ROCKFORD, Ill. — In 2017, Greenlee Textron Inc., a Textron Inc. company introduced the “Building America” campaign to highlight over a century of designing, building and packaging products in the United States1. Building America shares the stories of employees that carefully craft Greenlee tools in the company’s six manufacturing facilities.
The stories can be viewed at Greenlee.com/buildingamerica and on tED TV. The Rockford, Illinois-based company supports its local manufacturing workforce, as well as five other manufacturing facilities and one distribution facility across the nation. Since 1862, Greenlee has utilized a combination of traditional hand craftsmanship and state-of-the-art equipment to produce high-quality tools. Rockford is the company’s home for manufacturing knockout punches, dies, auger bits and other tools for professionals in the electrical and mechanical trades.
Richard Mayberry, a skilled machinist in the Rockford plant, is an example of the company’s long-term commitment to the local community. He has been with Greenlee since 1973 and has seen some of Greenlee’s biggest technological advances, which are recognized globally as industry-leading.
“I believe in the quality of Greenlee tools because I’ve been making them for decades,” said Mayberry. “We put American innovation and hard work into the tools we build here, and our customers appreciate that we’re manufacturing right here in the USA.”
Tina Young is a Bit Operator in Rockford and has been working for Greenlee for 24 years. Young takes pride in each drill bit that she works on when she etches her number on the bit.
“I take pride in each crafted drill bit we make. I’m proud to etch my number on it because I know it’s been cut and balanced to the highest quality standard.”
Several other videos in the series have been posted on tED TV, including a video about welder Tim Clemens and engineer Jon Wilson in the Louisville, Kentucky plant, and a video featuring assembler Dawn Goodson and Matt Hayes, who is in the Engineering Development Program in Genoa, Illinois.
“For 155 years, Greenlee has been manufacturing the tools that keep professional safe and productive in the field. And we’ve been doing it with generations of family, friends and neighbors in our local communities – that’s significant in today’s environment,” said Rishi Malhotra, VP of Marketing for Greenlee. “The men and women in each of our seven facilities proudly invest themselves in creating tools to support the professional, and their craftsmanship shows.”
In addition to its Rockford location, Greenlee has manufacturing and distribution facilities in Vista, California; Genoa and Waukegan, Illinois; Louisville, Kentucky; Southaven, Mississippi; and Chattanooga, Tennessee and employs close to 800 people at these locations. Greenlee has 972 employees that are invested in Building America. The Rockford manufacturing facility is able to ship over 25,000 products weekly to trade workers who keep America running.
To follow Greenlee’s Building America campaign or to learn more about the company’s pledge, visit Greenlee.com/buildingamerica.
1 Not all Greenlee products qualify for the stringent Made in the USA or qualifying statements.