Macks Belts: The D-Ring Dilemma • Made in America
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It baffled me that something as SIMPLE as a D-ring had been off-shored… and I had a tough decision to make:
1. Should I buy the machines required to build my own? Then buy all the raw materials. Then, pay someone to run that machine. Then, pay for annual maintenance. Then, have the added risk of an employee hurting themselves on that machine.
Or…
2. Do I buy 10,000 D-rings that were probably Made in China and sold by some “American-based” distributor for a fraction of the cost?
From a risk and affordability standpoint, Option 2 was the only way to go!
There would be no machine maintenance. No pinched fingers. No steel deliveries. No insurance.
Just one and done! I could easily purchase a large quantity of D rings that would last me a long time with a single phone call. But they probably would not be AMERICAN MADE…
Hey… Nobody would know, right? Would it even matter?
I remember sitting at my desk trying to figure out my D-ring dilemma, and as weird as it sounds for me it was a business ethics decision…
I could do what made me more money and pass off one more production headache to someone else…or commit to the long game and put my country FIRST!
What do you think I did?
Well I made a few phone calls… and DAMN…
I learned real quick that I could not afford the machines I really needed… So I had to think outside the box…
After a little internet research, I wasn't 100% sure, but I figured a rebar bender could perform the function I needed… Plus, it was a fraction of the cost of a CNC wire bender.
I found a small family-owned business in Sauk City, Wisconsin, proudly building rebar bending machines in the U.S.A.
I gave them a ring and made the purchase!
The next phone call was to a steel supplier for a flatbed truck full of American Stainless!
YEP!
I chose the most expensive option with the most upfront cost, the most headache, and the most risk… Makes sense, right?
But for me… The only math I REALLY cared about was doing it in AMERICA and being the change I wanted to see in a generation forgetting how things are made
A week or so later, the delivery truck pulled up, we broke down the pallet, and plugged in our new American-made hydraulic bender! A little training and alterations and we were bending away!
Then something happened that I wasn't expecting…One of the guys ran into the front office!
With a huge smile on his face he said, “Look, Mack, it’s perfect!” He was proud of his work!
I analyzed it, looking to critique it in some way! But he was right! A perfect D-ring made 100% in the U.S.A. with American Steel from our machine and hands!
Then I looked at him and said, “Okay, bud, I need 10,000 of those!”
There are just some things that don't reflect on your quarterly profit and loss statement:
• Smiles from your team
• Added Shop Capabilities
• Supporting other small businesses
• Not being dependent on another country to produce vital components for your company!
And all the above is PRICELESS!
Watch that machine in action below
Put that machine to work by buckling up with one of the toughest on Earth