On point: Sharpie shows how domestic-made is a competitive advantage

Today, most Sharpie pens – which are available in 93 colors – are made in Maryville, Tennessee, along with Paper Mate pens, Expo markers, and Elmer’s Glue. But it hasn’t always been this way. In 2018, a large percentage of Sharpies were made overseas.

But then Newell Brands CEO Chris Peterson smartly saw an opportunity that few CEOs seem to be able to recognize, and that was to make dramatic improvements to Newell’s U.S. manufacturing. Peterson envisioned he could increase efficiency without raising costs or reducing headcount. He succeeded in doing exactly that, but only after $2 billion in company investments, thousands of hours devoted to employee training, and a complete overhaul his company’s production process.

Of course, this would not be possible with a company that isn’t profitable enough to make these investments. Citi analyst Filippo Falorni said few companies (due to profits, apparently) have the resources to make a similar move. Unfortunately, too many consumers these days think it simply doesn’t matter which brand we should buy, but it does – a lot!

For example, you could buy a BIC pen made in the USA. But BIC is owned by a company based in France, which is where the bulk of the profits will wind up and where the bulk of the taxes are paid.

A smarter, more-American choice would be Paper Mate pens made by American-owned Newell Brands. The more Paper Mate pens we buy, the more profits for Newell, and the greater the possibility these profits will be reinvested in upgrading and improving American manufacturing. Plus, the bulk of Newell’s profits will stay in America, and the taxes on those profits will be paid to the U.S. Treasury.

Like many companies did in the outsourcing wave of the 2000s, Newell started moving Sharpie production overseas to China to reduce costs.

But Peterson, through his 20 years at Procter & Gamble, knew using robots could do a large percentage of the packing, and existing packaging jobs could be converted to automation engineering positions. Employees who used to pack boxes could fix robots instead.

The result, Peterson estimates, are average wages in Maryville, Tennessee have risen about 50% in just five years with no reduction in employee head count.

Quality and efficiency are up, too. Sharpie is now making pens three to four times faster than before. After production of the retractable Sharpie was brought back to America, U.S. engineers and technicians solved a problem that plagued employees in China. Markers would occasionally dry out in Chinese factories. In the U.S., the barrels and clickers are now fully assembled, with the help of robotic systems, and the internal pen chambers are sealed. In 2024, Newell also repatriated manufacturing from South Korea.

Inflation over the past five years has been muted, production costs have been lowered, customer orders are being filled more quickly, shipping costs are down now that production is closer to U.S. customers, and Newell has avoided price increases. No more volatile freight costs from overseas. No more worries over skyrocketing delays and costs due to unexpected pandemics, or Houthi rebel attacks on container ships going through the Suez Canal. And it’s all because an American-owned company had enough profits and foresight to make it all happen.

As of an October 5, 2025, Wall Street Journal article, production of Sharpie’s Clear View highlighter was moving from China to the U.S. within a few months. Marked squares already exist throughout the factory representing available space for future lines shifting to America.

Newell CEO Chris Peterson says “My objective is to get our average wage in our manufacturing plant up significantly, by transitioning our workforce away from manual labor into more skilled labor. If we do that well, we can repatriate more manufacturing back to the U.S.” That way, he says “There’s no longer a reason to manufacture Sharpie outside the U.S.”

****

You can now reserve your copy of the forthcoming 4th edition of “How Americans Can Buy American: The Power of Consumer Patriotism,” due out at the end of this year. All you need to do is provide your name and email address. Reserve your copy today!