President Barack Obama will visit a Master Lock factory in Milwaukee, Wis., on Wednesday to discuss the state of American manufacturing and the importance of "insourcing" jobs, according to a statement issued by the company.
Master Lock was recently recognized by the president in his State of the Union address for bringing jobs back to the country from China.
"We are honored to have the president visit Master Lock and to continue to recognize the company's efforts to bring back jobs from China to our Milwaukee factory," said Master Lock President and CEO John Heppner, who participated in the January "Insourcing American Jobs" forum at the White House. "As an American manufacturing company in business for approximately 90 years, we are proud to participate in the trend of insourcing jobs back to the U.S."
Since mid-2010, the company said that it has brought back 100 union jobs to its Milwaukee facility. Master Lock attributed the move partially to economic reasons related to increasing labor and logistics costs in Asia. However, by bringing these jobs back to the U.S., the company said that they now have a more competitive overall cost structure, greater control and the ability to provide greater customer service.
"We are happy that the issue of manufacturing and insourcing continues to be a priority for President Obama," Heppner said. "We support meaningful dialogue on this important topic and look forward to continued work with the government, educational institutions and fellow businesses to help improve the climate for manufacturing in the U.S."
