Made in the USA - A Step2 Experience

What does "Made in the USA" mean to you? During my recent visit to The Step2 Company in Streetsboro, Ohio, I realized that supporting American manufacturing is more important than ever.

As I get older, I think I have firmer grasp on what's important - for myself, my family, my community, and my country. In my younger years, it was all about price. In college, once I had my own dollars as purchasing power, I didn't have enough of them to be able to spend them patriotically. I also didn't have the insight to realize why purchasing something that was made in another country was problematic. Now that I'm more educated and understand that a dollar spent on American made products truly does make a difference, my priorities have shifted and it's not all about the price tag. Quite honestly though, this shift didn't really occur until I visited the Step2 headquarters in 2014.

Step2 Made in the USA

I mentioned in my post from two years ago that I had the chance to see where and how the Step2 toys and products were manufactured and I got to meet the people that made them. The people behind the scenes at The Step2 Company were simply inspiring and I left bursting with pride and excitement about the company. Here I am two years later and I feel just as strongly, perhaps even more. I'm sitting here reflecting on the time I spent in Streetsboro, Ohio at our Step2 Ambassador summit from a few weeks ago and I just feel so fortunate to work with this company and support a business that invests in our own economy.

Janessa from Thrifty Nifty Mommy and me

During this year's summit, our small group of ambassadors got to meet with several members of the Step2 team, from research and development to manufacturing to marketing. Not only did we get a sneak peek at some of the newest toys on the horizon (which are really, really cool so stay tuned for updates), we got to voice our opinions to real people sitting right next to us, and they were well received. That's the thing about working with Step2 - it's not just about us testing out their new toys and taking pretty pictures, we get to give feedback that's truly heard and valued.

This year, in between our meetings and breakout sessions, we got to do something really special during our tour the Step2 manufacturing facility. Although I got to take a tour a few years ago, this year we were led by the Senior VP of Operations and Engineering who had a surprise for us. We were going to have a hands-on experience by helping to make our very own custom KidAlert & Pup. This gentleman knows pretty much everything there is to know about the facility and machines used to manufacture the products at Step2, since he's been with the company for several years. He showed us around the massive factory and it's just amazing to see the process of your child's favorite toys coming to life.

One thing that surprised me was that the molds for the toys are made on property. They're HUGE and I figured they would need to be specially made somewhere off-site and brought in. Our guide showed us where they're made and how they are stored for years to come in case they need to be used again for a similar design or refresh. It was incredible to see them all.

I couldn't wait to see how the largest US toy manufacturer actually makes their toys. I was able to measure out the proper amount of resin (with the help of the extremely kind people that work in the factory) for my KidAlert & Pup, then helped prepare the molds. After the molds were filled they went into the oven to be rotationally molded.

After their short stint in the cooling chamber, we got to take them out of the molds (wearing safety gloves of course since they're still extremely toasty) and we watched as the toy making experts evaluated them for defects and trimmed/smoothed the plastic edges.

As I looked around while we were waiting for our Kid Alerts to cool, I asked a lot of questions about the workers and their shifts. The factory runs 24 hours a day to maximize their inventory through continuous production and they employ over 800 Americans in their corporate offices and both of their Ohio factories. They're producing some pretty large items at the factory and it made me wonder why other American companies can't or won't focus their efforts on manufacturing their products here in the US. It made me think about how families around the country might be impacted if just a fraction of the goods that we import from foreign countries were made here - more manufacturing jobs with better pay for Americans. It made me start to think about my purchases and what kind of impact I want to make when I spend my money. We all "vote" with our dollars every time we purchase something and I plan on making my vote count.

Right after I returned from my trip to Step2 we moved to a new town. I needed some items for our new house, and instead of ordering various items from Amazon like I usually do, I called around to local businesses in our new area and found products that were made locally. That may be just a small action, but if we just focused a small percentage of our spending power on buying American made, it would add up to make a huge impact.

My KidAlert & Pup, which stands at the end of our driveway to remind our neighbors to slow down, is a reminder to do a little more research before I purchase. I'll be look for that "Made in the USA" label a lot more often.