WNY COMMUNITY IS INVITED TO MADE IN AMERICA STORE’S 12th ANNIVERSARY EVENT

“May 21 Event on Armed Forces Day is back after a two-year hiatus due to COVID”

Elma, NY. “Everyone is welcome as we salute our Armed Forces and we thank our community and nation for 12 years of American job creation. The success of our original Made in America Store in Elma helped to ignite the Made in America Movement,” began Mark Andol, founder and CEO of Made in America Store and General Welding & Fabricating. Andol had his start as a welder.

“Above all, Armed Forces Day, this year on May 21, is a time to unite Americans, to thank our troops and to work to restore the opportunity and prosperity for which the United States is known around the world,” Andol continued. “To be able to manufacture at the optimal level, we have to foster respect for making things here at home, especially in the high-paying, high benefits career tracks in the skilled trades. Skilled trades training took me from welding to owning my own manufacturing business.”

Andol has proudly mentored young people through the years. A recent example is a General Welding employee, Quinton, who moved from a retail position in our Elma Made in America Store to a welding career at Andol’s manufacturing facility, after Quinton’s recent graduation from Alfred Tech.

At the national Made in America Trade Show in Indianapolis in October 2019, Made in America Store was recognized as the largest retailer of American made products in the U.S. The movement had steadily been gaining momentum in the wake of stunning job losses in the first decade of this century, due to factory closures largely attributed to unfair foreign competition and currency manipulation.

As a result, the opening of the Made in America Store received national and international media attention in 2010. Media outlets as diverse as ABC World News and FOX Business, NPR and The Wall Street Journal, Associated Press and USA Today, pursued the story of a local businessman on a national mission – bringing back manufacturing in the United States by opening a retail store that only carries 100% American Made Products. Starting with 50 products, the store now sells 10,000 items!

“Our tagline, “Because China is a Long Drive to Work,” continues to resonate with our customers and reached a whole new level of urgency during the COVID pandemic. Americans saw how much medical equipment and clinical supplies were no longer manufactured in the U.S.,” Andol continued.

Another major choke point emerged from America’s reliance on semiconductors and computer chips made overseas. Adding to that was a backlog of container ships awaiting offload in our ports, and a shortage of truck drivers to move the massive logjam. “We saw a supply chain crisis affect nearly every segment of our economy. The exception was the Made in America Store,” Andol concluded.

Our May 21 event, taking place from 10 a.m.-4 p.m., will be highlighted by a Vendor Marketplace, Chiavetta’s Chicken BBQ to benefit Buffalo Niagara Honor Flight, Live music by Nashville recording artist Ricky Lee, Mister’s Food Truck, Rosie’s Ice Cream and a 12% percent discount on every purchase made in the Elma store and any of our Made in America Store locations on May 21, 2022.

***SPECIAL NOTE: Three tour buses will arrive at the store 10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. to join our community salute to Armed Forces and new job creation.***