] Eric Goranson: One of 'em is gonna be Red Pig Garden Tools and they're sold worldwide. These things are handcrafted and I was just in their film. It'll be on a little sneak peek on, uh, today's. TV show. This is totally cool stuff. So [00:36:00] basically these guys start out with raw steel and there's a couple people in the studio there and they are hammering out with a forge in hammers, garden tools, and long-handled garden tools.

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[00:36:36] Eric Goranson: Um, man, steel port knife. If you are into kitchen knives and a good one, there is a company here in the United States making one of the best carbon. Kitchen knives, you can get out there and, uh, man, those guys are awesome. They're, they're expensive, but I tell you what, they are so gorgeously handcrafted. I love them.

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[00:37:23] Eric Goranson: It's a great thing. Now, I wanna say we have a lot of international listeners on the podcast, and just because I wanna make sure that I, I clear this up before people get offended by this episode today, and quite frankly, I'm not so worried about people being offended. But you know something, I like stuff to be made here locally, and that's where I like to buy it and.

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[00:38:10] Eric Goranson: I like to pay a little bit more, get something made in the us. Something that I, that maybe I'm helping a neighbor with their job. Maybe I'm helping a friend keep their job. These are all important things, and I think it's great for the country. It's great for the world. Why should I have to buy something and have it run on a diesel powered ship all the way across?

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[00:38:51] Eric Goranson: And buying high quality things because my little soapbox here, um, I have learned some lessons in life at, uh, 50 plus years [00:39:00] old and I've decided a number of years ago that I would buy things once and not have to throw it away every couple years. So I don't, you don't catch me as many times in the, uh, discount tool store.

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