Made In America Means A Whole Lot More.....NOW!

Made In America Means A Whole Lot More...NOW!

                        "Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work"     - Thomas A. Edison     

               In 2010, we were performing the electrical work for a 30,000 sq ft. catering hall and restaurant.  The work included a new building service and distribution to each floor.  An order to the local supply house for 3 inch conduit straps was placed.  The next day my electricians installed about one hundred or so straps on the strut we installed.  Fast forward to the electrical inspection and the inspector goes into the ceiling and looks at our installation.  The inspector takes out a flashlight and like Sherlock Holmes zooms in on our pipe straps.  What could he be looking at?  Sure enough, the inspector comes down off the ladder and informs we "I have to write a violation"!  

               Covid-19 has exposed many deficiencies due to our reliance on foreign countries for the essential items we require.  From face masks to required parts for ventilators, from prescription drugs to protective equipment our dependence is scary and places us in a very precarious spot!  What is particularly disturbing for me, that dependency far transcends medical and hits the electrical industry and the nation's entire electrical grid!   

 

                As the electrical inspector handed me the violation, I recognized rather quickly that the straps he looked at closely had no regulatory labeling required for installation according to the NEC.  I had purchased fake pipe straps?  I, me had been the victim of a counterfeiter?  I'm from Brooklyn, NY, counterfeits only exist in handbags for women and fashion related items but electrical supplies too?  Little did I know, it appears the counterfeit industry is quite diverse.  So diverse, circuit breakers, light fixtures, connectors, wiring devices are just a small part of the huge counterfeit market.  Our dependency on foreign manufacturers makes it quite easy to penetrate even the electrical industry.  These foreign made components navigate around the regulations required here in this country.  Going around the requirements puts the public at risk and may lead to fires, damage, injury and death.  For a responsible, licensed electrical contractor your word and reputation is everything.  We don't want to expose ourselves or the public to inferior foreign made components that could perform poorly and pose a great danger.

               The power utilities companies throughout the United States provide the necessary power for the comforts we enjoy.  Many of us for the most part turn on a switch and get light or we plug in the blender and we get bread.  To say, we take our comforts provided by electricity for granted would probably be a huge understatement.  Imagine what life would be like if you couldn't charge your phone, turn on a TV, and the big one, no social media!  I jest, but stop and think what life looks like in the critical care areas such as hospitals, nursing homes and the like without electricity.  Try and get your head around how the US Gov't would be impacted, the Defense Dept, Homeland Security, FBI etc. The more savvy electrician or engineer at this point wants to yell out generator, generator and other alternate backup power sources.  These sources will never generate the electrical requirements needed, long term!  Our dependence on foreign manufacturing impacts our electrical grid distribution far too much.  Many of the control devices required for monitoring and switching are manufactured elsewhere.  This makes our national distribution grid susceptible to ransom, insecurity and unreliability.  We need dependence on US manufacturers for the integrity and security of our electrical grid.

               We have always been the example for the whole world.  Many of our previous generations in our own families supported their own working in manufacturing plants all throughout this country.  We were the source of quality and dependability because "Made in America" always meant more.   I suggest, especially now, we eliminate our dependence on foreign imports.  Manufacturing in the USA is absolutely essential now!  As a victim of counterfeit products requiring me to replace the fakes with real and an American concerned about the security and livelihood for my children and grandchildren foreign dependence has no future for US, LET'S GET BACK TO WORK!