American Made Products = Top Quality

There is plenty of evidence that U.S.-made products are built of high-quality materials, generally have exceptional workmanship and perform reliably for years. You will find thousands of examples among products made in America. To name a few: Harley Davidson bikes, vehicles like Ford Explorer, Honda Accord and Cadillac Escalade, appliances made by Whirlpool and Maytag, Vitamix blenders, American Woodmark cabinets.

Our goal: Provide you Information, Education and Guidance in finding the highest quality products. When you seek top-quality products, it is usually a safe bet to search for the label, Made in USA.

Our name Whaayu stands for: Why U, or Why United States.

While there is plenty of empirical evidence, ask yourself: On a fundamental level, WHY do U.S.-built products have Top-caliber Engineering, Workmanship and Quality?

In our view, there are four primary reasons. We will call them Four Pillars. These pillars are the foundation for success of American-made offerings.

Pillar 1. English is the Language of Technology and Engineering

Of all languages, the maximum amount of engineering knowledge is available in English. 300 years ago, European languages, German, French, and Italian (e.g. works by Da Vinci, Galileo), and Asian languages, had dominant role in technology literature. It is different today.

Of course, there are plenty of non-English tech documents globally. Yet, English is the undisputed language of choice for Technology Know-how. In places where English is not commonly spoken, most engineers have basic understanding of English and their communication is mixed, English + their own language.

What does this mean? The workforce in the United States has an inherent advantage in learning, understanding and implementing Technology.

Pillar 2. United States is home to the finest engineering universities anywhere around the world

You can think of 100+ engineering and sciences colleges in America with well-established programs. Places such as MIT, Stanford, University of California campuses, Caltech, University of Texas campuses, Carnegie Mellon, Harvard, Georgia Tech, University of Wisconsin, Cornell, University of Illinois, Virginia Tech, University of Michigan, Princeton, Purdue, Texas A&M, and many, many more. It will be a long list!

These have given birth to numerous new technologies in materials, manufacturing, construction, computation, microelectronics, Internet, software, social networking and more.

There are fine engineering schools outside United States in all major countries, such as Germany, Japan, China, India, U.K., Russia, Canada, Brazil, Korea, Sweden and Italy. But none of these countries have the breadth of engineering programs that America has. That is why we continue to attract talented students from around the world to United States for undergraduate and graduate studies.

You see at least 10 times as many students coming to America for science and engineering studies compared to those going from U.S. to other nations for such programs (except medicine). In the United States, we have the depth and the breadth for engineering and science education.

America has the most complete ecosystem – Universities and industry – to foster existing technologies and develop new. It is the cornerstone of success for American-Made products!

Pillar 3. There is more Transparency in the United States than anywhere else in the world

Transparency or openness in running businesses is critical. It leads to identifying quickly and correctly what the problems are. This helps in making products better and in making new technologies work more efficiently. In many other parts of the world, possibly due to cultural factors, there is less openness, and you see tendencies to cover problems and save face.

Here is an example of how lack of transparency can lead to disastrous quality problems and more. A well-known automaker, not a U.S. company, was fined billions of dollars 3 years ago and had to recall several hundred thousand vehicles. Some people at this company had falsified emission-test conditions for its diesel-engine vehicles. The company had the technology and market leadership. What it lacked: Transparency. If there had been openness i.e. transparency at the company-level, this would have been detected internally and those vehicles would never be shipped to customers.

Every kind of product – mechanical, electrical, software – will have problems during development, and may show discrepant behavior when external conditions change. (e.g. Product designed to run at an ambient temperature of 80 degree F, may not work the same way in winter when it is 30 degree F).

When there is transparency, you seek and develop true, permanent solutions to problems. And that is what drives the engineering and quality for products Made in the USA.

Pillar 4. America has the Ecosystem to foster innovations and new ventures

The fourth factor is the ingenuity and creativity that is encouraged in the U.S. Cultural openness paves path for successful innovations. There are numerous examples of how new companies came to prominence in the Silicon Valley and elsewhere in America.

When you seek solutions to the toughest problems (in design, manufacturing, distribution, software writing, etc.), knowledge and hard work are necessary but usually not sufficient. You need to be able to challenge pre-conceived notions and be resourceful.

CONCLUSION: There is symbiotic relationship between these four pillars. A strong educational system, openness-culture and pursuit of innovations are connected. In America, we have better ecosystem than elsewhere. And ultimately, it translates to superior engineering, high quality and unmatched reliability.

There you have it – the fundamental reasons for buying American made products!

Note: The analysis presented here is independent and original. It is based on many years of experience in engineering and high-technology manufacturing.

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