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By: Mary Merda
Website: http://www.lamps-n-lighting.com
Some consumers say American-made is what they
want, but when it comes to putting out the cash,
made in China or Bangladesh is
just as good for most.
Twenty-five or 30 years ago, half of the lighting
fixtures available at Bermann Electric Co. Inc.,
in Boardman, were American made, said Mike Madej,
sales manager. Today, 10 percent of the lamps,
chandeliers, electric sconces, light bars and
other fixtures are made in the United States,
he said.
Madej attributes the shift to rigid environmental
and safety regulations that prompted many American
companies to move their manufacturing operations
overseas.
Standards implemented by the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, Underwriters Laboratory and
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
benefit the environment and help protect workers,
Madej said, but they have a negative impact on
the industry.
The costs of implementing the regulations and
meeting American workers' demands for pay and
benefits, he explained, drive prices up. The price
of American-made products is often more than twice
as much as comparable items made overseas, Madej
said. As an example, he said, a lamp made in China
that sells for $100 might be comparable to an
American-made lamp that sells for $250.
Little quality difference
There's little or no difference in quality, he
said, because American companies often provide
the engineering for manufacturing operations overseas.
The few items still made in America include a
line of wrought-iron chandeliers, outdoor lighting
fixtures manufactured by Baldwin brass
indoor lighting fixtures by Baldwin are all made
overseas and a small percentage
of GE light bulbs, and I mean small, Madej
stressed.
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