Are Hughes Brothers' products truly Made in America? Yes, they are. We begin with wood from
the West Coast and steel sourced from Midwest mills. We fabricate our own bolts, and we
galvanize in Seward, Nebraska. We have our own wood preservation process and forging
operations. The fiberglass rods we use are solely sourced from the USA, and we have domestic
foundries for obtaining our castings. All our employees work within the United States, and 99% of
our products are made entirely in America.
We recently completed the hiring process for four accounting positions, two sales positions, two
purchasing positions, and over 30 factory floor openings. I helped review the applications that
involved departments I supervised and was overwhelmed by the number of responses we
received. Our Vice President of Human Resources worked tirelessly to conduct interviews, and
thanks to her efforts, we were able to find many great new hires. Once the dust settled, we got to
know them better and decided we had made many good choices.
This process reminded me of how lucky Hughes Brothers is to be in the Heartland of America. Our
job openings are filled quickly, and we receive many applicants. Sometimes, we even have to put up
a sign that says, "Sorry, no job openings, please check back." What a great problem to have! Our
reputation precedes us in the community. Besides our reputation, something else strikes me about
our company: the hobbies of our employees. Though their hobbies are varied, they are not all that
different. They are typical midwestern hobbies: family-related, outdoorsy, and very American, just
like our company and our products.
Farming is a popular hobby for many people, as are activities such as hunting, golfing, fishing,
camping, restoring cars, car racing, following our kids' sports, boating, horses, and spending time
with grandchildren. Most of these hobbies involve work and even more activity. Isn't that strange?
Our employees work 8 hours or more a day, standing on their feet making wood, steel, and
fiberglass for the electric utility industry, and then go...work. "Oh, but it's a hobby; it's not work if
you like doing it." This is why we do not struggle to find employees, the word is out in the
community. It's not work if you like doing it!
It doesn’t feel like work when you are appreciated, recognized, and rewarded for your efforts.
When the president of the company knows not just your name but also the names of your kids, it
makes you feel valued. Our average tenure is over 15 years, which is unheard of in a company with
80% of its employees in factory positions.
So, how do you get employees to "like" work? You may think it’s all about pay, vacations, and
benefits, but that’s far from the truth. The real factors are pride, a sense of ownership and
belonging, and making a difference. Our employees can drive around Nebraska, or any state for
that matter, and spot a structure or component along a road that they had a part in making. Some
of them can probably even tell you the Hughes Brothers part number (guilty).
And our factory hums when the employees hear of a natural disaster from an ice storm or
hurricane. Being from Nebraska, they know what it is like to be out of power and in the cold. It has
probably happened to them, likely when they were young, and the memory of that is burned in
their mind. It is in mine. We huddled around the cob-fired furnace for warmth on our farm when
the power was out. My brothers and I changed clothes over the one working vent that heated the
entire house as we got ready for school. I could walk around the factory floor and hear some great
stories.
So, when asked if Hughes Brothers' products are Made in America, the answer is a resounding yes.
However, we are so much more than just raw material and finished product that comes from the
USA. We like to think we are the epitome of American manufacturing: American-owned and
American-operated. We are made here, we live here, we raise families here, and we love it. To us,
that is what it means to be Made in America.
Larry Vandergriend, P.E., is the vice president of engineering at Hughes Bros, Inc., who has supplied wood, steel, and fiberglass to the electric utility industry since 1921, owned by the same family the entire time. He has worked in the industry for 34 years. He used to stop the car on vacations to get pictures of Hughes Brothers' structures; his family understood.
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