with Singapore - US Chamber of Commerce

MANUFACTURINGIndustry: ManufacturingNumber of U.S. Employees: 25Major Products Sold to Singapore: Parts Used inAutomotive, Petrochemical and Infrastructure DevelopmentYears of Involvement in Singapore: 32Industry: Heavy ManufacturingNumber of U.S. Employees: 700Major Products Sold to Singapore: Membrane Switches,Labels, Nameplates, and Injection MoldingsYears of Involvement in Singapore: 6CENTRIFUGAL CASTING MACHINE CO., INC.Tulsa, OklahomaThomas McKee, Presidenthttp://www.ccmcotulsa.comCentrifugal Casting Machine Co., Inc. (CCMCO) usescentrifugal casting technology to manufacture foundryequipment used in the production of various partsfor industries such as automotive, petrochemical, andinfrastructure development. Exports account for 50% ofthe company’s gross sales.As a global supplier, CCMCO has been successfullycompeting in world markets, where the purchasing decisionis based principallyon what products areoffered. PresidentThomas McKee says,“Our task is mademore difficult whenregulations are placedupon us that are notunilaterally experiencedby our competitors.Therefore, it isprincipally for thisreason that we supportthe Free TradeAgreement initiativewith Singapore.”On its most recentmachine sale toSingapore, CCMCO facedstrong competition froma Chinese supplier. Anything that would help to—“level theplaying field”—would be advantageous for future sales.GM NAMEPLATESeattle, WashingtonDon Root, Chairman & CEOwww.gmnameplate.comGM Nameplate is a high-end manufacturer of customproduct identification products, electronic inputdevices, injection and compression molding and highvisual impact, large format digitally printed graphics. Thecompany sells, engineers and manufactures encoders, labels,nameplates, membrane switches, and touchscreens in theUnited States that it then sells to multinational companiesoperating in Singapore. In some cases, only the sales andengineering take place in the United States, and the productionis done in the company’s plant in Singapore.With 800 employees working in six plants in the UnitedStates, Canada,and Singapore,13% of grosssales and 60workers’ jobsdepend on tradewith Singapore.Singapore hasprovided idealaccess to theAsian market.GM Nameplatedoes most ofthe engineeringin the United States, manufactures in Singapore and shipssome of the products back to the United States.Don Root, president of the company, explains, “We haveactually lost business to companies with manufacturingfacilities in other Asian countries because of the dutyimposed on our production in Singapore. A free tradedeal would allow us to compete with companies from thePacific Rim, whose labor markets are distinctly lessexpensive. Any increase in sales for our company wouldtranslate into higher job security and better lifestyles forour employees.”14