Gradall Industries, a company of the Alamo Group, and the AEM hosted United States Representative Bill Johnson (OH-06) for an I Make America event at Gradall's facility in New Philadelphia, Ohio. I Make America, AEM’s national grassroots campaign, is the voice of the 2.8 million men and women of the equipment manufacturing industry who make the equipment that build, power, and feed the world. Each year AEM and its member companies hosts dozens of lawmakers at equipment manufacturing facilities to highlight the policies needed to strengthen U.S. manufacturing and move the industry forward.
“In Ohio, the equipment manufacturing industry supports 164,000 jobs and contributes $16 billion annually to our state’s economy. Currently, the manufacturing industry is facing steep challenges – including supply chain issues, chip shortages, and inflation. Elected officials must continue to support legislation that bolsters America’s manufacturing industry. That’s why I voted in support of the CHIPS Plus Act that would build, expand, and modernize semiconductor chip manufacturing here in Ohio and help alleviate the strain chip shortages are putting on manufacturers that require micro chips for their end products,” said Rep. Johnson. “Thank you to Gradall Industries and the Association of Equipment Manufacturers for hosting me and providing insight on how Congress can better support the manufacturing industry.”
Representative Johnson toured Gradall's New Philadelphia headquarters, where he saw their manufacturing operations firsthand. During the visit, Representative Johnson met with employees and touched on the importance of American manufacturing and discussed the policies he has championed in Congress, including the CHIPS and Science Act, the Ocean Shipping Reform Act, and the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).
“On behalf of all the team members at Gradall, I would like to express my thanks to Congressman Johnson for visiting our New Philadelphia facility. It allowed us the opportunity to emphasize to the Congressman how important workplace development is for the future growth of U.S. manufacturing. Additionally, we were able to discuss the importance of low cost and available energy in order for U.S. manufacturing to remain competitive in an ever-developing worldwide market," said Mike Haberman, Executive Vice President, Industrial Equipment Division of the Alamo Group, parent company of Gradall Industries.
"AEM is grateful to Congressman Johnson for his leadership and strong support for the equipment manufacturing industry and the policies that safeguard the family-sustaining jobs our industry supports in Ohio," said Kip Eideberg, AEM’s senior vice president of government and industry relations. "Now more than ever we need our elected officials to work in a bipartisan fashion to tackle our nation’s biggest challenges and advance pro-manufacturing policies that will strengthen domestic manufacturing, bolster supply chains, invest in the American worker, and ensure our continued global competitiveness."
At a time when America is facing one of the greatest economic challenges in its history, AEM and I Make America have brought a record number of state and federal lawmakers to shopfloors across the country to send a clear message: The equipment manufacturing industry is counting on elected officials to put policy ahead of politics and advance an agenda that will address the highest rate of inflation in decades, persistent supply chain challenges, the need for more workers, and the opportunity to create more family-sustaining jobs and make the United States more resilient. AEM has more I Make America events planned for Indiana, Louisiana, Minnesota, and Ohio before the end of the year.
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