Georgia’s Women-Led Manufacturers Are Dealing With the T-Word — and They Don’t Mean Trade 

The “T-word” is having varied effects on some women-led manufacturers in Georgia, with some largely unaffected as of yet and others engaging head-on with the new realities of international business.

Not trade, of course, which has always been core to what manufacturers do, whether exporting finished goods or sourcing inputs from abroad. 

But tariffs, which have seen another round of volatility in the last week, as some countries have reached deals with the Trump administration to reduce their overall duty rates, while others— even some of the closest trading partners and neighbors of the U.S. — have been slammed even harder after the recent Aug. 1 deadline. 

Three female manufacturing leaders addressed trade turbulence Aug. 7 before an audience of some 160 peers during Next Generation Manufacturing’s 10th annual half-day seminar on “Success in Manufacturing: The Woman’s Perspective” at the Midtown law offices of Nelson Mullins. 

Countries like Japan and Indonesia have negotiated down to 15 percent and 19 percent by pledging U.S. investments, removing trade barriers and pledging efforts to address overcapacity. Korea on July 30 landed a 15 percent rate by announcing $350 billion in U.S. energy purchases and investment. Canada, meanwhile, saw its rate increase to 35 percent, while Mexico has bought another 90 days for discussion.   

Odoban, a Warner Robins-based maker of odor-eliminating and cleaning products, prides itself on being made mostly with U.S. inputs, so it hasn’t been affected much, says CEO Michelle Bowen-Krauss. 

Helpfully, many of the company’s invoices have tariff impacts enumerated clearly, giving the company some visibility into how much of its rising costs could be temporary. 

“That’s nice to know how much. It’s not buried in the cost of the other stuff we’re buying,” Ms. Bowen-Krauss said. 

For award-winning exporter DeLong’s Gizzard Equipment Inc., which makes machines for poultry processing, the lessons of pandemic supply shocks are paying off today. 

Mitigation strategies have included holding more steel — its main component — in stock, as well as getting blanket purchase orders from its supplier to avoid the worst of the 50 percent metals tariffs. 

Containing costs has helped keep prices down — so far, said Mary DeLong Murray, the CEO of the fourth-generation family-owned company in Gray, Ga. (near Macon). 

“We don’t want to pass that on until we know that we have to for our customers because of price increases that we had to make a couple of years ago. So we’re watching it, and we’re ahead of right now, so we’ll just have to see where that goes,” Ms. Murray said. 

For Thermacell Repellents Inc., which makes electronic devices with refillable cartridges to create outdoor spaces free of mosquitoes, the story is a bit more mixed. 

“Well, we have a T-word task force,” said Rebecca Holt, chief operating officer, to laughter from the audience, noting that company leadership is meeting frequently to make plans for the new landscape. 

Some levies on China already existed, and new ones were telegraphed, she said, so the Boston-based manufacturer with a factory in Buford, Ga., had already made moves to diversify its supply chains. 

“What caught us off guard was that all the other safe havens were no longer safe havens for us,” Ms. Holt said. 

On April 9, Vietnam and Thailand, where the company had moved, faced the prospect of “Liberation Day” tariffs of 46 percent and 36 percent, respectively. On the eve Mr. Trump’s latest deadline, delayed from July 10, the countries saw those rates reduced to 20 percent and 19 percent. 

All the more reason, Ms. Holt says, that companies should avoid a single point of failure in their sourcing.  

“I strongly suggest having redundancy in your supply chain,” Ms. Holt said. “If you do not have that, build it. Being able to flex quickly and make short-term decisions, looking at landed-cost options that you have across your supply chain — that really has saved us millions and millions.” 

The panel — one of many throughout the day, interspersed with entrepreneurial pitches from women-owned companies — illustrated how most manufacturers have taken ups-and-downs of trade policy in stride.

In the poultry sector, some semblance of certainty seems to have returned. Companies that were putting off investments in research-and-development, delaying purchases of custom machines that DeLong’s makes in partnership with its customers, have started making decisions.

“Now, some of those have actually opened back up,” said Ms. Murray, whose company sells to 20 countries. 

Still, companies have faced adverse impacts of U.S. trade policies that have prompted retaliation against U.S. exporters. 

Thermacell’s new Wisconsin factory would have supplied sales in Canada, Ms. Holt’s native country. But with a 25 percent Canadian levy on U.S. goods, though, those orders are being fulfilled from another offshore market. 

“If the intent was to nearshore manufacturing in the United States, that was an unintended consequence.” 

Manufacturers interested in learning more on trade policy, workforce recruitment strategies and other best practices can join the 14th Annual Next-Generation Manufacturing Signature event Oct. 22.