Wahl
"Barbershop" by johnomason is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
Much of American manufacturing has left our shores, but not all of it.
Sterling, Illinois, is a small industrial city 22 miles from where we live. We go there just about everyday as I take my wife to work.
As we drive from the outskirts of the city to the downtown area, we pass near the parking lot of the well-known Wahl Clipper company. After I drop my wife off at work, I might go to the CVS pharmacy or Walgreens to buy what we need.
The most famous products in these places are the Wahl clippers and shavers. Wahl grooming products are readily available in Sterling (how could they not be!), and all of these products are made in Sterling. Wahl products are not only found in Sterling but throughout all of Illinois and throughout the United States and in 150 countries.
Wahl is known for making high quality clippers and shavers. These products are used in barber shops, salons, hospitals, etc. The clippers and shavers are made with both American-made and imported parts, but these products are assembled and packaged in Sterling.
Those who work for Wahl are paid good wages and enjoy a number of benefits, including health care. My wife tried to get a job at Wahl, but like many people she could not because these jobs are highly competitive, and Wahl is one of the best-known companies in the region.
But what makes Wahl famous is that it is one of the surviving industries in Illinois. Illinois in general and Sterling in particular were once industrial hubs with many factories dotting the landscape. Sterling itself was known as the "Hardware Capital of the World" because of all the manufacturing plants.
Most of these companies have long since departed Illinois for either other American states or for overseas (especially China, sadly). Wahl, founded in 1919, has stayed put.
Those who are employed at Wahl take pride in working there, and the products they make are considered native to Sterling. In a globalized world, some things are still made in the United States and in my native state of Illinois. Even though my wife and I do not work in Wahl, we also take pride in the fact that Wahl is still an American and Illinois institution.
Daniel Nardini spent 22 years as a newspaper correspondent for Lawndale News and The Fulton Journal. He has published six books, including his eyewitness account of the Tiananmen Square Massacre, The Day China Cried. He is listed as an Illinois author in the Illinois Center for the Book.
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Opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Institute or its members.
