The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
White House using local flatware
Liberty Tabletop owners visit White House, push for legislation
WASHINGTON, D.C. »
Sherrill Manufacturing owners Greg Owens and Matt Roberts enjoyed a visit with the POTUS himself during this past Made in America week.
They were able to make their case to President Donald Trump, appearing before him on Wednesday to briefly share their story.
The Silver City manufacturer also comes away with a new boast: Liberty Tabletop flatware on White House tables.
“Our flatware is officially now in the White House along with four Sherrill Silversmith baseball hats,” Owens said.
And while it’s another lau- rel Sherrill Manufacturing can claim, one of the major purposes behind the White House visit was to acquaint Trump with the 100 percent Made in America flatware and introduce a new piece of legislation that would have the federal government use Sherrill Manufacturing as a major flatware source for the military - so long as the pricing is competitive.
“Our hope was to have an opportunity to introduce our brand and our company to the president and members of his Cabinet. We certainly accomplished that goal,” Owens said. “We also were able to introduce Rep. Claudia Tenney’s legislation on the “SPOONSS” act and are hoping for full White House support of that effort, the result
of which could be more jobs for our community in the very near future.”
“Brand awareness is our number 1 challenge,” Roberts said. “If you search for Made in America flatware, you will find us, but it is an infrequent purchase, so if we can get our name out to a wider audience, then prospective customers will know to look for us when they purchase. Since we are not in retail, brand awareness is tougher for us. Our main goal is to get the SPOONSS (Support Production Of Our Nation’s Stainless Steel) Act passed. This act basically puts flatware back into the Berry Amendment, where it was for Oneida Ltd., so the government business can grow for us. Without getting into too much detail, it will greatly increase our production. So the two main hopes are for more brand awareness and the SPOONSS Act.”
In addition to being honored as one of the handful of companies invited to the White House Wednesday, the Sherrill Manufacturing owners also felt grateful for the support received from elected officials, particularly Tenney, R-22.
“It is very reassuring to see that our elected officials are laser focused on addressing issues relating to ‘leveling the playing field’ for American manufacturing, and that the effort goes far beyond political rhetoric and grandstanding,” Owens said.
“Being one of 10 companies invited to the Wednes- day session, which was a more intimate setting, was unbelievable,” Roberts said. “I think our company is the ‘poster child’ for the struggles facing American manufacturers in 2017. Pushing for a 100 percent globalist agenda has hurt tens of millions of Americans’ pocket books. I saw this as an opportunity to give our administration feedback on what has happened to us an many other factories in the USA.”
Should Tenney’s latest proposal pass, it would be a boon to the flatware maker.
“If the bill passes, and we are confident that it eventually will, Sherrill Manufacturing will likely see a 2-3 times increase in orders from GSA over what we have seen in recent years. This means that we would have to double our workforce or more, adding jobs to our community. This would also improve our productivity, lower costs and allow us to expand our Liberty Tabletop brand even faster, adding more momentum to our company. This was a big day for the American flatware industry and a huge day for all of the employees at Sherrill Manufacturing,” Owens and Roberts said.
Tenney joined Congressman Daniel Lipinski, IL3, in introducing the Support Procurement of our Nation’s Stainless Steel (SPOONSS) Act of 2017. This bipartisan bill would restore the Berry Amendment’s longstanding domestic sourcing requirement for stainless steel flatware.
The Berry Amendment restricts the Department of Defense from buying cer- tain goods produced outside of the United States. Berry ensures the U. S. maintains an industrial base capable of supporting the DoD’s logistics needs, particularly when doing so is not cost-prohibitive.
From 1976-2006, the Berry Amendment included a domestic sourcing requirement for stainless steel flatware. During this time, Oneida Ltd. was the primary domestic supplier for all of DoD. However, when Oneida Ltd. shifted its flatware manufacturing overseas in 2007, this provision was eliminated in the absence of a domestic flatware producer. As a result, DoD determined that stainless steel flatware was “a commercial commodity little produced in the U.S. after Oneida Ltd. ceased its domestic manufacturing operations.”