Calumet — Keweenaw County’s Neuvokas Corp. is still fighting the cold and the snow, but one thing we aren’t fighting is tariffs.
Neuvokas, where I work as head of supply chain, manufactures a composite rebar called GatorBar—and has been using exclusively U.S. materials to do so since 2020. This rebar is used to reinforce concrete all across America, from sidewalks, to homes, and even baseball stadiums.
GatorBar is marketed as “America’s Rebar,” but it isn’t like the rusty steel you see on sidewalks or bridges. GatorBar uses glass fiber reinforcement and resin to create a rust-free product that has a tensile strength higher than steel.
Our company is clear about our America First stance. The decision to source all-American inputs has created stability in our supply chain, while also supporting industries and securing jobs critical to the company’s long-term success. No doubt our sourcing also serves as a clever marketing tactic in the blue-collar construction industry.
What does it look like to have only U.S.-made inputs? We get our resin out of Texas. Fiber comes from Texas or South Carolina. Other materials are sourced from New Jersey and Oregon. We also use materials that were once a useless byproduct of oil refining can undergo some additional processing to become an incredibly strong glue that prohibits corrosion.
That’s real American innovation.
Sourcing 100% of your inputs from American soil proves that you have the utmost respect for quality. There are plenty of customers who only care about price, and that’s reasonable, but Neuvokas can compete there too.
Amid the anticipated price swings in construction materials as a result of President Donald Trump’s tariffs, Gatorbar will remain at a stable price, which has already proven to be a huge selling point.
Despite the recent tailwinds from tariffs, we still face some challenges. Over the past year China has become incredibly aggressive in anticipation of tariffs. It has dumped both raw materials and finished goods into the U.S. to keep cash flowing back to China.
This has driven prices down, specifically for inputs like fiberglass.
We weathered the storm fine, but we had a few suppliers who got close to financial trouble. Losing those domestic suppliers would have been a huge hit to our operation.
Every manufacturer has a choice to make. Do they support their fellow citizens or enrich other nations? Is it hard to build this way? Absolutely.
We have put a ton of money into the research and development of new materials and tooling. But that money has stayed here. Relying on adversaries to make our products is obviously not intelligent, and also quite lame.
Those who make the choice to support American industry and American workers are likely to be rewarded—both financially and spiritually. They will be the winners of a new era in American industry.
Jack Zwart is an advocate for Michigan manufacturing and rural culture. Follow him on X @rustbeltkid1.
