Recent Supply Chain Issues Have Wisconsin Manufacturers Reevaluate Where they Get Materials

Monday, February 13th, 2023 -- 10:01 AM

(By Joe Schulz, Wisconsin Public Radio) Pandemic-induced supply chain hurdles caused many of Wisconsin’s manufacturers to reevaluate where they are getting materials, and industry consultants expect that trend to continue.

According to Joe Schulz with Wisconsin Public Radio, some companies already moved some of their supply chains back to North America, but future geopolitical pressures could force manufacturers to accelerate those plans.

In northeast Wisconsin, manufacturers have increasingly looked at using domestic suppliers and those from neighboring countries like Mexico as a way to combat supply chain disruptions, according to Ann Franz, executive director of the Northeast Wisconsin Manufacturing Alliance.

"A lot of these companies are realizing (that) looking at China and companies outside the U.S. are not a long term solution," Franz said. "We're really trying to also help our members connect with one another because there may be a supplier just down the street that you just never knew about."

Fond du Lac-based Wisconsin Lighting Lab, which makes LED lighting, light poles and wireless lighting controls, is among the companies making a change. Adam Rupp, president of the Wisconsin Lighting Lab, said former President Donald Trump’s tariffs on China served as a "warning sign" that foreign supply chains could be disrupted.

"That allowed us to better prepare for stuff that happened during the pandemic because we were already putting a lot more time into sourcing parts and sourcing components," he said.

Between China’s multiple lockdowns and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Buckley Brinkman, chief executive of the Wisconsin Center for Manufacturing and Productivity, said manufacturers have realized the impact supply chains have on their companies.

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