10thirtysix | manufacturing strong in sussex | season 8 | episode 7

(bright music) (gentle music) - Welcome to "10thirtysix." I'm Portia Young. The United States and Wisconsin are bringing manufacturing back home. "10thirtysix" has

partnered with the "Milwaukee Journal Sentinel" Business Reporter, Rick Barrett on re-shoring. That means bringing work once done in other countries back to the U.S. That's

good news for many companies and communities here in Wisconsin, including in Sussex. (gentle percussive music) (gentle percussive music continues) (drill whirring) - This, it says right

here, made in the USA. - [Interviewer] What does it mean to you personally? (gentle percussive music continues) - (chuckling) I guess I take that for granted a little bit. I just assume that

they're going to be built in the United States and they're gonna be built well. When they're not built in the United States, you don't always trust them to be accurately

built. (upbeat percussive music) - [Rick] That's a sentiment most likely shared among other American manufacturers and their employees, at least before countries like China started

making products at a lower cost. The early 2000's were a nightmare for American manufacturing workers. The number of manufacturing jobs, which had been relatively stable at 17 million

since 1965, fell by about a third. More than 70,000 factories closed. Experts say by 2010, China had quietly dethroned the United States as the world's leading manufacturer. - There

were times that it was impacting us too, of course, but we've always been that company that can make it happen no matter what. We always had the can-do attitude. - [Rick] Tom Soika is

the Tool Manager for Sussex IM, a plastic mold injection company in southeast Wisconsin, (motors whirring) where they make termite traps and familiar products such as hand sanitizer

dispensers, and cosmetic cases, once produced in China. - After the tools run, we bring them in here and we clean them, we remove all the excess grease, perhaps plastic that's been

pinched on it, something like that. - [Rick] Tom Soika has worked in manufacturing his entire career, including 34 years at Sussex IM, and has seen the ups and downs. - Oh, probably around

2008, 2009, when the economy got a little rough, and we did have some layoffs here, which was the first time that it ever happened. And in the end, it ended up being for the better, we

became a little more efficient, and we all pitched in and worked a little bit harder and kept the business going, and we're all very proud of that. - [Megan] And you're all gonna

be on camera, sorry. - [Rick] Megan Tzanoukakis is the President and CEO of the family-owned Sussex IM, a mid-size company, complete with a friendly lab named Chloe. - Come over here. Chloe,

sit, sit. There we go, okay. Chloe is our mascot of Sussex IM. She's my brother Chris's dog, and she comes in every Friday. That was a good job, Chloe, good girl. We are not in

one industry in particular. We're very diverse. So we make medical products, consumer products, industrial, agriculture products, and that has helped us very well through the past 10

years, as when one industry goes down, another one's going up. (casings clattering) So I think a lot of companies want to come back to the United States for quality. It's huge,

right? We make a quality product every single time. We have a reliability of supply. Our products are not gonna get stuck on a shipping container or in a warehouse somewhere. - [Rick]

Something else is helping Sussex IM remain efficient and competitive, automation. - I know that's a buzz-word, automation. What does that really mean? We find creative ways to use

robots and vision systems to remove labor out of that assembly process and reduce the ultimate cost to our customer. (motors whirring) So that's where we upskill our employees. So

instead of employees losing jobs to automation, we are training them to be maintenance technicians for that automation, to program that automation, or even design it. (motors whirring) We

have a lot of robots in our facility. They're used for assembling parts, moving parts from one assembly area to another, putting parts in boxes. And some of their names are Porky Pig,

Tweety Bird. We like to theme all of our automation work cells around the same area. - [Rick] And why the cartoon names? The boss says it's a sense of ownership. - They came from the

manufacturing engineers that designed the automation system, so that's like they're putting their little stamp on that piece of automation by naming all the robots. - [Rick] The

robots and other machinery keep things humming along and employees busy. Sussex IM says it has no plans to move work elsewhere. - We have not looked at moving work to Mexico. We have some of

our customers who are using that as a strategy. Right now, that's not something we're looking at, because we know as a smaller to mid-size company, we do best with our workforce

very close to us. From what we are seeing in our business right now, we think re-shoring is definitely a success. I don't think there's any manufacturer in the United States that

would be unhappy that work is coming back to the United States. What I do think is that in order to do that, we have to be smarter with automation and different creative ways to add that

value so that our customers will bring the work back to the United States. - Globalization was a good thing for many years, but right now, it's a better thing for the United States if

it's not a global economy anymore. We don't have to be the world's police force. We can manufacture here, we have all the products we need, we can be very self-sufficient and

not rely on other people to make the goods and products that we need. We can grow all our own food, we can manufacture all of our equipment to grow the food, we can manufacture equipment to

do machining. We can do everything here in the United States. This is a mold for a soap dispenser. - [Rick] Soika says re-shoring has helped companies like Sussex IM remain an important part

of the community as well. - We make contributions to the park systems, to the library systems. Our company wants to do manufacturing in a clean, sustainable way that doesn't really

hurt the local environment. We don't want to dirty the water. If you could walk around our facility, it's one of the cleanest facilities I've ever been in, and I think

that's a reflection of the overall culture of our company. - My pitch to Americans on why we need manufacturing is, do you buy stuff on Amazon? Everybody buys things on Amazon every

day. Those things are produced somewhere. Why wouldn't you want them made in your backyard in the United States? It'll cost less, and you're giving someone in the United

States a job to make something meaningful to your life. (forklift horn beeping) - [Rick] And Sussex employees like Mayra Estrada say the made-in-the-USA pride goes along with that. It's

seen and felt inside and outside the company. - There's a serial number or whatever date that goes back to a date. There's dates on it that we scan on them. We can go back to that

date, and who made it, and who was at that line. - We just love our country, and we're proud to be making products in the United States of America for the people of the United States.

And we're just really proud Americans and everyone in our plant is very proud to work here. - Yes, yes, because even my kids, like, "You know, I make that at work."

They're like, "Really, mom?" Like, "Yes." So they'll tell their little, 'cause they'll have 'em at school and they're like, "My mom

makes this at work. "We have it here at school." So different products that they know we make here and they see it out and they're like, "My mom makes that"

(chuckling). (uptempo percussive music) - [Tom] It's good for everybody in the state to have local manufacturing. And if we bring a little bit more of it back and do it well, everyone

will have jobs. Everyone will prosper. It'll be good for the entire country. (uptempo percussive music) - Remember to check out Rick Barrett's series, "Bringing it home"

at JS online or at milwaukeepbs.org. Also Milwaukee PBS and the "Milwaukee Journal Sentinel" will host a town hall here at MATC in the fall to discuss how re-shoring will continue

to impact jobs and our communities in southeast Wisconsin. Check out Milwaukeepbs.org for more details. Now to our continuing coverage of Vote 2024 table talk with local voters in

partnership with Marquette University's civic dialogues program. This time, the topic was immigration. We gathered another diverse group of local voters for dinner and conversation at

Engine Company Number Three in the Walker's Point neighborhood. Here's some of what they had to share. (mid tempo mellow music) - According to public opinion polls, immigration is

a top issue in this election. So is immigration an important issue to you? And what about immigration concerns you most? We'll start with Mark. - It is important to me, and I do believe

that United States needs immigrants in order to survive. I do think that just like other countries that United States should, if you can call it vetting if you want, but people should be

vetted before they come in the country. You shouldn't just be able to come into the country however you wish. You can't do it in another country, so I wouldn't think you

should be able to do that here. You should come to the country, yes. And I would love everyone to come, it's a melting pot. But you just shouldn't be able to walk in. You should be

able to be vetted, and screened, and all that. And then you're in, come in that way, and then I'd be okay with that. - Yeah, I mean, I agree. I mean, obviously I'm an

immigrant. I can't be anti-immigrant, so definitely, I'm pro-immigration. However, I do think it needs to be governed correctly. I do think that you need to have rules and

guidelines, and that you need to work within those guidelines. I feel like the politics sometimes demonize immigration more than it should. I mean, I think 90, 95% of immigrants are

hardworking people. They come here to make a living to advance their lives. So I do agree, I think it's a land of opportunity. There's jobs here that's not being filled by

Americans and need some immigrants to fill those jobs. And I think if we govern it correctly and talk about it seriously, we can really solve that issue and not politicize that issue. - I

know immigration is really complicated and I think coming from the perspective and the lived experiences of being a child of refugee, US involvement in the Vietnam War, how is it that we are

here in this country as Hmong, as other Southeast Asians that have been impacted by war and are still facing issues of deportation? Because when we were refugees here in this country, we

lived in some of the poorest neighborhoods, we didn't speak English. Some of us got in trouble, and then had to serve some time for just the careless mistakes that we've made. And

then going through the criminal justice process to then have all of a sudden a pathway to being deported from a country that came into your region of the world and participated in a war that

uprooted thousands and thousands of families, Southeast Asian families, Hmong families. I mean, I'm an example of that. And so I think that the system is really broken in that when

we're talking about immigration and we're talking about deportation, we have to really look at US and its participation globally. And it's not just what's happening on

the southern border. It's also children of refugees, we have thousands of southeast Asians that are being deported that nobody really knows about. And these are children that came here

as children, the refugee kids. And to experience that and to face that and through no fault of their own, having to be facing deportation to be sent to a country that they didn't even

grow up in, right? This is the thing that I think is really problematic. And I understand that even in my community, immigration is a huge concern. - Yeah, I definitely believe that it

should change for the people that are already here, especially when you come here as a child, and then all of a sudden, you just get uprooted and sent back. And there needs to be something

done with that. I want people to be here that really wanna be in America and really thrive. And she came and she goes to school, and working, and that's just wonderful. And that's

the way that it should be. And it shouldn't be a long, long process to get through. I do believe in vetting though. Definitely vetting, and you need to love this country. That's

the most important thing. - That question is heavy, and I really appreciate you all saying your honest opinions, like we said in this commentary, challenge the idea, not the person. I know

we have all come from different backgrounds, so for me, being an immigrant is the elephant in the room because from what I understood growing up, I always had this idea of, "Wow, the

United States is the greatest country "of the world." There's so many opportunities. I can walk on the streets and not get kidnapped. Those basic freedoms like you mentioned

were so beautiful to think about and understand how much responsibility or freedom then comes within. But then also, like you just mentioned, the intervention of US politics into Latin

America. And then I wanna talk specifically about Honduras was so deep rooted that for a reason, there's an exploitation constantly of, "That worker is willing to do it "for

less than the American workers, "so we're gonna take that one." And unfortunately because of that mindset, putting people against each other, I don't think anybody wants

terror. I think everyone wants peace, and wants freedom for their own community to be safe, to walk around and to not feel like if you are target or if you are seen as an alien, what can

that look like for you if the world of politics becomes sour? Can you just imagined for immigrants that came from the Middle East during 9/11, being from those places and then carrying the

identity with you was so dangerous. Or Asian folks during the pandemic, that was so dangerous because you were seen as foreign. So for me, it is about an equity lens of the immigration

patterns that we see today in the United States are because of repercussions from past historical mistakes that unfortunately the U.S. government has failed to respond to. - With regards to

the upcoming presidential election, PBS "NewsHour" will be in Milwaukee in September for a Town Hall with Host Judy Woodruff as part of her "America at a Crossroads"

project. Watch for more details at milwaukeepbs.org. Turning now to our series on mental health, How We Heal. In this segment, Psychotherapist and Producer, Elizabeth Cramer takes us to her

farm where we meet some goats and ponies who play a big part in healing one's mental health. (goats bleating) - Growing up in the country, I had no idea how lucky I was to have nature

around me all the time. Okay guys, you have to be on your best behavior right now, okay? Hi, good morning (chuckling). One of the things I've found as a therapist is that spending time

in nature is imperative for good mental health. How are you guys? Yeah, did you sleep good? What is that? A camera? It reduces stress, lowers blood pressure, increases positive mood, and

improves cardiac and respiratory function. Doctors have even started prescribing time in nature as a treatment. Hi Jingle, don't eat mama's hair. You don't need to eat my

hair. No, you have plenty of hay. Today, I've invited a certified naturalist and an outdoor therapist to my farm to learn how we can find healing in our own backyard. (gentle music) -

My name's Jenna Burris. I'm a Psychotherapist of about 18 years, and I specialize in taking my clients outdoors for therapy. (gentle music) - [Elizabeth] When you would have a

client that would normally be seen indoors in an office, what would the difference be when you would move them to trail or just outdoors? - We grow when we get outside of our normal

day-to-day environment. When we go outside, this is where humanity started. We spend 90% of our time indoors now, about 10% outside, and that's the opposite of where we were a couple

hundred years ago. We're meant to be outside, and I would invite people to try it. I would invite people to see what nature has to show us to reconnect with that part of ourself, the

biological part of ourself, the part that is integrated with nature. How does it affect us? How do we affect it? - So as far as what we're going to look for today out here, what are

some things that we should be aware of? - One thing I would look for is just the different shades of green that you see all around, the different textures, and let your eye start to take in

the mass amount of detail that's out here versus kind of seeing things in blocks. Really look for the individual expression of each plant and each tree. My name is Megan Drevline, and

I'm a Wisconsin Master Naturalist, and a Yoga and Mindfulness Instructor. - [Elizabeth] How does nature help us heal? - Nature is an incredible healer. Everything from just the physical

and mental benefits that you receive from breathing in the air in a space that's full of plants, photosynthesizing and trees, letting off information to communicate with other trees,

you interact with that just through your breath. So just something as simple as being outside and breathing can shift your mood, your immunity, your sense of connection with the world around

you, and those are all really powerful things in maintaining a healthy mental state. We just had a lot of rainfall, and I would suggest some nice deep breaths to kind of ground with the

environment around you. The rainfall has a great way of cleaning the air and releasing negative ions into the air, which have been proven to help with mood, with immunity, things along those

lines. So it's a great way to just connect with the actual microenvironment that you are experiencing because you're absorbing the chemicals that the trees are releasing.

You're absorbing the chemicals that the plants are releasing. And by chemicals, I mean like the best of things. - Yeah, good chemicals. - Yeah, the good chemicals. - One of my favorite

parts of this trail is the pine rows. - This tree is actually valued for more than just the way it looks. I know that long, long, long ago in Celtic tradition around the winter solstice,

people of the Celtic tradition would bring in pine and other coniferous branches to put around their mantle and the heat from the fire through those winter months would release the essential

oils into the air boosting their immune system because the chemicals these needles hold are also antimicrobial, antibacterial. So a lot of health benefits with these guys. - Additionally,

just being in the forest, the additional vitamin D we receive from the sun, the additional oxygen we receive from the trees, the little oils that the trees release, it works for us and I

think it works even therapeutically because it improves our creativity, our problem solving. There's great research through a lot of centers in Japan out when they go out into the

forest, taking people's biometrics before they go out, when they come back. When it helps our heart rate, our breathing, it improves our brain functioning. (gentle music) (birds

chirping) - Not everybody has access to a yard, but it doesn't mean they don't have access to a space that they can connect to nature. So that might be a park, that might be a

trail, just even a tree. Developing a relationship with a tree in the sense of observing it with a curious eye. Like, what do the leaves actually look like? What make them unique? How do

they change through the seasons? How does the bark look? What does the bark feel like? Going outside, finding a place that you're kind of drawn to and then really exercising curiosity

about that space can really allow you to bring a connection into nature no matter where you live. - That'll do it for us here at "10thirtysix". I love the community of

Southeast Wisconsin, and it's an honor to tell your story. Many thanks to our crew, to the amazing students at MATC, and everyone associated with "10thirtysix". And many

thanks to all of you for watching, and supporting this show, and for supporting Milwaukee PBS, take care. (uplifting music) (uplifting music continues) (uplifting music continues) (uplifting

music continues) (uplifting music continues) (uplifting music continues) (uplifting music continues)