Fifteen years ago today, AEM launched the I Make America campaign with one simple goal: to give the 2.3 million men and women of the industry a powerful, united voice for pro-manufacturing policies. Since then, the campaign has grown into a nationwide grassroots effort with tens of thousands of supporters urging policymakers to help equipment manufacturers do what they do best: invest in their communities, grow their businesses, and create more family-sustaining jobs in America.
Launched on a Sept. 29, 2010, in Washington, D.C. with support from television host and manufacturing advocate Mike Rowe, the I Make America campaign began as a rallying cry for the policies needed to fuel the industry and support the 2.3 million men and women who make the equipment that builds, powers, and feeds our world. Within just a few years, the I Make America campaign had grown to a community of 30,000 supporters who rallied behind the idea that when the equipment manufacturing industry is strong, America is also strong.
By 2014, the I Make America campaign was in full swing and headed to Las Vegas, Nevada for CONEXPO-CON/AGG. AEM staff along with member company volunteers manned the I Make America booth and fanned out across the trade show to engage, educate, and energize new supporters…and give away a custom-painted 2014 Harley-Davidson Road King to one lucky winner.
Two years later the campaign hit the road with the I Make America Game, an interactive experience designed to educate voters about the manufacturing issues at stake during the presidential election in a fun and engaging way. In what was to become the inspiration for a much larger initiative, the campaign traveled across the Midwest with a custom-built I Make America trailer where participants would compete in several construction- and agriculture-themed challenges to gauge their knowledge about the industry.
In 2019 the campaign’s increasing focus on telling the stories of the men and women who make America got a boost with the launch of the Through the Lens photo series and the Behind Every Product documentary series, which features equipment manufacturing workers across America. These two award-winning initiatives have been deployed ever since to tell the amazing stories of the men and women who make America and the small town and communities that they call home. Both initiatives continue to this day, with the latest installment of Through the Lens recently featured in Washington, D.C.’s iconic Union Station.
The campaign’s most ambitious initiative came in 2024 with the launch of the AEM Manufacturing Express: a nationwide, 80-stop bus tour that brought I Make America to communities across the country. Featuring interactive exhibits, policy discussion, lawmaker engagement, and the Manufacturing Challenge, the tour added thousands of new supporters during its first year. In 2025, the bus tour rolled on – highlighting the industry’s innovation, workforce, and economic impact at the Celebration of Construction on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. and continuing to Texas for another 22 stops at equipment manufacturers.
“During the past 15 years the I Make America campaign has made a long-lasting impact on everyone who cares about the future of equipment manufacturing in America,” said Kip Eideberg, AEM senior vice president of government and industry relations. “Together with our supporters, we have engaged and educated hundreds of thousands of Americans who will help us change hearts and minds about importance of manufacturing; and we have told the stories of the 2.3 million men and women who make our industry strong and America exceptional. As we look ahead to the next 15 years, the campaign has never been more important to the future of our industry and our country.”
Looking ahead, I Make America is showing no signs of slowing down. The AEM Manufacturing Express will be heading to Louisville next month for The Utility Expo and will spend the rest of the fall continuing to tell the stories of the people that make America ahead of next year’s elections. But with every anniversary that passes, the goal of the campaign remains the same: to give the 2.3 million men and women of the industry a powerful, united voice for pro-manufacturing policies.
