This is a pipe dream.
Good luck.
I got my engineering start interning at the fastener capitol of the nation, Rockford, IL. Since the turn of the century, it has all collapsed.
All those cold headers and fastener rolling firms are closed. It’s all overseas.
The ONLY stuff that’s here are complex fasteners and automotive suspension components.
Maytag, Whirlpool, and GE ALL used to buy their hardware from my intern employer. That folded up before I got there. Maytag was the last holdout, and ended their IL sourcing right when I started there.
Here are just a few reasons this work won’t be coming back, no matter how much the orange wattle claims.
- Most if not all simple fastener companies in IL, and the nation have closed down.
- The skilled and not so skilled workers that made fasteners have retired, or died, and their skills have not been passed on to a new generation of workers.
- Cold heading, and thread rolling machines from closed down factories have all been purchased overseas, or decommissioned, recycled.
- US based companies that MAKE massive cold heading and thread rolling machines, no longer exist.
- The skilled trade of making cold heading machines and tools, no longer exists here.
- Since there are no longer jobs in these fields, there are no training programs or schools that hone skilled tradesmen to make heading and rolling machines, tools etc.
- This will require a log term 20+yr massive government effort to school, train up, build infrastructure and factories, machines, etc, to get this business back up. All things that our government will not do, or will the titans of industry buy these fasteners, when all the supply chain and know-how has been established overseas. You’re talking about a massive effort that thwarts the free, or semi-free market. The tiniest shred of success with this, will require these fasteners to be of equal price and quality than Chinese fasteners now. And companies need to be willing to buy them. Good luck with that.
Well, your extensive list of negatives there certainly isn't comforting to hear, and certainly not for consumers to have to deal with, because of faulty sub-standard construction of products.
This trend of weakly or improperly processed materials has been going on for quite a while, indeed.
I've seen it years ago at my shop, the downgraded construction, the corner-cutting of assemblies.
Some people may remember that outsourced and inferior drywall was used in home building and consumer home supplies stores.
This drywall became dangerous, mold-prone, and making people sick.
So it's not just hardware/fasteners, plain and simple it's widespread throughout products from offshore sources.
I blame the companies and their officials who are involved with the purchasing, design, and vendor choices.
And that, in order to rectify the current situation has to be done by government through the proper implimentation, legislation, and mandates, so that American can get back on track with quality products, even if it has to bring about additional cost, sad to say.
because it's how government, greed, and allowing corporations to slide down the buy-it-cheap, sell-it-high attitude they've grown into.
......At we, the consumer's expense.
Oh, and by the way sir, there's no need to use condecending terms referring to and certainly offending others of our political officials.
