Price & delivery. Without question, those two household words are the most common ones heard after the greetings are exchanged on the incoming phone calls received by our customer service group at Hannay Reels. Most commonly, the words go something like this: "I need price and delivery on 12 model XXX," or "I need price and delivery on a reel to hold X feet of YZ hose."

There is nothing inherently wrong with the question, but we'd like to feel that, for your American manufacturers, there is more . . . much more!

Sometimes our production manager asks our inside sales group, only half in jest, "When was the last time you folks asked me how good we could build reels, rather than how fast?"

Without consciously realizing it, we've been "mass customizing" reels since 1933, when my grandfather unintentionally started a hose reel company by helping out a neighbor with a need. We suspect a similar story prevails at many other United States manufacturers, and, thus, we have a story to tell.

One of the running challenges for manufacturers who "Make it in America" is to position ourselves and then educate our customer base as to what we can do best, as compared to what can best be done offshore (and there are some).

For example, if you want it custom and you want it quickly, you need to shop at home, unless you're dealing with a commodity item that can be pre-positioned and warehoused on these shores.

One of the things we American manufacturers who remain have learned, after some significant fallout, is that we can't expect you to wait interminably while we get around to it, and fit you into our production schedule. Rather, in a spirit of benign self-preservation, we have realized that we must be ready to respond when you call, with the right goods, at the right price, and the right time.

Those of us who have not discovered that will become victims of the natural selection process.

What we'd like to ask in return from our loyal distribution base is an honest effort at self-education with regard to the products we make for your customers. This will lead to a lot more "getting it right the first time", and a lot fewer requests for merchandise return orders. This makes everyone a winner.

We in turn need to offer you the best of the best on our inside sales phone lines and the Internet to equip you to do just that.

Although American manufacturing accounts for a smaller percentage of American jobs than it has for many years, it still represents a major economic impact on the communities and customers that it serves, and will always play a significant role in the stream of goods in commerce. You can be proud to represent American manufacturers in your mix.