Amprod keeping close eye on tariffs, CEO says at SBJ event

Strafford-based manufacturing company Amprod LLC is keeping a close eye on the Trump administration's tariff talks, with policies in place to implement should those go through as planned.

Tiffani Claussen, the CEO of Amprod that comprises American Products, DustShield, EnSight Solutions and Watson Metal Masters, discussed how tariffs may impact the company in an interview yesterday with Springfield Business Journal Executive Editor Christine Temple. The live interview was held for SBJ's 12 People You Need to Know series at The Backlot, Alamo Drafthouse Springfield's restaurant and bar.

Claussen said even a company like Amprod, which uses mostly American-made components, would see pricing impacts should sweeping tariffs be enacted.

"Even if we're not buying from outside the country, it impacts our pricing. We have to be communicating with our customers and our vendors on a very regular basis about the pricing," she said. "It would be very hard for even an American manufacturer just to hold their pricing if the rest of the market is escalating prices. It's a really challenging environment, but we have to keep our eye on it every day."

Advanced purchases and buying in bulk are some of the strategies that Amprod has used to date, Claussen said.

"We have verbiage in place in our quotes and then in our orders regarding pricing," she said. "We try to lock in enough materials to fulfill the orders that we have on hand, so that it's really just the incoming orders that we've quoted that we have to make adjustments on."

Claussen projected a revenue increase for Amprod this year that would be higher than the expected industry average of 2%-4% growth.

She acknowledged it's helpful that Amprod has no debt and that its owner, Evansville, Indiana-based Koch Enterprises Inc., has "capital they want to invest in us."

"For me, waiting will just put me behind," Claussen said in response to a question from a member of the audience about a wait-and-see approach in the manufacturing industry. "We can weather this storm. We just need to keep doing the right things so that when the market comes back that we're ready to service our customers."

The Trump administration is currently planning to put tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico into effect on March 4, according to reporting by The New York Times.

At the end of the event yesterday, SBJ announced Drury University President Jeff Frederick would be the March 18 featured guest for the 12 People You Need to Know series.