Faribault Mill's Commitment to American Manufacturing

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2:14Carol Massar:Make more of what's yours. Accounts subject to credit approval. Restrictions and limitations apply. Cards are issued by JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A. Member FDIC. Bloomberg Audio Studios. Podcasts. Radio. News. You're listening to Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Masser and Tim Stenevek on Bloomberg Radio. We talk about this a lot, manufacturing the U.S. I should say the president in the White House talks about it a lot. And the importance of just really 100 % manufacturing. They've targeted big tech companies who still have manufacturing elsewhere, and they really just want to be everything 100 % made in the USA.

2:54Carol Massar:Yeah, and there's been a lot of attracting investments into the US. It's certainly a big theme here in 2025. So our trade deals, changing global flows, top of mind for investors, which is why it's kind of a great time to check in with our next guest, whose company does manufacture in the United States, has been doing so for 160 years, is a great read to you on the U.S. economy, U.S. business, and also consumers. So it's nice to have back with us Ross Widmoyer. He is president and CEO of Faribault Mill. He also held a senior merchandising roles, or several, I should say, at Target, and he joins us from Minnesota.

3:30Carol Massar:Ross, good to have you back with us. How are you? I'm well. Thanks for having me on today. So, you know, I was thinking about this. We were thinking about this and getting ready for you to join us. I think we talked in July. Tell us about the past few months. What's changed in terms of process, strategy, outlook, and really your outlook, too, on the U.S. economy? Yeah, I would say a couple of things on that front. Number one, you know, for us as a U.S. manufacturer, it's been business as usual. And I think other manufacturers I've talked to, not only here in Minnesota, but around the country, it's been anything but business as usual.

4:02So, you know, from that standpoint, it's been a good thing for our company. It's been a good thing for our employees. You know, I think the other piece I would add to that is, you know, with all of the noise around tariffs and what that's going to mean, not only for manufacturers and consumer products, but also for the consumer, there's a lot of noise. And I think it's caused a bit of an undercurrent of economic uncertainty, which heading into the holiday season, you know, can be a little bit scary for those of us who are in the retail business, particularly a fourth quarter driven retail business.

4:37But we're still, despite all that, really optimistic about the upcoming holiday season. Your company has reported record revenue growth for around four consecutive years and launched over 100 new products. What's driving that momentum and what lessons do you wish to parlay to those who are saying that it's impossible for things to be 100 % made in the USA? Yeah, well, you know, I wouldn't say it's impossible because we've been doing it for 160 60 years here in Minnesota. And we have a proven product. We've been perfecting our wool and cotton blankets that we make here in Minnesota and also in Maine, I should say, over that course of time.

5:16So, you know, Made in America is, we were doing Made in America before Made in America was cool. But I would say that they're really, with a newfound investment in American manufacturing, developing the workforce, reinvigorating a plant like we did here in Minnesota. We put a multiple million dollar effort and investment into our mill here in the States with new equipment to help modernize us and get us not only out of the 19th century, but into the 20th and eventually the 21st century. And that's really kind of helped us gain this newfound momentum we have as a company, as a brand. And we're really excited about it.

5:57And we'd love for others to follow in our footsteps as well. And you've recently been able to lower prices permanently also, which is something very rare in the manufacturing space. Can you walk us through any specific changes that you've made, whether it's technological or more procedural, that made that possible? Yeah, no, I think that that's been the big news coming out of Faribault, Minnesota, is that we've been lowering prices while others are raising prices, especially in this hyperinflationary environment we've experienced over the last couple of years. And we've been able to do that all the while raising wages here with our workers in Minnesota, which we're really proud to have done that.

6:32But really for us, it's about the investment in new equipment and helping automate the manufacturing of a craft that we've been doing for 160 years. And I think sometimes automation is a bit of a dirty word, particularly if you're in the workforce. It oftentimes means replacing workers with machines. We're doing anything but that. We're continuing to grow employment here at our plant in Minnesota and in Maine, but we're able to make more product as a consequence of the new high-speed, high-tech machinery we've invested in over the last couple of years. And that's allowed us to make blankets more cheaply, and rather than pocket all of that gain, we wanted to pass it on to our consumers because we know that they're getting pinched from all corners of their life.

7:20And it's the least we could do here as a great American brand and a great American company.

7:25Carol Massar:Hey, you know, I am curious, too, about selling. Like, I'm on your website right now. I mean, how much is direct-to-consumer? How much is, and forgive me for not knowing, like retail? Or do you have partnerships that you sell at, you know, existing retail? Yeah, we do it all. We, you know, we've really, over the last five years, made a strategic pivot from a long-run contract-based manufacturer into more of a short-run, nimble, customizable, direct-to-consumer, marketer, and merchandiser. And that's really helped us grow our business. You talked about our top-line sales growing over the last four years.

8:01We're expecting this to be record year number five for us. But we also do a lot of partnerships with different brands around the country. Coach and Supreme have been two that we've worked with, not to mention the fact we've been making blankets for the U.S. military since before World War I, and we were just awarded a five-year army contract. So now we make blankets for both the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Army. So anybody who enlists will get a blanket made here in Faribault, Minnesota. So it's a multi-channel approach to retailing that we do, driven largely by direct-to-consumer, as you mentioned, but strategic wholesale and contract manufacturing as well.

8:39Carol Massar:What's the biggest part of your revenues and revenue growth. Is it the direct-to-consumer? It is the direct-to-consumer, and that really starts with product. I've been around a lot of consumer product companies over the course of my career, and newness is the lifeblood of any consumer product company. Newness and unique product, and we have a lot of unique product, which makes me really optimistic about the holiday season because I think regardless of any consumer uncertainty, those retailers that have unique, differentiated product are poised to win. And we think we fall in that category with our city maps, our flag blankets, our artist collections.

9:17We have a lot of unique products you can't find anywhere else, all of which is made here in the United States. It seems like many of your peers are facing margin pressures and rising input costs, but you're thriving. And if you must, what would you say is the biggest pain point when you produce and manufacture everything in the U.S.? Is it labor? Is it just competing with overseas prices? Is it just the cost of these materials? What would you say it is? Yeah, I think, you know, historically it's been cost. It's been more expensive to produce here in the United States than it has been, let's say, in China because of, you know, what we pay our workers.

9:56We pay our workers a good and a fair wage here. We want them to be able to sustain good middle-class lifestyles here in Faribault, Minnesota, and also out in Monmouth, Maine, where we produce our cotton blankets. So that's an important part of our mission as a company. But I will tell you, with the tariffs in place, that cost gap has shrunk. We have a proven product that we've been making for over 160 years, and we're made here in the United States. So if you go back to the old operational model of winning on cost, quality and flexibility, we think we can win on all three aspects of that of that model.

10:32And that's why we're really excited about where we are today and why we're really excited about the future.

10:37Carol Massar:You know, we talk a lot with you and also in general this year, certainly with President Trump in the White House about, you know, manufacturing coming back to the United States. You know, what would make manufacturing easier for you in the U.S.? Is it I mean, you want to pay workers what they're worth, you know, especially in an economy where we talk about a K-shaped economy where not everybody's doing so well and people can't afford to, you know, put food on their table or provide housing. I mean, it's just really tough for a lot of Americans, not just a few, but a lot of Americans. So when you look at this, what would make it easier?

11:16Yeah, I think, you know, I talk to a lot of manufacturers and I chair the Manufacturers Council here in the state of Minnesota. And the number one issue I hear from manufacturers, and we feel it as well, is finding not only workers and a workforce, but a skilled workforce that can do the type of work we need them to do with state-of-the-art machinery that we've invested in over the last few years. So I think there has to be a renewed focus on investing in education in this country, particularly vocational education, starting not only at two-year vocational schools but all the way to high schools and even middle schools.

11:56Carol Massar:So you don't need somebody necessarily with a college degree? No, I mean, you know, I tell people all the time, if you post on Indeed for a weave technician, you're going to be sitting by your computer a long time waiting for people to fill that out with experience. So we train people. It's an apprenticeship business. Yeah. And so what we need are people with mechanical aptitude who are willing to work, who are willing to learn, who are curious. And I think those are skills that can be trained, certainly in middle school all the way to high school, and if need be, up to two-year vocational colleges as well.

12:30What about looking ahead? You said that you've been making things in America even before it was cool. Well, now that it's cool or what is encouraged, do you believe that the current momentum in U.S. manufacturing here is sustainable? Like, what if everyone really does manufacture in America? Is that something that can be? Yeah, do we have enough workers, especially if we need workers to do it? And materials and everything, yeah. That's the key question is, I think, do we have the workers to do that? And I think workers coupled with state-of-the-art technology, you know, where you can have the same number of workers like we do here, but if we have the right technology, we can actually produce more product.

13:09You know, that's kind of the secret sauce. And that's what we have to figure out as a country, as a society. It's not going to be an easy task. I don't think it's going to be as easy as maybe it's sometimes made out to be in the media. But those of us who are doing it are working at it really hard. And we're working at it with like-minded companies as well, because it's good for our companies. It's good for our communities. It's good for our investors, too. All right.

13:33Carol Massar:We're going to have to leave it there. Russ, always good to get some time with you, Ross. And maybe we can get another chat with you as we get closer to the holidays, because the season is just around the corner. Although we have to get through Halloween first. Halloween and Thanksgiving. And Thanksgiving. But you know how it goes around here. It's like Christmas or the holidays. All of it's coming. Ross Wynn Moyer, he's president and CEO of Faribault Mill, joining us from Minnesota.

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