Bill Hoffman takes great pride in the product he manufactures. As plant manager of Tyler Pipe Co. in Marshfield, Hoffman’s crew of 90 make couplings and gaskets for cast iron pipe produced at the company’s headquarters in Tyler, Texas.
It’s a product entirely made in America, but more important to Hoffman and team, it’s a product made in Missouri.
“To be able to make a product here that is in direct competition with other national and international producers is special to us,” he said.
When the Missouri Association of Manufacturers debuted a new way for Tyler Pipe to display that Show-Me State pride, Hoffman jumped at the chance.
Part of the statewide organization’s National Manufacturing Day event Oct. 3, MAM took its first step toward brand synergy unveiling its new Made in Missouri logo.
Available through MAM’s website for download by any Missouri manufacturer, not just MAM members, a template can then be fitted with the company specific logo and used on any product made in the Show-Me State.
That’s just what Hoffman intends to do. He’s already produced a foot-long plaque placed on the company’s in-house equipment and preliminary stickers.
“So far, the guys have used them on their hard hats. They just think it’s the bomb and a really cool thing,” he said. “I’ve discussed the logo further with our marketing people and they’re really impressed with it.
“I’d like to place stickers on pallets of product before we ship. We do a lot of jobs, such as high rises and schools, where pallets sit on the job site. It would be great if they could display the pride we feel.”
Displaying Missouri craftsmanship and building a brand are exactly what MAM CEO Kim Inman is striving toward.
“It’s about developing a subconscious brand awareness,” she said. “We want to build an awareness of Missouri products associated with high quality. You buy name-brand goods because you recognize the brand and know they are superior.
“Say a buyer overseas sees the Made in Missouri logo and recognizes it as a quality product. That person is going to seek out more from that brand, meaning we grow manufacturing jobs here at home.”
Allen Filters Inc. CEO Katherine Allen sees the logo as an international quality statement.
“Look at companies like La-Z-Boy, SRC and even Allen [Filters]. There are such a wide variety of companies in MAM, we need to start thinking with a unified voice,” said Allen, also a managing member of Allen Global LLC.
“Made in the USA is recognized internationally, and I hope soon, Made is Missouri is held in that same high regard as a symbol of quality.”
Signing on in September as a manufacturing advocate for MAM, Allen said to her knowledge New Jersey is the only other state with a similar effort. But the system only consists of a database of companies and products made in the Garden State, and there is no accompanying logo.
Inman plans to take the database idea one step further.
“We are redeveloping the MAM website into an interactive zone for members,” Inman said. “If Red Monkey Foods needs a new label for a spice, they should be able to interact with Missouri-based label-makers through the site and connect with someone who is an hour away instead of across the country.
“My end goal is to have our larger manufacturers working with and really mentoring some of the smaller manufacturers and really creating a synergy across the state.”
Nearly a year into her role as CEO, the logo is the first step in Inman’s overhaul to MAM’s look, feel and message.
“The Manufacturer’s Day launch was really just the kickoff to a year-long rollout to build this brand,” Inman said, adding the decision to make the logo available to all Missouri manufacturers, not just members, is key in building that audience. “MAM is based on southwest Missouri, but we are a statewide organization. The logo is the first step to brining unity.”
As she works to develop the new face of MAM, Inman plans to roll out other initiatives during the 2015 campaign, including a membership drive, but declined to discuss specifics until more pieces of the puzzle are in place. Inman said a change of mindset would be in order, quoting her often-used phrase, “This isn’t your parents factory anymore.”
Area legislators already are on board with the effort, she said, noting association continues to work with legislators to strengthen manufacturing statewide.
“The future of Missouri manufacturing is bright as costs increase overseas,” said Sen. Bob Dixon, R-Springfield, at the launch event. “Fifty percent of manufacturers nationwide report they plan to increase U.S. production in the next five years and 75 percent report an employment shortage.
“When I look at this logo, it looks like a crosscut of a wire. Each manufacturer in the state is a wire and a wire can’t hold much, but together a cable can suspend a whole bridge. Together we can do great things, but it takes all of us.”
Recently re-elected U.S. Rep. Billy Long, R-Mo., has been instrumental in the growth process.
Allen said Long’s effort to bring foreign ambassadors on a manufacturing tour of the state already is paying dividends.
“An ambassador from Kazakhstan visited this fall and was quite impressed with the quality and breadth of our offerings,” she said. “Our company made a trip to the country and is working on business there as a direct result of that interaction and awareness created by a political influencer like Long.
“Most ambassadors end up having dinner with the representative at their home in Washington, but Billy said, ‘This is the Show-Me State, let me show you want we can do.’”
Inman said a change in mindset isn’t going to happen overnight, noting she has a lot of road time in her future as she crisscrosses the state to sit down with company owners to discuss the future of made in Missouri products.
Founded in southwest Missouri in 1993, MAM has roughly 180 members, and Inman said she’s working to grow that membership statewide.
“As knowledge of this logo spreads statewide and gains awareness nationally and internationally, it can only help Missouri grow,” she said.
“As other manufacturers look to relocate or expand, they could be drawn to our state’s reputation of quality.”
For Hoffman, it’s business as usual at the 45-year-old Marshfield plant.
“This logo shows the world who we are and what we do,” he said.
“All the guys on my crew can give that a big thumbs up.”
This installment of Springfield Business Journal’s Architects & Engineers Project Report showcases 26 endeavors by area design and engineering professionals.
