A recent U.S. Senate hearing offered a timely reminder for policymakers heading into America’s 250th celebration. Manufacturing is not nostalgia. It is strategy.

In testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, Ohio State University’s Ned Hill highlighted the role manufacturing has played in America’s economic development and the role Ohio continues to play today. Hill described Ohio as a “portfolio state” that competes globally through goods and services produced across regional labor markets and rural communities.

One statistic should stand out to every Ohio policymaker. Eighty-eight percent of Ohio’s 13,307 manufacturing establishments employ fewer than 100 workers. These are the manufacturers anchoring main streets, filling business parks, sustaining rural counties and proving that American industrial strength is built community by community.

Hill’s testimony also underscored how Ohio manufacturers are helping define the next industrial wave. From advanced production and digital tools to defense readiness, automation and entrepreneurship, Ohio’s manufacturing future is being shaped by companies solving real problems in real communities.

The Ohio Manufacturers’ Association (OMA) says Hill’s testimony reinforces a basic point. If America wants to stay strong, independent and competitive, it must keep making things here.

“America’s strength has always come from people who build, make and produce,” said OMA President Ryan Augsburger. “That story runs straight through Ohio. From small manufacturers anchoring local communities to advanced manufacturers competing on the world stage, Ohio’s makers have helped build this country and will help determine whether America remains strong, independent and competitive for the next 250 years.” 7/1/2026