AEM releases ‘Faces of Manufacturing’ video

CHATTANOOGA, TENN. – The Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) has released a new video featuring workers advocating for the industry.

The “Faces of Manufacturing” initiative aims to rally the 2.8 million men and women in the United States involved in the manufacturing industry in support of pro-manufacturing policies in the United States with a 90-second video featuring 22 equipment manufacturing workers “urging their peers to speak with one united voice and tell elected officials to ‘create jobs, grow the economy, and keep the industry strong,’” an AEM release stated.

AEM will distribute the video along with print and digital materials to equipment manufacturing facilities across the U.S.

“Fuelled by a legacy of grit and ingenuity, America’s equipment manufacturers can outcompete anyone. But when other countries engage in unfair trade and investment practices, we are effectively forced to compete with one hand tied behind our back,” AEM senior vice-president of government and industry relations Kip Eideberg said in the release.

“With less than seven months until the midterm elections, we are mobilizing the men and women of our industry to send a message to Congress: they must come together in a bipartisan fashion to enhance American competitiveness and empower U.S. workers and companies to succeed in domestic and international markets.”

The drive to support manufacturing policies goes forward as the U.S. Congress considers the Bipartisan Innovation Act, a piece of legislation intended to “outcompete China, boost domestic research and manufacturing, and secure supply chains that are critical to the country’s national security and economy,” the release stated.

Faces of Manufacturing is part of a larger AEM-driven grassroots campaign called “I Make America” to educate and engage equipment manufacturing workers around issues affecting their work. I Make America has been in place for more than a decade, the release stated, but this is the first time the campaign has drawn direct assistance from industry workers.

The Faces of Manufacturing video was shot on location at Astec and Komastu America Corporation in Chattanooga, Tenn., Case, IH in Racine, WI, Husco in Waukesha, WI, Kondex Corporation in Lomira, WI, and Miller Formless in McHenry, IL.

The video can be viewed below.