Walmart unveils U.S. manufacturing projects
Walmart U.S. president and CEO Bill Simon and Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker announced at the SelectUSA 2013 Investment Summit that three suppliers have made new domestic manufacturing commitments that will create 385 jobs.
The move is part of the retailer’s previously announced pledge to buy an additional $50 billion in U.S.-made products over the next decade.
Walmart said that Elan-Polo, Louis Hornick & Company and EveryWare Global will produce footwear, curtains and glassware, respectively.
“Today’s announcement is a great example of the progress that’s being made, and it highlights opportunities that exist for manufacturers to invest in the USA by re-shoring or expanding their manufacturing in America,” said Simon. “Companies, government officials and industry leaders are working together to increase manufacturing, and these efforts are helping more Americans get into good-paying jobs and more businesses reinvest in the U.S. economy.”
"For retailers like Walmart, who they choose to buy from makes a difference,” said Pritzker. “Since Walmart announced its commitment earlier this year to buy an additional $50 billion in U.S.-made products over the next 10 years, manufacturers have committed to investments in the U.S. that will create more than 1,600 jobs.”
Elan-Polo, a global footwear and 35-year Walmart supplier, will start production of injection-molded footwear in March 2014 at a factory in Hazelhurst, Ga., as part of a joint venture with McPherson Manufacturing. Once at full capacity, this new facility will create 250 jobs and produce 20,000 pairs of shoes per day. Previously, the company manufactured the shoes overseas.
EveryWare Global, which manufactures bakeware, beverageware, tabletop and household glassware, will produce Mainstays Canning Jars for Walmart in the supplier’s Monaca, Pa., facility. The company is investing $1.8 million to expand factory capacity and establish a new product line made in the U.S. Founded in 1905, Anchor Hocking, an EveryWare Global brand, has been supplying products to Walmart for over 25 years and has 1,811 employees in the United States.
Louis Hornick & Company, a leading manufacturer and importer of window coverings and home textiles, will invest $2.5 million to establish a new manufacturing facility in Allendale County, S.C. The investment is expected to create 125 new jobs over the next three years. The company has been supplying Walmart for 40 years.