Neely Manufacturing

Neely Manufacturing will be ending 2008 with record sales led by USA Made tote bag line which had an estimated increase of 48 percent. This has been a breakout year for Neely. The company attributes this success to its return to U.S.-based manufacturing, nationwide sales coverage, a more than $2 million stockpile of inventory and an 35 percent increase in operational staff. Despite tough economic conditions, the company feels it is well-positioned to support its customers with more products having shorter lead times. About Neely Manufacturing Neely Manufacturing has more than 65,000 sq. ft. of plant space and is one of the largest producers

After seeing some news from Neely Manufacturing, I was wondering if a larger trend was going to start to emerge. Neely announced sales have tripled (see below) since making the switch to all domestic-made products. With gas and transportation prices skyrocketing, will it become more affordable to make products locally—which would cut shipping costs, development costs (and probably a hundred different costs that I don’t even know exist), while supporting local economies that in and of themselves are being weakened by the same high energy costs? I guess what I’m wondering is if it’s time to start thinking about becoming a homegrown society (again),

Neely Manufacturing, of Croydon Iowa, made the decision this year to return their domestic manufacturing capabilities back into full swing. Until 10 years ago, Neely’s products had been primarily made in the U.S. for decades, before the company entered into relationships with overseas partners. But, even with the new partnerships, the company continued domestic sewing and even began taking over the domestic sewing for other suppliers who were getting out of manufacturing in their own facilities. Recently, though, due to customer concerns for the problems with product quality from Chinese-manufactured products and the presence of chemicals and lead in products, Neely recognized they