A few years ago, I did an interview for the University of Colorado student radio station. They wanted to know more about energy, especially gas and oil.

In the middle of the interview, the host stops me and says, “Did you hear what he just said, dear friends?” I’m thinking, Now what! The host continued, “We don’t like wells or petrochemical plants, but we like our skis, our climbing ropes, our cars and our cell phones. If we are going to have those things, doesn’t it make sense, like Mr. Kozera said, that they be made in the USA under U.S. environmental law where they can provide jobs for us?” He got it!

Since it was Colorado and they did act a little strange when I called in, I wondered how much of Friday night’s show they would remember. To my surprise, the host called me back the next day during a soccer match I was coaching. When I returned the call, he said, “Mr. Kozera, you were great last night. Will you come back on the show?” I did.

The young college student understood some basic truths ALL Americans need to understand;

¯ Manufacturing is essential for consumers to have the products we use everyday.

¯ Manufacturing in the USA under U.S. environmental law, using U.S. energy and raw materials and selling the products in the USA, greatly reduces global emissions from places like China, better than anything done so far.

¯ U.S. manufacturing creates high-wage jobs in the USA. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average manufacturing employee earns $103,000 a year. In a study done by the National Manufacturers Association, each manufacturing job creates two direct jobs (like transportation jobs) and indirect jobs (like the flower shop, dress shop or restaurant on main street) where employees spend part of their $103,000.

¯ Manufacturing requires energy the USA has in abundance. The Bureau of Labor Statistics says manufacturing uses one-third of our energy demand.

What our college student host and I didn’t discuss in our short visit was:

¯ Manufacturing is essential for our freedom. The U.S. military can’t afford to depend on foreign imports especially from China for military equipment and hardware. Products like steel, iron, specialty metals and electronics must be made in the USA. One reason for protecting these products with tariffs is to keep China from forcing U.S. companies out of business, then taking over the market at higher prices. I talked to CEOs/owners of iron foundries in our region. They said China is selling iron products in the USA below their cost of raw materials. U.S. companies can’t compete with the CCP. Imagine the USA having to buy steel and iron from China to build tanks and other equipment for our military.

Shale Crescent USA’s mission is to bring high-wage jobs to our region, raising the standard of living for people living here. This is achieved by focusing on manufacturing jobs. At an event like SelectUSA, SCUSA talks to companies with a variety of products they want to make in the USA like hats, saddles, bamboo bicycles and ethnic foods of all types. We are happy to give these leads to the states, keeping our focus on energy intensive manufacturing.

Major news organizations like Bloomberg, NPR, CBS, CNN, etc. have questioned the ability of the USA to bring back manufacturing. These organizations failed to talk to or properly report on the successes the states in our region are having and what organizations like The Reshoring Initiative, https://reshore now.org, and Shale Crescent USA are doing.

The Reshoring Initiative says 1.7 manufacturing jobs have been reshored to the USA since 2010. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. manufacturing jobs are increasing, now approaching 13 million through April. These numbers count only actual manufacturing jobs. They don’t count the hundreds of high-wage construction workers at sites at Nucor Steel in West Virginia, Intel in Columbus or smaller projects like TCL in the Ohio Valley with 200-plus construction workers on site. Thousands of manufacturing, direct and indirect jobs have already been created in the SCUSA. More are announced.

A record 5,500-plus attendees from over 100 countries were at the SelectUSA Investment Summit and Expo in May in Washington, D.C. These companies are interested in expanding to the USA. Manufacturing jobs are coming for three major reasons;

¯ The large USA market companies to which companies want to sell products.

¯ Abundant, economical, dependable baseload energy, not renewables. They already have those in Europe. We’re at a conference in Virginia this week. Utility executives said the current heat wave is putting pressure on the PJM grid and other electric grids. In Virginia this week, during the day, 50% of their electricity is fueled by natural gas, 20% by nuclear, 20% coal and 10% renewables (mostly solar). At night, solar power goes away and must be replaced by natural gas. If a sudden thunderstorm reduced solar production during the day, it would have to be replaced by natural gas. To provide grid reliability, 100% of renewables must be backed up by baseload power. Ratepayers must pay for both systems whether used or not.

¯ Security. My friend in Israel planning to expand to the USA saw the Iranian missiles coming into Israel and Israeli missiles intercepting them. My friends in Romania worry about an errant Russian missile hitting their house. After last weekend, even peaceful Middle East countries are concerned about Iranian rockets shot at U.S. targets that can hit their factories by accident.

The biggest challenge is finding workers. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in April, there were 381,000 manufacturing jobs looking for workers to fill them. By 2033, the National Manufacturers Association estimates 3.8 million MORE manufacturing workers will be needed. American ingenuity should not be overlooked when it comes to filling these jobs. Our region is in an excellent position. In the history of the world, manufacturing always follows energy. We have dependable energy in abundance.

Greg Kozera, gkozera@shalecrescentusa.com, is the director of marketing for Shale Crescent USA. He is a professional engineer with a Masters in Environmental Engineering and over 40 years of experience in the energy industry. He is a leadership expert, high school soccer coach, professional speaker, author of four books and many published articles.