[00:00:00] Eric Goranson: It's around the house. 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 them, made in USA product, and here's the thing. You're buying. Probably assembled in usa, but maybe not made in usa.

[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.

[00:00:50] Eric Goranson: To know the We got you covered. This is around the house. Welcome to The Round the House Show. This is where we help you get the most outta your home through information [00:01:00] and education. Thanks for joining us today. Hope everybody's having a great weekend. This is where we're gonna talk about today. I'm excited about this.

[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.

[00:01:30] Eric Goranson: And, uh, it made me go into a, a bigger search and I wanted to share some of the stuff with you that I've learned along the way. And so this will help you make better purchasing decisions when you're outside doing your thing. And, uh, you know, before we get into that, I wanna say that, uh, if you want to catch that show, you can head over to around the house online.com and catch it over there.

[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.

[00:02:15] Eric Goranson: One of the segments I did here last month is I went out to Westco boots. And I did a whole story on them, and Westco is based here in the Portland area out in Schoo, Oregon. And the, this is what's cool about these guys and this was really impressive. You walk into this 105 year old company and they hand make boots.

[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.

[00:03:10] Eric Goranson: I thought that was really trick. What I also liked is that they had somebody in there that had their lineman boots in there for climbing up, doing electrical work on poles, specifically made for that. This person had worn these things for 20 years. Yeah, they lasted 20 years out on a job working 40, 50, 60, 80 hours a week, depending on who they're working.

[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.

[00:03:59] Eric Goranson: That's [00:04:00] impressive to me and I love that. So I was really impressed at the stuff that they were making there in the high quality, and they are a very fine work boot. Now, here's one thing when you're looking at boots, and this is where kind of the US military comes in and helps us a little bit when we're out looking, made in USA and the words here.

[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.

[00:04:44] Eric Goranson: So that is a purely Made in America boot, basically, that meets these very. Rigid standards. So only boots that are made from start to finish are called Barry compliant. So that is something to [00:05:00] look for when you're doing it. And so many manufacturers out there, and I'm not talk, this isn't a Wesco thing here, but talking about boot manufacturers out there across the board have very compliant boots.

[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.

[00:05:43] Eric Goranson: Every single component used in the boots production. Leather uppers, everything, even the eyelets are all made in America. So there may be an exception, by the way, in the berry amendment, but if that's basically what it is. So the work boots [00:06:00] of course, have to be made here on American soil. Uh, including the, uh, you know, final assembly stage of it.

[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.

[00:06:28] Eric Goranson: So you're gonna pay a lot more for those boots. That will, that's where that comes from. So now if you have a pair of work boots that are made in America that is a looser standard that will say handcrafted in the usa, and these are all terms that the Federal Trade Commission basically helps us kind of put together with those names, if you know what I mean.

[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.

[00:07:15] Eric Goranson: So Carolina and Chippewa also make their work boots are handcrafted in the usa so that's another one there. And so that's pretty cool that those guys have it there. Now here's another. And this is an important one as well. Assembled in America. So there is no kind of quality hand craftsmanship involved in this process whatsoever.

[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.

[00:08:05] Eric Goranson: So it means that the workers here on American soil are putting together things here, but those parts coulda came from anywhere in the world. So those could be made anywhere out there. But, uh, that's kind of an interesting one. So that's. Now these are all things that you have to be really mindful of, depending on what you have.

[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.

[00:08:49] Eric Goranson: You know, shopping for, for instance, boots, but a lot of these things are not just only within American Boot manufacturers or within, [00:09:00] within any products out there, so it's just something to consider when you're out there looking. Those are the details that you should be looking for. The difference between handcrafted, you know, Assembled.

[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.

[00:09:31] Eric Goranson: Don't go anywhere.

[00:09:39] Eric Goranson: Why

[00:09:46] Eric Goranson: should I be loud, be so hot?

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

[00:10:10] Eric Goranson: Welcome back to The Round The House Show where we help you get the most outta your home through information on education. Well, today we've been talking about made in USA products or things that are built here in the United States, and I know people out there have been really trying to track down stuff made locally.

[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.

[00:10:43] Eric Goranson: Just look for around the House Show and you'll find it out. Well, I was looking and you know, at Buddy Clint over at Pro Tool Reviews wrote a story here, uh, a couple years ago about what tools are made in the usa and I'm gonna refer to a little bit of [00:11:00] that because he did a lot of great research. Check out pro tool reviews when you get a chance, those guys do a great job over there.

[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.

[00:11:28] Eric Goranson: And, uh, boy, those guys have evolved. Into a multi-brand company that employs about 1700 people. So, uh, I love that it's owned by the same family that started it all. Briggs and Stratton Corporation over in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where there's a lot of stuff made. Uh, those guys are still the world's largest producer of gasoline engines for outdoor power equipment.

[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.

[00:12:22] Eric Goranson: So they have, uh, manufacturing plants in Statesboro, Georgia, Auburn, Alabama, where it does its v twin Guard, or sorry, it's v twin Vanguard Engines. And, uh, they also make engines, uh, at their Poplar Bluff, Missouri and Milwaukee, Wisconsin plants. So, um, That's interesting. Uh, so anyway, interesting stuff right there with that.

[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.

[00:13:11] Eric Goranson: Uh, boy, they're based out of, uh, two facilities, Meadville, pa, and uh, it's really cool. It looks like they still make all their players in Meadville and uh, that's pretty impressive right there. Crescent Tool. Which, uh, also covers brands like Wiss, hk, Porter, jobbox, and of course Crescent Tools. Uh, tools made in the USA include Crescent wis, next Generation Aviation, SNPs Crescent, HK Porter, 14 inch.

[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.

[00:14:07] Eric Goranson: DeWalt Craftsman, Stanley Black and Decker. You know, that's one big company, S B D, so they have, um, 48 US manufacturing facilities. Last time I checked the company maintains these facilities across. You know, two dozen or so states and they have 18,000 US based workers, uh, which is really cool. So that's, uh, pretty good.

[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.

[00:14:54] Eric Goranson: So I, I can't assume that, that all those pieces are coming outta here in the States. But, uh, that's the [00:15:00] infrared guys gener. Founder 1959. Uh, those guys are really cool. Um, I'm really impressed. Um, those guys have moved, uh, production back to its Jefferson, Wisconsin manufacturing facility. So, uh, those guys do really well with that.

[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.

[00:15:44] Eric Goranson: You know, they were back from 1857 and make, you know, most of their products here in the us So, uh, pretty impressive there. They've also built in the last 10 or so years, four new US manufacturing facilities. [00:16:00] So, uh, pretty good there. I like that. Um, now of course I live here in the Portland metro area where we have a lot of knife companies.

[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.

[00:16:35] Eric Goranson: They're not here. Lot of stuff like that. Leatherman here as well. They're around the corner. Uh, coast is based here, but a lot of their stuff is, uh, that kind of lower price point. So a lot of their parts are imported, but they're based in Portland, Oregon, around me as well. Kubota, uh, which is interesting, you know, uh, that's an interesting one.

[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.

[00:17:17] Eric Goranson: So we mentioned Lennox. Uh, actually Leatherman and Lennox are good too. Lennox is a big, you know, Tool manufacturer as well. Makita has been making a lot of stuff here in the US and they're Atlanta in the outside of Atlanta and, uh, Beaufort, Georgia. So that's a big one right there. So that's Impre, uh, Malco tools, Matco tools.

[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.

[00:18:02] Eric Goranson: But that's, that electronics is what you expect. But, uh, those guys really have a lot of great things here in the US uh, as far as that goes. And that really kind of gets us into power tools. There's a lot more in there from rigid to the Emerson rigid, which is the plumbing tools to proto occidental leather.

[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]

[00:19:09] Eric Goranson: Welcome back to The Round the House Show. This is where we hope you get the most outta your home through information and education. Thanks for joining us today. If you're catching us on the radio, here's the thing. We've been talking. Buying made in USA products, which I'm always waving the flag on. And this one we've talked about in the past, but I wanna revisit it just a little bit because it's important.

[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.

[00:19:53] Eric Goranson: There are two companies out there that are. Buying parts or [00:20:00] 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. And the two groups are cabinet works. And Master Brands Cabinet Works Group is a consortium first of a lot of different manufacturers.

[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.

[00:20:58] Eric Goranson: Diamond [00:21:00] Fieldstone Home Crest Kemper, kitchen Craft Mantra, mid-Continent Cabinetry, omega Cabinetry, Shrock, StarMark, ultra Craft Urban Effects. Now what these guys are doing, and this has been a very big battle in the cabinet industry between the kitchen cabinet manufacturers of association and these two big, huge brands, because they have been fighting against the kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers Association, which is trying to stop.

[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.

[00:21:53] Eric Goranson: They take those facilities and move them over to the Philippines or Vietnam or ship 'em to Vietnam first and then [00:22:00] over here. So there have been a lot of trade wars going on with that. But, um, these companies here, um, in general, and I don't know specifics for each brand, but between those Master Brand and Cabinet Works group, both of those companies have been really supporting.

[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.

[00:22:46] Eric Goranson: And, uh, a lot of those standard size pieces they can get, of course, not pay an American worker to do that. They can go overseas and have that done for much less. And so that is, uh, many of those brands that you see. I think if you were to look in [00:23:00] most home centers, the big box stores, basically that's what you see is those large national brands doing it.

[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.

[00:23:25] Eric Goranson: There's a lot of national cabinet shops that aren't doing that. So it's just something to take a look at. Something I want you to really think about and, uh, to really support, you know, these. Brands out there that are doing the right thing. Some of those bigger cabinet brands that you're gonna see out there, um, that are made in USA and proudly so that you're seeing, you're gonna see places like, uh, and I've been to this place, so I've seen it.

[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.

[00:24:16] Eric Goranson: Um, you know, when it comes down to Belmont Cabinetry outta Seattle, uh, is big two, they're a national companies. So really take a look at your country, your companies, and see where they're building stuff. And if they, uh, when you're talking to your designer, make sure that they are actually doing this and they are coming up with.

[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.

[00:24:56] Eric Goranson: I've run cabinet shops, I have managed them, I have. [00:25:00] Not owned a, a cabinet manufacturer, but I understand the process. The smaller cabinet shops, their only weak point is their finishes, and uh, one thing, if you're out there shopping for cabinets, Take a look. You want, you don't want a lacquer finish. You want a conversion varnish or one of the new urethane products.

[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.

[00:25:40] Eric Goranson: Custom doesn't mean that they're better than a Kia. So just think about that, kind of how that goes together because, um, really things to think about when you're shopping for cabinets. I like supporting local. But you can get something that has a not as durable finish as what you would get in some of these larger cabinet companies because, [00:26:00] um, a lot of these finishes, people won't go out and spend the money to buy the, the machinery to finish these cabinets.

[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.

[00:26:31] Eric Goranson: And then it's a baked on finish, which is so much. Better finished than what you see out of a small cabinet shop sometimes. So just do your research, find out what kind of finish system's on there. That's a big part of it cuz the last thing you want to do is have a, a cabinet that has been made for you, installed beautiful, you'd spent, you know, 60 to a hundred thousand dollars on a remodel.

[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.

[00:27:13] Eric Goranson: Support your local ones. Support your Maiden USA ones, and that's gonna be another really big key right there. Now, there are a lot of different paint companies out there as. That you should take a look at out there in building materials. You know, in the Pacific Northwest, we have local ones here. You know, a lot of the paint manufacturing though, is made in the United States, so just take a look out there.

[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.

[00:27:57] Eric Goranson: Another one that I do like as well is if [00:28:00] you're looking at grills, um, you know, of course I do. Like my friends over at Blaze Grills take a look at them, but Matt Grills, if you're looking for the King Daddy, Of barbecues out there. Take a look at Mac M A k. Grills. Those guys handcraft those grills. Buy it once and if you're a pellet person, that is the way to go.

[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]

[00:29:05] Eric Goranson: Welcome back to The Round the House Show. Now if you wanna get a hold of me, you can uh, track me down at a couple different places, one over to round the house online.com. That's the website. And then when you're out looking around, if you're a YouTuber, make sure you go over to the Fox 12 Portland page on YouTube and you can catch my around the house videos over there.

[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.

[00:29:43] Eric Goranson: So that's a, that's a big one. We've been talking Maiden USA products today and you know it plumbing is one of the hardest ones to navigate here. And I wanted to kind of pivot over to plumbing because it's one of the ones that's really tough and. Love to support [00:30:00] American jobs when I can buy u s usa when I'm, when, when appropriately.

[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.

[00:30:28] Eric Goranson: So that's a key right there. And again, with any of these plumbing fixtures we're gonna talk about here, um, I'm talking, you know, generically with the brand, they easily could have a couple things that are made overseas in their lower price points that I'm not aware of. And I did not go look at every single box, but, so I'm gonna be a little more general with this, but, uh, for instance, one of my favorite companies out there is Bradford White.

[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.

[00:31:14] Eric Goranson: Waterstone is one of my favorite. Beautiful, awesome, just gorgeous faucets, right? I mean, those things are the Bentley or Rolls Royce of kitchen and bath faucets and you know something, they're priced accordingly. So they are not for everyone, but those guys make everything in house. They're handcrafted, custom made, and they're beautiful.

[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.

[00:31:57] Eric Goranson: So they're an innovator with that ball [00:32:00] valve. But uh, they have four North American manufacturing facilities and one in China. So, one thing I've noticed with plumbing companies, and I'm not specifically talking about Delta. But many times I will go into a home center and uh, you might have heard me for all you long time listeners out there talk about this before, but many times I have gone into home centers and I'm saying this is not Delta.

[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.

[00:32:50] Eric Goranson: Many of those plumbing fixtures in there could be of a different grade that if you went to your local, you know, Ferguson for instance. [00:33:00] So you gotta be careful. There are two grades of faucets, two grades of toilets, and many companies out there. And that's why sometimes if you see, if you walk into a plumbing wholesaler, you'll see a different style box than what you see at the home center.

[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.

[00:33:49] Eric Goranson: So something to take a look at with that. You know, and, uh, and of course just like anything, the more electronics you see in a, in a faucet, that's smart. Things like that. I'm gonna assume [00:34:00] that the less made in USA stuff out there. You know, Kohler's another great one. I mean, I was just, for instance, at Ann Sack Tile here in Portland where they make all their tile.

[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.

[00:34:32] Eric Goranson: You know, just, I wanna make sure that you find the right products and you are getting what you pay for. I don't wanna see you have to, uh, buy something you thought was made in USA and then go, oh my gosh, it's not what I was looking for. Moan is another great company out there. Uh, you know, although they're international, they do have a North Olmstead, Ohio manufacturing facility.

[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.

[00:35:13] Eric Goranson: Really take time and do your research and, uh, read the boxes. Generally these larger companies like this are gonna be very truthful because they don't want the Federal Trade Commission to come in and cause an issue and get fined for not making things where they say they're making 'em. Now I do wanna give a mention to a couple of my friends over here that, uh, I've done some stories on recently that are absolutely gorgeous, made stuff, and, uh, they're worth mentioning.

[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.

[00:36:13] Eric Goranson: So everything from, you know, TRS to gardening, basically your garden tools they manufacture other than shear. They all hand make 'em. Each one's a little bit different. It's gorgeous. Check out Red Pig Garden tools. Those guys are awesome. And another one I've done a story on, which was in our first episode, which I really enjoyed.

[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.

[00:36:59] Eric Goranson: They're [00:37:00] beautiful. So it's something for you to take a look at out there. And, uh, I'm really, I'm really impressed with some of these companies that are really creating products like that, that are handmade, handcrafted, and, uh, these are things that are really cool. Anytime you can buy something that. You know that you can go through and buy local or buy online that is made in the United States.

[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.

[00:37:45] Eric Goranson: If you're overseas listening on the podcast, you know something, you have that right as well. So there are a lot of great craftspeople all around the world. I just love to see more manufacturing made here in the United States because I think [00:38:00] it is important for us to be a sustainable country, to be able to make a lot of the stuff here and not let stuff go overseas and have other countries make it so it's cheaper.

[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?

[00:38:31] Eric Goranson: The ocean just to get it to my thing. That's not good for the environment. I think it's healthy for everyone to buy local, whether you're in the United States, whether you're in Canada, whether you're in Germany or New Zealand or Australia or wherever you're listening. I think that's important. So buying local is great.

[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.

[00:39:12] Eric Goranson: And I'm not gonna throw any names out there cause I don't want to. But, uh, I tend to buy something once so I can have it for a lifetime or many years to come. Hour two is up next. Thanks for listening to around the House.