Michael Araten knows a thing or two about bringing manufacturing back to the United States. Araten and his company, the Rodon Group, got many accolades and a visit from President Barack Obama a few years ago after shifting assembly of its K’nex brand of plastic construction toys from China to Rodon’s plant in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.
As global supply chains melted down recently in the pandemic, Araten ratcheted up his evangelism for repatriating production to America, a process known as reshoring. He and Rodon are encouraging other U.S. manufacturers to evaluate the true costs for producing overseas — including soaring costs and shipping delays — and to bring back some manufacturing to American companies like Rodon, which employs 128 people who make precision plastic parts.
“All of a sudden, the stuff you thought you were saving on overseas, you’re not saving,” said Araten, who is chief executive of Sterling Drive Ventures, the family firm that owns Rodon Group. “I saw this happen in the Great Recession: There’s a shock to the economic system that causes people to really look at their total cost of ownership.”
