Staying Competitive
Ellis is one of U.S. manufacturing's staunchest supporters and practitioners, but he recognizes the challenges of going head-to-head with overseas production on price. He suggested staying away from product areas with high manufacturing labor and automating where possible.
"At HumphreyLine, we use automated filling equipment, so our labor costs are minimal. Not only do we not use much labor in these processes, but we also avoid the cost of shipping goods across the Pacific, and we can hold our investment in inventory to a fraction of what an importer has to carry," he stated. "We're careful to restrict our product line to include only those items that can be manufactured using automated equipment; otherwise, we'll find ourselves up against cost competition from overseas."