The manufacturing industry certainly has taken it on the chin in recent years with millions losing their jobs as well as the amount of business lost to overseas competition. In view of that, the editors of Start magazine thought why not honor manufacturers that still make or assemble their products right here in the good old U.S.A.? And that’s exactly what we did.

It’s tough these days to be an American manufacturer, particularly if you are in an industry such as apparel or textiles. Many of the big apparel and textile companies either make clothing overseas, went bankrupt and closed their doors, or have been purchased by a company that makes products outside of the U.S. But there are still many that continue to make clothing and other similar items here in the states and we are pleased to say we have named one of them as a 2005 Best Manufactured Product winner (you will have to read the winners of the pages that follow to see who we named).

In all, we have named 25 products as a Best Manufactured Products winner from the many entries we received. We selected a variety of products that are either sold to consumers or to original-equipment manufacturers (OEMs). The consumer items were fun to judge because we were able to put many of them through a fairly rigorous battery of tests. This was by no means scientific, but the editors believe we gave it our best effort to truly see how these products would perform.

On the products we could not test (most of which were products sold to OEMs), we did a little more digging beyond the product information the manufacturer sent us. And we also talked to a number of the winners to obtain more information, and we have to say how excited we are for them because these manufacturers are genuinely enthused about what they do and passionate about manufacturing their products in the U.S. Many know they could probably manufacture their goods elsewhere but have made a commitment to stay where they are. Others have a good thing going and know it would not make sense to produce anywhere else but here.

We hope you agree with the products we have chosen and will look to see your entry come across our desks next year.

[...to the LEDtronics citing]

Ledtronics Inc.
Torrance, Calif.
www.LEDtronics.com
(Sold to Consumers)

Product: Series SLL003 Ultra Slim Shoebox LED Cluster Light Module
Description: Some lighting products are so powerful they just about blind you when the intent is to just shed some light on what needs lit. What is so exceptional about this light is not only is its appearance unobtrusive, but the way it delivers light at the ground level, not up at the sky, makes it first-rate as well.
Location Manufactured: Torrance, Calif.

[For more details, visit Slim Line Shoebox