The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
BILL A LOCAL BOON
National Defense Authorization Act amendment would bring big business to flatware manufacturer
SHERRILL, N.Y. » Flatware made in the Silver City may soon make its way to United States military mess halls across the country.
Congresswoman Claudia Tenney, R-22, introduced an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would require the Department of Defense to source flatware from within United States borders. Sherrill Manufacturing is the only producer of 100 percent Made-in-America flatware.
“Many thanks to Claudia Tenney and her staff for the hard work they have done to bring about this proposed amendment,” said Greg Owens, CEO of Sherrill Manufacturing. “The winners will be the hard working employees of Sherrill Manufacturing as well as thou-
sands of brave servicemen and women who will once again be eating off of quality flatware that is 100 percent made in the USA.”
Part of a larger Berry Amendment, Tenney’s proposal would reinstitute a federal government practice abandoned in 2007 when the former Oneida Ltd. shifted production to Mexico.
Since 2007, Owens and Sherrill Manufacturing President and CEO Matt Roberts have transitioned back to a local manufacturing plant in Sherrill while also making a commitment to creating a flatware brand that can boast being 100 percent made in America.
“With regards to competitiveness, the larger a manufacturing company like Sherrill Manufacturing gets, the lower our production cost per unit,” Owens said. “This would be a big boost for our company and in the long run will help to stabilize costs or even lower them for the U.S. government. With a lower overall production cost, due to increased volume with the government, our cost in the consumer production will also go down, making us more competitive and increasing growth of the Liberty Tabletop brand as well.”
Tenney, who toured Sherrill Manufacturing while campaigning for the 22nd District in 2016, made rebuilding New York’s manufacturing economy one of her main goals.
“Reinstating the Berry Amendment’s three- decades old domestic sourcing provision for stainless steel flatware will provide our service members with high-quality domestic flatware while allowing local manufacturers and small businesses across the U.S. to thrive. As the only flatware manufacturer made 100 percent in America, Sherrill Manufacturing has proven their commit- ment to our nation and our community time and again,” Tenney said. “American taxpayers overwhelmingly support having their hard-earned tax dollars go to American companies, so long as doing so does not raise the costs of business or unnecessarily burden government operations.”
Owens says should the amendment pass, it could mean “several million dollars worth of business.” As a result of the increased business and production expectations, Sherrill Manufacturing would likely hire at least a dozen people.
Currently, the flatware manufacturer averages about $800,000 in sales per year in regards to government contracts, but Owens says businesswith the General Services Administration following passage of the amendment could be four to five times greater than what it is today.
Since 2008, Sherrill Manufacturing has sold more than $6.8 million in flatware to the federal government, including to the Department of Defense, through GSA Multiple Award Schedules contracts as well as GSA Advantage. This has demonstrated their reliability as a stable domestic supplier of flatware at prices that GSA has repeatedly determined are “fair and reasonable,” Owens says.
The Berry Amendment restricts the Department of Defense from buying certain goods produced outside of the United States. From1976-2006, the Berry Amendment included a domestic sourcing requirement for stainless steel flatware. However, when Oneida Ltd., the primary domestic supplier, shifted its flatware manufacturing overseas in 2007, this provision was eliminated. As a result, the DOD determined that stainless steel flatware was “a commercial commodity little produced in the U.S. after Oneida Ltd. ceased its domestic manufacturing operations.”
Sherrill Manufacturing acquired Oneida Ltd.’s facilities and assets in 2005. Since then, domestic flatware production has rebounded, with Sherrill Manufacturing posting remarkable growth and relying on a domestic supply chain of more than 100 companies.