Offshore production has lost much of its past glamour. While cost was once a major factor in outsourcing manufacturing, rising wages, quality issues and unstable supply chains are prompting many manufacturers to reconsider the benefits of reshoring production back on U.S. soil. Macro Sensors already maintains much of its manufacturing at its Pennsauken, New Jersey headquarters, producing linear and rotary position sensors that are “Made in the USA”.
“As customers often demand some specialization of sensor attributes such as different electronics and housings to serve specific industrial applications, Macro Sensors can quickly address these requests and get parts out the door quickly,” notes Eileen Otto, Manager, Sales and Marketing at Macro Sensors. “At the same time, we eliminate the need for large production runs and can maintain just-in-time inventory along with a “Made in the USA” status that has become increasingly important to our customers.”
More and more of Macro Sensors customers are requesting products made in the USA. They want to reshore production work, usually back from China, due to quality control issues and delivery problems while collaborating with a manufacturer who is in close proximity. Domestic manufacturing also ensures the use of specified materials.
According to the Federal Trade Commission, what constitutes a product as “Made in the USA” is that “the product’s final assembly or processing must take place in the U.S.”, although the agency allows for inclusion of some imported parts. While a portion of Macro Sensors’ sensor assembly is outsourced, all linear and rotary position sensors are manufactured with U.S. parts and shipped directly from the factory. To facilitate greater in-house production, the company added a computer winding machine to produce sensors in-house while quickly turning around orders, even those with special requirements. By maintaining production in-house, Macro Sensors also can maintain greater control over quality and manufacturing schedules.
“By keeping manufacturing in the States, we avoid long lead times and fluctuating costs as well as unexpected delays associated with an outsource,” states Otto. “Innovation of LVDT technology in the past few years has allowed us to enter new markets and expand into different applications.”
Macro Sensors’ extensive line of LVDT linear and rotary position sensors are used for position measurement and feedback in a variety of industrial applications including factory automation, motion control systems, metal fabricating, automotive assembly as well as power plants and gas/steam turbines. Approved for use in General Electric gas turbines, Macro Sensors LVDTs are implemented for position measurement on governor valves, throttle valves, reheat/stop valves, interceptor valves, and many other control valves.
>> To find a “Made in the USA” LVDT position sensor, refer to Macro Sensors online Position Selection Guide
here
