We’re fanatical about US manufacturing and innovation here at Clear-Coat. There’s the obvious and tangible reasons: supporting local economies, revitalizing US manufacturing, offsetting our country’s trade deficit, and adding jobs to the US market. But there’s something else – US-made and US-designed goods have a certain je ne sais quoi about them – they have a great tactile experience, they’re robust, and well thought out. The same could be said for many great engineering, design, and manufacturing countries (Germany, Switzerland, and Israel, just to name a few…but the list goes on) – but for this post, we want to focus on our favorite US products!
The Rock ‘N Bowl, by PAW5
PAW5 is setting out to make waves in the pet industry, and business in general, with their new puzzle feeder for dogs. The company wants to change the way dog owners (and there’s a lot of dog owners here at Clear-Coat) think about mealtime for their pup, and bring environmental enrichment into their pets’ daily lives. PAW5 products are not only made in the USA, but also utilize a zero-waste manufacturing process. And, the company has committed themselves to a set of core values focused on social, environmental, and economic sustainability, called Four From Five.
YETI Coolers
If you’ve never seen or used a YETI cooler – go check them out in person! They’re built like a tank, and many of the products carry insane guarantees – things like “bear proof”. If you’ve ever had the handle of a cooler snap, or the lid cave in, or it simply leak all over the back of your car (I’ve had at least 2 of the 3 of these things happen), then it’s time to check out YETI’s products.
Aerobie
Simply put, Aerobie is just one of the coolest companies out there – for being relatively small, their products are probably in nearly every home in the USA. Both their Flying Disc and AeroPress are made in the USA, and were disruptive products in both their categories. Nothing flies quite like an Aerobie Flying Disc – it’s the staple of so many people’s summer picnics and trips to the beach. The AeroPress took the coffee world by storm several years ago – it was a great value, and made fantastic espresso…and had the head-scratching effect of everyone saying “wait, this is made by the frisbee company??”
Post-It Notes
We want to wrap up this post with Post-Its. This product is American through-and-through….from the story of a 3M engineer stumbling upon the idea, to it turning into an international phenomenon. And while many have tried to duplicate the product, as mentioned in the opening paragraph, Post-Its have a certain look and feel to them – the paper is just right, the size is perfect, the adhesive is just sticky enough (but not too sticky!) – why would you ever use an imitator? 3M still manufactures the Post-It note pad in the USA today.
Have a favorite US-made product you’d like to share? We’d love to hear about it in the comments!
