After I gave a little talk about the company at a business club meeting in Fort Collins several months ago, a college aged man came up to me and asked the question, “How long before your manufacturing is moved to China?” It wasn’t even an “if ” question but the foregone conclusion that all manufacturing is leaving America. That’s the popular thinking today; in a few years all American product manufacturing will be done elsewhere. My reply to the young man: “If we have to go to China to compete, we just won’t continue in this business”.
It is not that we are against the Chinese or other countries in the world having an opportunity in manufacturing. Our view of the people of the world is not colonialism but people finding their best opportunities worldwide. In fact, Walker Manufacturing has benefited from 20-25% of all our products being marketed outside the USA. It would not be fair thinking on our part for the trade to move only in directions that favor us.
So why is “made in America” so important to Walker Manufacturing? At our heart and soul, we are a family-owned and operated business and we just happen to be an American family. A strong part of our family heritage is being independent. We simply don’t want other people doing our manufacturing work for us (as much as possible) and then putting our name on the product. In short, that is why we won’t be asking another company to manufacture our mowers for us, either in the USA or outside. Note of clarification: While we manufacture as much of the product as possible at our factory in Fort Collins, we do not manufacture every part; component parts like engines, transmissions, gearboxes, and some of the attachments for the Walker Mower are produced for us by other manufacturing companies.
It is our goal and dream to continue being a family-owned and operated company. While no opportunity can be certain or stable for years in the future (especially in these fast-paced times), we have a vision of going as far as we can with the opportunity we have today and keep our eyes open for new opportunities. I hope some years in the future to look the doomsdayers of American manufacturing in the eye and say, “We are still here”. We are still an American family in the manufacturing business.
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