Company selected for recognition after increasing manufacturing production quantity and efficiency by bringing work home
Mitchell Metal Products of Merrill has received the first National Reshoring Award in recognition of the company’s success bringing manufacturing back home to the United States from overseas. The award, given by The Reshoring Initiative and the Precision Metalforming Association (PMA), honors a company that has successfully reshored products, parts or tooling made primarily by metal forming, fabricating or machining.
Mitchell Metal Products was selected after using reshoring to produce more end products with less lead time. In 2016, the company manufactured a cultivator handle subassembly product, increasing the production volume from 4,500 made overseas to 30,000 made in Wisconsin.
“We are thrilled and honored to receive the first National Reshoring Award,” said Tim Zimmerman, president of Mitchell Metal Products. “By leveraging the total cost of ownership approach pioneered by The Reshoring Initiative, we have won a number of value-added contracts and brought work back home. We are proud to be delivering high-quality products to our customers and creating good jobs here in Wisconsin. Right now, eight percent of our workforce is employed because of products we have helped to reshore.”
The award was presented in Milwaukee on Sept. 28, at Sourcing Solutions™, a popular procurement program hosted by PMA. This premier sourcing event brought together buyers and engineers from top manufacturing companies with pre-screened suppliers, enabling companies to find the most competitive resources for their projects.
The 2018 National Reshoring Award will be presented next fall during Sourcing Solutions.
“We are proud to be a sponsor of the National Reshoring Award and to celebrate companies who are contributing to the strength of the American manufacturing sector,” said Allison Grealis, vice president of membership and association services at PMA. “Through Sourcing Solutions and other efforts, PMA is committed to supporting manufacturers in their quest to find local, competitive suppliers and keep work here at home.”
“I was delighted that the winning product was a relatively conventional item, instead of being an advanced aerospace or electronics component,” said Harry Moser, founder and president of The Reshoring Initiative. “Mitchell’s success demonstrates that large portions of offshored work are eligible to be reshored.”
The Reshoring Initiative, founded in early 2010, takes action by helping manufacturers realize that local production, in some cases, reduces their total cost of ownership of purchased parts and tooling. The Initiative also trains suppliers how to effectively meet the needs of their local customers, giving the suppliers the tools to sell against lower priced offshore competitors.