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Posted By: Sandra Investing/HFinance Made in the USA Investing - 07/02/13 03:21 PM
My weekly circular from Walmart states that Walmart plans to spend more money buying products Made in the USA. In this circular, they showed six products that are made in the United States. That got my investing wheels turning.

Suppose you want to own a portfolio of stocks of companies that manufacture in the U.S.
Perhaps to help keep jobs available to U.S. citizens or as a sign of patriotism. So I thought the circular would be a good place to start. The products included Dawn dish detergent, Brawny paper towels, Backyard Grill lighter fluid, Kingsford charcoal, a Coleman cooler, and a Nuk patriotic cup.

The next step is to determine who the manufacturer of the products are and if they are publicly traded companies with stock to invest in. I'll continue this post the next day. In the interim, why don't you join me? Google the products and find out who makes them.
Okay. So I did a Google search of each of the products to see who are the manufacturers and if they are publicly traded. Some were easy to find and others required more extensive searching.

1. Brawny - Brawny is made by Georgia Pacific. Georgia Pacific used to be a publicly traded company but they were bought out by Koch Industries. Koch Industries have remained privately held. So Brawny has no stock to invest in.

2. Nuk - I could not find this in my Google search. I tried finding the cups at Walmart today and was unable to locate them. I wanted to find the manufacturer on the cup. So I'll try some more research, but for now Nuk is out for a stock investing idea.

3. Dawn - Okay, jackpot. Dawn is owned by Proctor and Gamble. Their website is pg.com. They have lots of company info and a plan where you can invest directly through the company.

4. Backyard Grill - Again, I had a lot of difficulty with this product. It may be owned by HOC Industries, but I'm not sure. If it is HOC, then it is out because the company is privately owned. More research is required to be sure.

5. Kingsford Charcoal - Good news. Kingsford is owned by The Clorox Company. Their website is thecloroxcompany.com. This is a good option for a stock investment.

6. Coleman - Coleman is owned by the Jarden Corporation. The website is jarden.com. Another good option.

So the results look like we have three options: Proctor & Gamble, The Clorox Company, and Jarden Corporation.

How did you do with your research?
Let me stop here a minute and explain in a little more detail how I did this research. My first step was to Google the name of the product along with words such as "manufacturer" or "maker" or "company" or "who makes".

This often presented me with a list of websites that answered the question in the short info that comes with the Google listing. Dawn is a good example of this. Oddly enough, Wikipedia often had the answer on their site along with a history of the company.

Other times, I had to try different combos of words like "company investor" to get the info. Backyard Grill was a real problem. There are lots of Backyard Grill companies or references for people wanting to grill. In fact, I didn't find the Backyard Grill I was searching for. I perused several of these reference sites but to no luck.

Once I found the company that made the product, I googled the company's name and "website" or "company stock" or "company investor". This usually returned a listing that included the main company website. Many times, it came up with a link to the section of the company website devoted to investing in the company's stock.

So that is it. It is a fairly simple search although it can be time-consuming. And sometimes frustrating. But this is a good method to use to find out who makes a product and if that company is publicly traded.
I discovered that Lazyboy states that they are Made in the USA. I'll have to do some research to check this out.
Posted By: Burt B. Re: Made in the USA Investing - 07/07/13 11:30 AM
Hi Sandra,

Have you tried:

http:
//www.dartcontainer.com/

I used to work for the $5M Auditorium they donated to the local community college smile

-- Burt B. smile
Thanks Burt. I'll check it out.
I checked out La-Z-Boy and Burt's suggestion of Dart Container. Unfortunately, Dart Container is a privately held company. This is disappointing because the company looked to be promising. According to their website, they manufactured their own raw materials for their products. Dart makes foam cups, etc.

La-Z-Boy is publicly traded and they do make their furniture in the USA. So I'll add them to the list of possible companies to invest in.
Posted By: Burt B. Re: Made in the USA Investing - 07/09/13 07:16 PM
I haven't seen any investor link, so this may be private also:

http:
//www.sauder.com/

-- Burt B.
Burt - Thanks for the suggestion. Another great Made in the USA company.

I checked but Sauder is still privately held.
Isn't it odd how you can miss something right in front of you? I had to get a new washer recently. Yesterday, I finally noticed that it had a label stating it was made in the USA. It's a Maytag.

Maytag is owned by Whirlpool. Whirlpool is a publicly-traded company.
Posted By: Burt B. Re: Made in the USA Investing - 07/14/13 06:48 PM
I hate when that happens 'cause it makes us feel like a shmutz.

But, then it is good and happy when it does so we can act on it !

-- Burt B. smile
You are so right, Burt.
Once you have a few stock candidates, the next step is to look over the company's website for information on the company and its products. There is usually a section for investors.

Here you will find financial info on the company including the annual report. This is a good place to start to understand how the company does business and its financial standing.

Why not give it a try? Pick one of the Made in the USA companies, Google them to find the company website, and start reading the investor section.
For example, let's consider Proctor & Gamble. Their site is pg.com. There you will find a link to "investor relations". This is where you can download the 2012 Annual Report.

One interesting fact I discovered in the annual report is that P&G has been in business for 175 years. Also, it has paid a dividend for 122 consecutive years. Impressive.
Posted By: Burt B. Re: Made in the USA Investing - 07/17/13 02:18 PM
Food, Clothing, Shelter and Soap.

Try living without them.

Wow !

Who owns Arm & Hammer ?

-- Burt B.
Posted By: Burt B. Re: Made in the USA Investing - 07/17/13 02:20 PM
Try MetLife and Edison or derivatives thereof.
Posted By: Burt B. Re: Made in the USA Investing - 07/17/13 06:22 PM
Maybe look into:

Heinz ?

Mars ?

Schwans ?
Burt,

Thank you for all the suggestions. I got a little behind today so I will look these up tomorrow.

I did discover that Arm & Hammer is owned by Church & Dwight (stock symbol-CHD). I know that Arm & Hammer Advance White Toothpaste is Made in the USA.
My newest research:

MetLife - U.S. based, sells life insurance and annuities, stock symbol MET; although it doesn't manufacture items, it does provide jobs in the U.S.

Edison - Edison International, provides electricity and energy in the U.S. - especially Southern California, stock symbol EIX (Burt, I assumed this was the Edison you referred to; if not, let me know.

Heinz - went private in early 2013, is based in Pittsburgh; interesting fact - I found an article that states that Heinz products are made in China; this article also listed several companies that make products in the U.S.; Here's the link: Kicking Heinz Ketchup to the Curb

Mars - privately held, since the recession Mars was building a factory in the U.S., the first in 35 yrs.

Schwans - privately held, U.S. based.
Burt - love your kitty avatar.
Posted By: Burt B. Re: Made in the USA Investing - 07/19/13 10:27 PM
Hi Sandra,

That's Freddie, my brother's cat who out-lived my brother !

Go Figure.

Thank You for your most excellent research.

I grew up in Detroit, and still get dividends from DTE Detroit Edison.

I Loved Your article -- What an eyeopener !

I've heard that Whirlpool is still being made in Benton Harbor, MI

-- Burt B.
Posted By: Burt B. Re: Made in the USA Investing - 07/20/13 09:05 AM
I think whirlpool and maytag may be one in the same?
You are absolutely right, Burt.
I just wrote an article on this topic:

Ever consider investing in companies that support jobs in the USA? In our global economy, many jobs have been outsourced to other countries. Made in the USA investing is a way of supporting companies that keep jobs in the United States of America. It can also be quite profitable.

Made in the USA Investing
Unilever, Mt. Olive, Claussen, and Vlasic are a few companies that are to be American made or have some American made products.
Mt. Olive is a great choice for Made in the USA. Their entire operation is in Mt. Olive, NC. Sadly, for investing purposes, they are a private company.
Amazon is planning to add 7,000 more jobs in the USA. Would they be a good candidate for Made in the USA?
I haven't forgotten Made in the USA. Just got a little sidetracked working on my first ebook. I did here on the radio this morning that Motorola makes a cellphone in the U.S.. I'll have to check that out.

Anyone have Made in the USA ideas?
The new Motorola Moto X phone is to be assembled in the U.S.
It is being advertised as a phone in which the buyer can design many of the features.

The phone is produced by Motorola Mobility. The stock symbol is MMI.
Vlasic is owned by Pinnacle Foods (symbol PF) based in New Jersey. Still checking into the made in the USA.
Cutco is made in the U.S.A. - Olean, New York if I recall correctly. One isn't likely to find that at Wal-Mart, though.

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Thanks, Leif. That's okay to not be sold at Walmart. Walmart was just a starting point. I looked up Cutco. They are privately held.

It seems that many of the fine companies that manufacture in the USA are privately held. Makes me wonder if going public changes a company's values and focus?
Maybe they don't want their ownership bought and sold on the market. It could be that they only offer stock to certain people. When I was an intern at an art gallery, there was some battle over the ownership. Well, not so much a battle: the proprietor had to do whatever the board said, mainly the accountant, because they owned the company (the accountant had 51% if I recall correctly).

Cutco didn't strike me as one of those companies who would rather not publish their financial statements, either. From how they are talked about by Vector Marketing reps, one would guess that having that information public wouldn't harm the company any. It's possible they simply don't want to disclose that information.
Good point. I hadn't thought of that.
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