Buy american

[BillyT]

now that I've gotten an infrequent political  rant off my chest let's change the subject! big headline in the Tampa paper.New cranes may lift ports bottom line.Our p.o.s.unindicted white collar criminal gov.scott,and p.o.s. career politician,Marco Rubio  attended the unveiling of two post panamax gantry cranes at the port of tampa.these cranes will handle any container used in world shipping.Of course they were made in China.a lot of us said couldn't we have bought American cranes? sadly it doesn't appear that there is an American company that builds a crane that large! I googled the heck out of the subject,It appears that the biggest cranes made here are the type they have in factories. whoops,I forgot we don't have any more factories! Anyway it appears that Turkey is one of the few  countries( other than China,) that builds a crane that large.Nice!The article says that Tampa has so far failed to attract the biggest cargo ships from Asia,but they hope the cranes will help to drum up business! Well anyone who knows anything about business knows that you cater to those who buy your products. In this case we are catering to a polluted country that has at least one coal mine cave in a year and pays its workers subsistence wages.Oh I forgot our governor is glad  they(the cranes) will bring new jobs to the area.

[kscarbel2]

Buy American?  How is that possible?

Our government allowed Sweden's Volvo buy American truckmaking icon Mack Trucks, the company who literally built our country, AND allowed Italy's Fiat to get Chrysler for nothing (the biggest American giveaway of our lifetime).

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

- Germany’s Mann + Hummel now owns Affinia Group, producer of Wix, Napa and other brand filters

- Germany's ZF has acquired TRW
- Italy's Fiat owns Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep
- China's Wanxiang has acquired over 20 U.S. businesses including U.S. government-funded battery maker A123, Dana’s coupled-products business, Neapco and D&R Technology.
- Germany's Daimler acquired Freightliner, Western Star, Detroit Diesel and Thomas Built Buses
- Sweden's Volvo acquired White, Autocar, GMC heavy truck and Mack Trucks

- Germany’s Knorr-Bremse owns Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems

- Sweden’s Haldex acquired Anchorlok and the Neway suspension control valve business

- Luxembourg-based SAF owns Neway air suspensions, and 5th wheel makers Holland and Simplex

- Prestolite Electric, which includes the Leece-Neville brand, was acquired by Zhongshan, China-based Broad Ocean Motor Company and Beijing-based Ophoenix Capital.

- Nexteer Automotive aka GM Global Steering Holdings LLC (formerly Delphi Steering and GM’s Saginaw Steering Division) was acquired by Chinese government-owned Pacific Century Motors

- Germany’s Mahle acquired Delphi’s automotive air conditioning division, Delphi Thermal  
- Korea's Doosan owns Bobcat
- Aircraft and industrial engine maker Teledyne Continental Motors was acquired by Chinese government aircraft maker AVIC

- Canada's Bombardier acquired Learjet Corporation
- Mexico's KUO Group acquired Borg-Warner and Spicer transmissions
- Italy's Fiat thru subsidiary CNH Global owns Case-IH and New Holland
- Sweden's Volvo acquired the road construction equipment division of Ingersoll Rand
- Japan's Bridgestone owns Firestone and Bandag
- France's Michelin owns Uniroyal and BF Goodrich
- China’s Beijing West Industries acquired Delphi’s brake and suspension divisions
- Netherlands-based Mittal Steel acquired (asset holder of Bethlehem Steel, LTV, Weirton Steel, Georgetown Steel and US Steel)
- Mexico's Metalsa S.A. acquired 10 Dana plants that produce structural components for chassis and body structures in light and commercial vehicles
- Germany's Siemens acquired Houston-based Dresser-Rand
- China's Shuanghui owns Smithfield Foods
- Belgium's InBev owns Anheuser-Busch
- South African Breweries (SAB) acquired Miller Brewing
- Germany's Merck KGaA acquired St. Louis-based drugmaker Sigma-Aldrich
- Switzerland's Nestle owns Gerber baby foods and Purina
- Sweden's Electrolux owns the Frigidaire, Kenmore and Tappan appliance brands
- South Korea's LG owns Zenith

- Netherlands-based Philips acquired Magnavox, Philco and Sylvania
- China's Lenovo acquired IBM's personal computing division
- Japan's Seven & I Holdings owns 7-Eleven
- The UK's InterContinental Hotels Groups owns the Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza hotel chains, and Candlewood Suites
- China's Wanda Group owns the AMC cinema chain
- The Venezuelan government owns Citgo
- Mexico's Bimbo Group acquired Sara Lee's bakery business and the following brands: Arnold, Ball Park, Boboli, Brownberry, Cinnabon Bread, EarthGrains, Entenmann’s, Francisco, Freihofer’s, Marinela, Milton’s Bread, Mrs Bairds, Oroweat, Roman Meal, Sara Lee, Stroehmann, Sun-Maid Bread, Thomas’ and Tia Rosa.

- The British-Dutch conglomerate Unilever owns Ben & Jerrys, Vaseline, Hellmann’s, Best Foods, Ponds, Good Humor and Breyers
- Germany's Henkel owns Dial soap, Loctite, Orbseal and Bergquist
- Germany's Bayer acquired Miles Laboratories and Cutter Laboratories (including Cutter insect repellent, Alka-Seltzer, One-A-Day, Flintstones vitamins and Bactine), and the consumer care business of Merck & Co. which included the brands Claritin (allergy), Coppertone (sun care), MiraLAX (gastrointestinals), Afrin (cold) and Dr. Scholl’s.

- Bayer CropScience acquired biological company AgraQuest
- Thailand’s Thai Union Frozen Products owns Chicken of the Sea and Orion Seafood International
- South Korea’s Dongwon owns StarKist
- The UK’s Lion Capital owns Bumble Bee Foods

- Jim Beam was acquired by Japan’s Suntory in 2014

- Krispy Kreme has been acquired by Luxembourg-based JAB Holdings

- Giant Carlisle (Martin's Food Markets, Ukrops), Stop & Shop and Giant-Landover supermarkets are owned by Dutch retailer Koninklijke Ahold N.V.

- Food Lion and Hannaford supermarkets are owned by Belgium-based Delhaize Group
- Colombia's Cementos Argos has acquired the cement and ready mix producing assets of Vulcan Materials and LaFarge
- UK-based Tarmac PLC acquired the cement and ready mix producing assets of Stamford, Conn.-based Lone Star Industries (for many years the largest U.S. cement maker)

- Two-wheeled electric people mover Segway has been acquired by China’s Ninebot

- China’s HNA Group acquired Carlson Hotels Inc. (Radisson, Park Plaza, Country Inns)

 

[Gmerrill0516]

That is a painful list to read.  Disappointing to say the least.  I wonder if there isn't the opposite list, the one where products are made and owned in the good all USA.  Maybe we should post something like that and then support those companies accordingly.  It is harder and harder to buy USA.  Shameful and stupid.

[grayhair]

I don't know what to say to all the above.  Downright discouraging.  We have a long history of developing stuff in the U.S. and then letting it go.  Brilliant inventors develop amazing technologies and we let them go away from us.  (Google Chester Carlson and read about his 20 year effort to make and perfect the first photocopier, Haloid Corp., Xerox.)  Not to mention Bell, George Eastman, Shockley.  It's sad to see it all go away, perhaps more so since I grew up with it.  I watched HP struggle to make the first LEDs that were any color other than orange.  Blue was initially thought to be impossible.  Bill Hewlett must be spinning in his grave for what has become of his company.  I was there watching when AMD pulled their first silicon slug.  And I watched women at Motorola working with stereo microscopes, assembling transistors one at a time by hand.  And CCDs, charge coupled devices, that made possible portable video cameras.  A few tech companies like Intel live on in the U.S. but the numbers have dwindled rapidly.  Aagh, sorry to reminisce, but looking back, gotta admit, we did this to ourselves.        

Edited July 24, 2016 by grayhair

[BillyT]

Kscarbel 2,,I agree totally,in fact when I posted "Buy american"I was referring  to one of the many situations where you couldn't do so even if you wanted to! if you took every foreign component off any American car they'd be up on blocks! I did a survey in Home depot recently concerning tools.You cannot purchase a single American made power tool,with 2 exceptions.Very slick,Milwaukee sells a plastic tool box made here,every single one of their high dollar power tools is Chinese made. dewalt put up a very visable display of a few lower priced power tools it said MADE IN  AMERICA .This was to plant the idea in the purchaser's head that all their tools are American made.Not one of their expensive tools is made here! Even the formally high quality German and Japanese tools are made in China! Bosch and Makita. I have a full set of Milwaukee and Rockwell tools from the 70's when I was in the welding business and one Japanese made craftsman grinder,from the same era,all work like new! I needed one grinder to complete my Milwaukee set.went to a pawnshop and bought a2009 grinder for 38bucks.l am Very anal about American made!  Sorry, I get carried away on this subject!

.

[Gmerrill0516]

We need to support out own industry where we can.  It's important.  Let's all make an effort wherever we can.  It matters.

[other dog]

The original plastic heater control valve in my 2002 Ranger pickup lasted over 10 years, until one day it broke. A piece just snapped off right where the heater hose connects to it. I found a bumper guide stick in the junk pile and cut off about a 2 inch piece that the hose fit perfectly on and just bypassed it for a while, but the heat and defroster come in handy in the winter. I went to NAPA and got a new valve- made in China, and it leaked from the day I put it on. Went to O'Reilly's Auto Parts and got another one- made in China, and it leaked from the day I put it on. I ordered another one from some on-line parts place, and when it came it said "made in China" on the box. I just threw it in the tool box on the back of the pickup because I assumed it would leak too. The leak was just a drip, so i'd just add water or antifreeze about once a week.

I finally put the one I ordered on a few weeks ago and so far so good.

[kscarbel2]

On 7/24/2016 at 8:54 AM, Gmerrill0516 said:

We need to support out own industry where we can.  It's important.  Let's all make an effort wherever we can.  It matters.

The issue is, apart from Boeing, and Ford and GM, we don't have any leading industry left.

Very little of what you purchase at the department store, home improvement store and so forth are made in America. 

The practicalities of food production require U.S. facilities, but an alarming number of food companies are foreign owned. 

It's up to your government to "manage" the success of U.S. industry.

The Department of Justice, who in 1964 wouldn't allow Chrysler to acquire Mack, was only too glad in 1999-2000 to allow foreign aggressor Volvo to buy Mack Trucks.

This isn't "rocket science". The takeover of U.S. industry by foreign aggressors was allowed by your government.

And there's little doubt that various entities and individuals were compensated. Much, like NAFTA, was a Bilderberg Group recommendation (the Rockefellers of our time).