Eager to sell goods ‘Made in R.I.’

MAKING IT WORK: Elizabeth Potenza, an independent fabricator and artist, at work at The Steel Yard, in Providence. The nonprofit routinely partners with local businesses for industrial painting, power coating and sandblasting of its goods. / PBN PHOTO/TRACY JENKINS
MAKING IT WORK: Elizabeth Potenza, an independent fabricator and artist, at work at The Steel Yard, in Providence. The nonprofit routinely partners with local businesses for industrial painting, power coating and sandblasting of its goods. / PBN PHOTO/TRACY JENKINS

Can a movement and a logo that brandishes “Made in Rhode Island” as its moniker boost local commerce?
Rhode Island state officials and businesses who manufacture tangible goods that originate here are about to find out. A new law signed by Gov. Lincoln D. Chafee on June 25 establishes a task force to address that question, with a deadline of April 30, 2014, for forwarding findings and recommendations about implementation to the governor and General Assembly.
The unpaid collaborative and advisory panel’s work will include determining what other states’ practices are, which businesses and products would be eligible for the label, designation of a logo, sources of funding, and how to effectively deploy marketing strategies to educate the public and build consumer awareness.
Serving as chairman of a new Made in Rhode Island Collaborative, Marcel A. Valois, executive director of the R.I. Economic Development Corporation, will facilitate the work to be done by the collaborative and a business advisory committee. The EDC staff will help.
“The whole intent here is consistent with our own mission to help businesses in Rhode Island grow and find new markets,” Valois said in a recent phone interview. “This legislation goes to the heart of making sure we understand what we have in our own backyard, something Rhode Island designed and made, and how to bring that to the forefront.”
Businesses that may be eligible to use the “Made in Rhode Island” logo and any other marketing tools are manufacturers or creative producers of tangible goods that originate in Rhode Island. Agricultural and seafood products are not included.
Howie Sneider, public projects director for The Steel Yard, a maker of steel benches, bike racks and other utilitarian and custom-made artistic creations, testified in favor of the new law and is eager to see it implemented. In business for 10 years, the Providence-based nonprofit routinely partners with other local businesses for industrial painting, power coating and sandblasting of its goods.
“Eighty to 90 percent of every product we make, the money is reinvested into Rhode Island,” Sneider said. “This law will help us communicate better about what resources are here already. And if and when we grow to national distribution, it’s important for people to realize the quality of work done here is just as good as or better than what is done in the rest of the country.”
Some of the manufacturers that may not be on everybody’s radar are Chemart in Lincoln, which makes White House tree ornaments, The Moore company in Westerly, which makes fabric for active-wear sports garments, and Meridian Printing of East Greenwich, which helps produce, among other products, high-end Harley Davidson catalogues, said Bill McCourt, executive director of the Rhode Island Manufacturers Association.
RIMA has 250 active members but the association represents about 1,800 companies, the entire manufacturing community in the state, McCourt says.
In conjunction with the comprehensive list of manufacturers being developed by the Manufacturing 1000 project, McCourt thinks the new law will not only help build brand awareness among consumers, but also build conscious connections that lead to partnerships among businesses that may literally be down the street from one another but not yet collaborating.
“The end goal is to grow jobs,” McCourt said. “For every manufacturing job we grow you’re talking two to four other ancillary jobs.”
Erik Bright, director of the Providence Creative Industrial Space, and a driving force behind the new law, sees it as a logical next step for his business, and businesses generally. His firm facilitates artistic and small-business growth by helping entrepreneurs and artists access space in Providence. “All the businesses we work with, it just so happens, are making products in Rhode Island,” he said. “They are hiring here and creating products using local materials and a local workforce.”
Bright has already commissioned freelance graphic artist Christy Sciullo to create a proposed logo that eventually may be adopted by the collaborative and the state. The collaborative will be seeking out proposals as work gets underway.
“What nobody wants to see is one group deciding what ‘Made in Rhode Island’ means,” said Bright. “The most important thing is that this definition is made collectively.”
The governor will appoint a representative from higher education with expertise in art and design to participate in the collaborative. Other members of the collaborative will include Valois; several state department directors; the dean of the Rhode Island College School of Management and the executive director of the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts. The EDC staff will support the collaborative.
The law also sets up a nine-member advisory committee of business representatives to advise the collaborative. Appointed by the EDC, representatives will include a Rhode Island-based independent organization and a charitable group.
Swissline Precision Manufacturing Inc., of Cumberland, makes component parts for new machine tool technology, such as valves for jet engines, said President Dave Chenevert.
“It won’t impact us,” he said. “It won’t generate more sales. (But) I think it’s great legislation to promote the state. It’s a nice way of making a positive statement about Rhode Island.” •

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