Sharpie Found a Way to Make Pens More Cheaply—By Manufacturing Them in the U.S.

[1srelluc]

MSN

MARYVILLE, Tenn.—Tucked in the foothills of Tennessee’s Smoky Mountains is a factory that has figured out a way to manufacture in America that’s cheaper, quicker and better.

It’s the home of a famous American writing implement: the Sharpie marker.Pen barrels whirl along automated assembly lines that rapidly fill them with ink. At least half a billion Sharpie markers are churned out here every year, each one made of six parts. Only the felt tip is imported, from Japan.

It didn’t used to be this way. Back in 2018, many Sharpies were made abroad. That’s when Chris Peterson, who was the CFO of Sharpie maker Newell Brands, challenged his team to answer a question: How could they keep Newell from becoming obsolete compared with factories in Asia?

“I felt like we had an opportunity to dramatically improve our U.S. manufacturing,” he said.Peterson is now the CEO. And these days, most Sharpies—in all 93 colors—are made at this 37-year-old factory. Newell did it without reducing the employee count, and without raising prices. But to get to this place took close to $2 billion in investments across the company, thousands of hours of training and a total overhaul of the production process.

The result is a playbook for making low-cost, high-volume products domestically, albeit one that requires long-term planning and a lot of investment.

One of the main problems with manufacturing in America is the something-for-nothing attitude and arrogance of ownership.

Typically trying to squeeze value out on a quarterly to annual basis rather than long term investment and completely ignoring principles of manufacturing that have been understood in the US for 40 years and in Japan for 70.

We have an expensive labor force. The only way to leverage it effectively is to get very high productivity out of it...which requires high amounts of skill/ training and the ability and desire to retain people.

Not to say there aren't problems with American workers, but they generally work to the level they are compensated/ treated.

When I started at DuPont we had scads of middle management (six per shift-4 shifts), when I retired we had just one shift supervisor per shift....The employees ran plant day to day.....It took about six years for it to happen and we were the most productive plant in the company by far. No union and we were paid very well.

 

[Moonglow]

Did they finally hire someone who could do math?

 

[my2¢]

It's great to read about a company winning competition and not being reliant on protectionism.

 

[1srelluc]

It's great to read about a company winning competition and not being reliant on protectionism.

It this case they had a huge parent company backing them, much like DuPont did when they took the time, money, effort to do it at our Automotive Finishes plant.

 

[odanny]

Free market economy = manufacturing in foreign sweatshops / China.

It means that the means of production does not benefit American workers, and neither are the sweatshop employees fairly compensated. I've heard this outcome promoted for decades, often from some of the poorest, most conservative voices.

Government intervention in "promoting' or "facilitating" the means of production in these United States has always been met with howls of indignation. It's "socialism" they say. We can't have that, that's for sure.

 

[odanny]

If you know someone considering a career path who seeks future job security, a degree in logistics and supply chain management is one that will have you in high demand over your entire career. It's not sexy and it does not make one "follow their dreams" with a Liberals Arts and Science degree (Laugh And Sing) but it promises to bring you a career where your skills will always been needed and your education will always be ongoing while employed. And you can make really good money.

I'm impressed by this story about Newell and how they brought manufacturing back.

 

[Dante]

MSN

MARYVILLE, Tenn.—Tucked in the foothills of Tennessee’s Smoky Mountains is a factory that has figured out a way to manufacture in America that’s cheaper, quicker and better.

It’s the home of a famous American writing implement: the Sharpie marker.Pen barrels whirl along automated assembly lines that rapidly fill them with ink. At least half a billion Sharpie markers are churned out here every year, each one made of six parts. Only the felt tip is imported, from Japan.

It didn’t used to be this way. Back in 2018, many Sharpies were made abroad. That’s when Chris Peterson, who was the CFO of Sharpie maker Newell Brands, challenged his team to answer a question: How could they keep Newell from becoming obsolete compared with factories in Asia?

“I felt like we had an opportunity to dramatically improve our U.S. manufacturing,” he said.Peterson is now the CEO. And these days, most Sharpies—in all 93 colors—are made at this 37-year-old factory. Newell did it without reducing the employee count, and without raising prices. But to get to this place took close to $2 billion in investments across the company, thousands of hours of training and a total overhaul of the production process.

The result is a playbook for making low-cost, high-volume products domestically, albeit one that requires long-term planning and a lot of investment.

One of the main problems with manufacturing in America is the something-for-nothing attitude and arrogance of ownership.

Typically trying to squeeze value out on a quarterly to annual basis rather than long term investment and completely ignoring principles of manufacturing that have been understood in the US for 40 years and in Japan for 70.

We have an expensive labor force. The only way to leverage it effectively is to get very high productivity out of it...which requires high amounts of skill/ training and the ability and desire to retain people.

Not to say there aren't problems with American workers, but they generally work to the level they are compensated/ treated.

When I started at DuPont we had scads of middle management (six per shift-4 shifts), when I retired we had just one shift supervisor per shift....The employees ran plant day to day.....It took about six years for it to happen and we were the most productive plant in the company by far. No union and we were paid very well.

Did they finally hire someone who could do math?

Was Trump buying foreign made Sharpies?

 

[Moonglow]

Was Trump buying foreign made Sharpies?

Probably, who knows, it turned out they don't have the innate power to move a hurricane.

 

[The Sage of Main Street]

If you know someone considering a career path who seeks future job security, a degree in logistics and supply chain management is one that will have you in high demand over your entire career. It's not sexy and it does not make one "follow their dreams" with a Liberals Arts and Science degree (Laugh And Sing) but it promises to bring you a career where your skills will always been needed and your education will always be ongoing while employed. And you can make really good money.

I'm impressed by this story about Newell and how they brought manufacturing back.

Eweniversity "Education" Must Be Replaced with Highly Paid Professional Training

Only Bright Makes Might will get the most talented and get them to develop their superior natural abilities. The present birthclass-biased indentured servitude is generic and insulting. It appeals only to no-talent wannabes (the Language Lords won't let us invent the term "shouldn'tabeen").

As a substitute for corporate taxes, businesses will recruit and give a signing bonus to the smartest high-school graduates. If a corporation did that now, it would be equivalent to an NFL team getting the whole first round of draft picks.

 

[progressive hunter]