Manufacturers Can Beat Offshoring: a Proof

An article titled “Mark Patinkin: Betting on sunnier days at Matouk & Co.” about textile company Matouk just proved the importance of the points made in my post: “4 Essential Solutions to Bring Manufacturing Back.”

Matouk is in business in the US since 1929, trying to give American homemakers ready access to the world’s finest, most luxurious linens… and the company doesn’t see the point of offshoring to a low-wage country.

YES, WE CAN compete, they suggest, and thrive against any low wage competition – regardless of where it is, implementing a few simple principles:

• Being a “contrarian” (isn’t that characteristic to the greatest politicians as well, together with having a convincing credibility?);

• Kicking out antiquated equipment and investing in modern technologies *;

• Defining a niche market with customized small batch solutions, having a local ready stock and producing faster than firms with foreign factories;

• Forming & maintaining strong creative collaborative partnerships with customers, suppliers and government;

• Maintaining a culture of loyalty and hard work, via investing heavily in employee training – towards improved and much leaner efficiencies.

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And Matouk & Co. is growing:

“…it began to work. In time, the company outgrew its New Bedford space. In 2005, Matouk bought a more modern building in the Fall River Industrial Park, and today, his workforce has doubled to 70 people. In 1995, he had $3 million in sales. Today, it’s $12 million.”

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* Chuck Mathews, vice president at DP Technology Corp., developer of the Esprit CAD/CAM software recently said it as follows:

“Our view is that US manufacturers who want to thrive in these changing times need to adopt technological and business practices aimed at doubling productivity over the next two to three years. We suggest that they look to improved processes and faster material-removal rates by utilizing advances in machine tools, cutting tooling, CAD/CAM software, and other modern and rapidly advancing technologies available to them”.

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