Iowa Businesses Innovate During Pandemic

Floor Speech

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Mrs. MILLER-MEEKS. Madam Speaker, I rise today to speak on an issue that has directly impacted businesses and farmers across Iowa's Second Congressional District.

The last few years have been challenging for all of us. Manufacturing has been hit hard, with rising costs and supply chain disruptions impacting numerous sectors of our economy.

Although much of life has returned to normal since the pandemic began, the slow movement of goods through our economy is creating major headaches for American families. Empty shelves are becoming all too common at stores, goods from overseas are being delayed by weeks or even months, contributing to higher shelf prices, and we are facing an unprecedented supply chain crisis.

Even though the administration and the Transportation Secretary don't seem to know what to do about supply chain problems, our companies in Iowa do. In Iowa, agricultural producers are also feeling the crunch with their capacity for goods being hampered by a combination of surging demand for containerized shipping and a massive backlog at our Nation's ports. This inefficiency has downstream effects on commodity prices, hurting farmers and ranchers across the country.

As global competition has increased, control over our supply chain has fallen into the hands of fewer and fewer countries, most notably China. Such geographic concentration of supply chains has left many U.S. companies vulnerable to disruption, something we are now acutely experiencing.

Vermeer Corporation in Pella has been working overtime to produce their famous yellow iron at a record pace despite supply chain issues. Vermeer has even gone above and beyond during this difficult time, working to help out their customers and partners. Last fall, a group of Vermeer team members, working at a supplier in Minnesota, worked for 6 weeks at their own cost away from their families to make the harnesses necessary to keep that beautiful yellow iron moving out the doors. Vermeer did whatever was necessary to keep their job done despite the supply chain challenges they were facing.

Kent Corporation, headquartered in Muscatine, is a family-owned corporation that manufactures several food and beverage products. They have faced supply chain issues similar to all companies, but working mainly with agricultural products, impairment in their industry adds on to the difficulties our agriculture producers and farmers face every day. All the while, our farmers continue to deal with increased input costs.

CNH Industrial, located in Burlington, their biggest facility by square footage in the United States, also faced supply chain issues.

During our visit, we heard firsthand about their difficulty getting essential parts for their equipment, but their employees innovated and started producing the much-needed stabilizer bar on their backhoes. It was not felt that this little part could be produced in the United States. It was being imported from Brazil. They designed, cut, and welded in 2 weeks in order to meet their customers' needs. The industry did not think it could be done here in the United States. It was inspiring to see what the people of Iowa are capable of doing during these difficult times, but these visits showed me how much of an impact the supply chain disruptions have on everyone throughout southeastern Iowa.

Lomont Molding in Mt. Pleasant does custom plastic design and molding for HVAC and agriculture businesses, concrete accessories for roads and buildings, and chemicals with a market that reaches every corner of the world. Plastic shortages have led them to use cast-off plastic, and now 99 percent of their regrind is reformulated and placed in their products. They also purchased a corrugator machine to make their own cardboard boxes and dividers for shipping. By reducing imports from foreign companies, their customers have more reliability and dependability.

Delays in deliveries have forced manufacturers across the country to resort to unorthodox and expedited methods of getting critical supplies. All these companies have adapted and improvised and demonstrate the critical need for reliance on home-grown products and solutions by in-house innovation or on-shoring. Pretending the supply chain crisis doesn't exist isn't going to make it magically go away. It isn't just a high-class problem. This should not be a partisan issue. Let's get to work and deliver real results that support businesses and farmers across the country.

I would also like to wish a happy birthday to my good friend, Ashlee.

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