who knew? Sharpies are US made (almost)

[id10t]

OK so apparently the felt tips are still imported from Japan, but apparently the folks at Sharpie figured out how to be almost completely made in the US, not jack up prices, and still remain profitable.

Sure it will go to parf eventually but I think I need to go buy some more Sharpies...

Via slashdot -

https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/10/06/1744203/sharpie-found-a-way-to-make-pens-more-cheaply---by-manufacturing-them-in-the-us

Original article - https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/sharpie-found-a-way-to-make-pens-more-cheaply-by-manufacturing-them-in-the-u-s/ar-AA1NTbkZ

Tucked in the foothills of Tennessee's Smoky Mountains is a factory that has figured out a way to manufacture in America that's cheaper, quicker and better. It's the home of a famous American writing implement: the Sharpie marker. Pen barrels whirl along automated assembly lines that rapidly fill them with ink. At least half a billion Sharpie markers are churned out here every year, each one made of six parts. Only the felt tip is imported, from Japan.

It didn't used to be this way. Back in 2018, many Sharpies were made abroad. That's when Chris Peterson, who was the CFO of Sharpie maker Newell Brands challenged his team to answer a question: How could they keep Newell from becoming obsolete compared with factories in Asia? "I felt like we had an opportunity to dramatically improve our U.S. manufacturing," he said. Peterson is now the CEO. And these days, most Sharpies -- in all 93 colors -- are made at this 37-year-old factory. Newell did it without reducing the employee count, and without raising prices. But to get to this place took close to $2 billion in investments across the company, thousands of hours of training and a total overhaul of the production process. The result is a playbook for making low-cost, high-volume products domestically, albeit one that requires long-term planning and a lot of investment.

[rwest]

Good to hear.

I think that products that are mostly made by machines with minimal human labor should be able to be made here in the US competitively.

[LEAKYSEALS951]

93 colors?

I didn't even know there 93 colors, let alone 93 sharpie colors.

[IROC]

Yep, right here in Tennessee!

[rfuerst911sc]

Always nice to hear a positive story . Especially a made in USA success story .

[vash]

Sharpies dominate for sure.

other perm markers suck by comparison in my opinion. my office sometimes will buy an off-brand and I am like NOPE.

its like worchestershire sauce that isn't lee&perrins. seriously.

my silver gray Shapie is my favorite. it marks beautifully on darker items like steel. or gaffers tape. MVP in my garage.

[jyl]

Sharpies are like 10mm sockets. So useful but vanish spontaneously. I think they have some special material formula that evaporates after a couple weeks. Either that or they are the larval form of something else, which is why a drawer that held ten Sharpies last month is now empty. Much like phone charging cables and earbuds. I buy a couple of Sharpies every time I'm at the hardware store or anytime I see them really. I'm not sure what they turn into - bills maybe.

[LEAKYSEALS951]

^Happiness is a new package of sharpies.
They sure get lost fast though.

[Scott Douglas]

My wife's stash of Sharpies.

[911 Rod]

I like my sharpies sharp, but can't get myself to throw them out when they are dull.
The collection continues.

[john70t]

No issue, ever, with Japaneses-made products..except Sony(DRM spyware) and Nintendo(IP man spreading) bs.

And perhaps new automobile 'connectivity integration'.
Which prevents me from buying a new Japanese car. Made in the USA.
Today.

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by LEAKYSEALS951

93 colors?

I didn't even know there 93 colors, let alone 93 sharpie colors.

Lemme see ... black, red, and a silver ... prolly a blue and a gold ...

then they ate the Tennessee Hippie 'Shrooms and here we are

[LEAKYSEALS951]

Originally Posted by KFC911

Lemme see ... black, red, and a silver ... prolly a blue and a gold ...

then they ate the Tennessee Hippie 'Shrooms and here we are

^
Somewhere in a garage in the southeast:

"Cleetus, fetch me that lilac sharpy. NO! That's not it, lilac is sitting next to the mauve sharpy, nope! still not it, you grabbed the lavender dumbarse!!!! Now the lilac is under the wisteria. Open your freaking eyes! Purple?!?! No, not even close! Ah hell, you're dumber than a fencepost. I gotta do everything myself around here!!!"

[john70t]

Ask Clippy. Or whatever AI master you choose to follow