What a ship….no wonder ‘Made in China ‘ is displacing North American made goods big time.

 This monster transports goods across the Pacific in just 5 days!!   This is one of three ships presently in service, with another two ships commissioned to be completed in 2012.  

These ships were commissioned by Wal-Mart to get all their goods and stuff from China .  They hold an incredible 15,000 containers and have a 207 foot deck beam!!  The full crew is just 13 people on a ship longer than a US Aircraft Carrier (which has a crew of 5,000.   With it’s 207′ beam it is too big to fit through the Panama or Suez Canals .
       
                    It is strictly transpacific. Cruise speed: 31 knots. 

The goods arrive 4 days before the typical container ship (18-20 knots) on  a China -to-    California  run.   91% of Walmart products are made in China .  So this behemoth is hugely competitive even when carrying perishable goods.      
 
The ship was built in five sections. The sections floated together and then welded. 
The command bridge is higher than a 10-story building and has 11 cargo crane rigs that can operate simultaneously unloading the entire ship in less than two hours.

Cost for this container ship…$146,000,000

 A recent documentary in late March, 2010 on the History Channel noted that all of these containers are shipped back to China , EMPTY.

Yep, that’s right.  We send nothing back on these ships. What does that tell you about 
the current financial state of this country?    Let’s all just keep buying those imported goods (mostly, cheap nothing gadgets) until we run out of money, jobs, homes or all of the above.   

Just our two cents here at InfoTube.net…. We support American workers, products and companies.  We manufacture The InfoTube and InfoBox here in the USA, with materials Made in the USA…so don’t believe it can’t be done.  We’re just a little company.  If we can do, anyone can.  

Please Buy Made in America, whenever possible!!!

We believe that very little of your $52 BILLION spent at big box retailers benefited American companies and US workers. 

If you are worried about the future of the US economy….  If you care about the millions of unemployed and homeless Americans…Make a Pledge that in 2011 you will buy Back to School Supplies that are Made in the USA!!!    It’s that simple.  Keep your money in your pocket and Say “NO” to rewarding retailers and companies that sell out American companies and support foreign workers.

It’s easier than you think to find American Made Back to School Supplies.  Here is a short list of companies to get you started!

SOURCE Made in the USA Foundation

Thank you for visiting InfoTube.net.  We have been making InfoTubes and InfoBoxes here in the USA since 1988.  We appreciate your business and please visit our website for FREE home selling services.   Thank You!

If you would like to Vote for Made in the USA products, please CLICK HERE.    If you want to express your outrage about the outsourcing of American jobs, CLICK HERE.  If you want to reach our politicians and news reporters and tell them what you t hink about the Companies who are shipping jobs overseas, CLICK HERE!!

Thank you for helping InfoTube Fight for American Jobs and Products!!!  Your Money is Your Vote…Spend it Wisely!

For those of you who are following our struggle and have ask how you can help next…  

I think that continuing to send requests to ABC news (the direct link is below) would really be helpful for moving our negotiations forward and for highlighting this David and Goliath story.   

My recent experiences have proven that the tide of consumer awareness is shifting in our country.  The grass roots support for American business, workers and products is gaining momentum quickly and we all need to stay involved to turn our economy and future around.

I would encourage everyone to submit your favorite American made products to ABC News. 

http://abcnews.go.com/WN/MadeInAmerica/mailform?id=13599846

I hope to see a lot of love for InfoTube and InfoBox, of course, but I know that a lot of American businesses are fighting against the outsourcing tsunami, as well.   Each one of them would appreciate your support and there is no limit on the number of products you can submit.

Thank you again for all your help!!!!  Without you, we wouldn’t be here today.   Please mention us to ABC News…I would love to tell our story to Diane Sawyer

Tommi Crow

President, Crow Erickson, Inc

We feel the sole reason for this communication is due to the pouring of support and the hundreds of emails and inquiries sent on our behalf.  

Although, a decision has not been made about the outsourcing of our products to China, we do feel that we have some positive news to share with you for the first time.

On behalf of everyone at Crow Erickson, Caplugs and our associates, we want to extend our deepest Thanks for all your continued effort and support.   We hope that a resolution can be reached, now that the lines of communication have been opened. 

We will be sure to keep you posted on the outcome of our ongoing negotiations.  Made in America matters to us all.

Tommi Crow

President, Crow Erickson, Inc.

After the radio interview, we received a call from Senator Richard Burr’s (R) office to inquire about our story.   The Senator’s office is looking into the matter to determine how they can help.   Thank you, Senator Burr!

Tommi Crow radio interview on Jameson show

I would like to say a BIG thank you to Jerri Jameson at WWNC News Radio 570 for having us on her show this morning.  

Thanks for following our story and for your support!  Please continue to sign our petition and send emails to Lowes, Home Depot and Menardsn telling them that InfoTube and InfoBox SHOULD NOT be replaced with chinese imports.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

National Home Improvement Stores Outsource American Jobs to China    Home Depot, Lowe’s vendor ignores U.S. patents, outsources popular INFOBOX®  

ASHEVILLE, North Carolina (May 10, 2011)—Recently, Hillman Group, vendor to national DIY home-improvement retail giants Lowe’s, Home Depot, and Menards, replaced the store’s popular American-made INFOTUBE® and INFOBOX® products with Chinese factory replicas. 

INFOTUBE® literature boxes were invented 23 years ago in a garage in Dallas, TX, to provide Realtors®, builders and homeowners with an affordable way to sell their homes. Today, millions of these patented real-estate literature boxes are being used in neighborhoods across America. 

In March, Hillman informed Crow Erickson it was replacing INFOTUBE® and INFOBOX® products effective immediately, leaving thousands of boxes stranded on the docks and effectively closing the doors of the Asheville, NC-based manufacturer and inventor. Caplugs® factory jobs in Erie, PA and Buffalo, NY will also be affected, two areas already hard hit in this economy. 

Crow Erickson’s patent attorney has inspected the Chinese product, currently available on Home Depot’s website, and it does appear to be copy of the INFOBOX® design, something Hillman insiders have conceded. The Chinese knockoff provides no cost savings to the consumer. 

This is not the first time Hillman has ignored U.S. patents and put American jobs in jeopardy, including the hundreds of disabled and handicapped American workers that Crow Erickson has employed at competitive wages in partnership with vocational rehabilitation centers.

 In the 1990s, Hillman tried to outsource INFOTUBE® products, a patent violation against which Crow Erickson took legal action. The settlement required Hillman to renew its contract for INFOTUBE® and agree not to compete in its product niche. 

Apparently Hillman is banking on the rising cost of lawsuits to deter the small, woman-owned business from pursuing legal remedy this time around. 

Crow Erickson has made numerous direct appeals to the Hillman Group and senior management at Lowe’s and Home Depot, citing its 20+ year successful partnership, patent concerns, and a desire to work with all parties for a mutually beneficial and cost-competitive resolution. 

To date, Crow Erickson has not been able to engage Hillman, Lowe’s or Home Depot in any meaningful discussion and has been left with no recourse other than pursue costly legal action or close its doors and watch another American-made product fall victim to Chinese factories. 

Crow Erickson is currently launching a public media campaign to save American jobs. More information can be found on www.infotube.net and the company’s blog. INFOTUBE® is also sponsoring an online petition to save American jobs from export to China which can be viewed and signed on The Petition Site at Help-Save-American-Jobs.

 Contact:

Tommi Crow

President, Crow Erickson, Inc.

800-858-6000 (o) 828-230-2260 (cel)

tommi@infotube.net

I have 3 Things to Report to You, so far!

First, WE ARE STILL IN BUSINESS!!!    We have received a number of calls from concerned customers that we are no longer manufacturing product.  I am happy to report that we are still working and don’t intend to stop anytime soon.    Everyone can order product directly from our website, via fax, phone or email.

Secondly, and sadly, we have received no response  from Lowes, Home Depot or The Hillman Group.

Thirdly, our fight to save the little, and in the scheme of things, perhaps insignificant, InfoBox and InfoTube has inspired and motivated so many of you.  Your support has really picked up morale here and words can’t express you how much we need it and how thankful we are.

Truefully, I’m not sure whether the idea of a chinese knockoff, swinging on “For Sale” signs in front of American homes, many of which are foreclosed, touched a raw nerve…or, whether the idea of a forced layoff of hard working Americans, many disabled and handicapped, was infuriating…or, whether the picture of one of the last American made products, being washed away in a chinese tsunami was just too much to take…but, the anger and frustration that you are expressing about our retailers and their lack of support for available American products is powerful, loud and clear!  WE DON’T UNDERSTAND AND WE HATE IT!

i pray that they are listening.  I have proudly worked with the largest retailers in the land for nearly 20 years.  My growth, as a company, I owe to them.  I still believe in them.  I believe that they care what their customers think and they want to deliver what we want to buy.   Your voice matters, so please keep sending those heartfelt emails and Facebook posts.   Eventually, our voice will reach someone in charge who cares.

Thank you for your support and for sharing our story with your friends and collegues.   I will issue updates and share any information or responses I receive, so you can follow our progress.   We hope every second of the day that we will have something good to report!

INFOTUBE® was an immediate success and quickly made its way into every major retail home improvement store across the country, where they have been sold for more than 20 years by retail giants like Lowe’s and Home Depot.  Over the years, our company has provided meaningful, competitively paid work for hundreds of disabled and handicapped Americans.

Today, our patented INFOTUBE® and INFOBOX® literature dispensers are used by millions of home sellers, Realtors® and home builders every day. You can find them in neighborhoods across America, very likely even your own.  

Recently, our largest distributor, The Hillman Group, without notice, replaced our patented products with Chinese replicas.  Their decision effectively puts our company out of business and, ironically, provides no cost savings for the consumer. 

WE NEED YOUR HELP! 

1.  Please copy and paste the following  letter or write your own: 

I am writing to request that your company take a stand to protect American jobs by continuing to carry successful American-made products, specifically INFOTUBE® and INFOBOX®. 

“Made in America” matters to me and so does supporting our U.S. economy. I do not support companies who outsource American jobs to China. 

Please continue to support all Americans including the American companies whose products you currently carry on your shelves. 

Sincerely,

(your name)

2.  Email it to the decision makers at Lowe’s, Home Depot and the Hillman Group.  

Drew Strole (Lowe’s) Drew.D.Strole@Lowes.com 

Bill Boltz (Home Depot) Bill_Boltz@homedepot.com 

Dan Smercina (Hillman) Dan.Smercina@hillmangroup.com      

3. Please forward this letter to everyone in your contact circle.

4. For an up to the minute update on the status of this situation and the response of the retail giants, watch our blog, follow us on Twitter @Infotubes or Like our Facebook Page “InfoTube for Real Estate”.

Your voice and your time matter.  Thank you for helping us in our fight save our company, American products and American jobs.  Together we can make a difference!
 
Sincerely, 

Tommi
 
Tommi Crow, President
Crow Erickson, Inc.

Olmsted discovered this himself when he tracked the value of land around Central Park and found that the city’s $13 million investment had led to an astounding $209 million increase in just 17 years. The architect recognized what many planners still fail to grasp: Parks and managed green space are vital pieces of urban infrastructure that not only improve the quality of life for millions of people but also drive economic growth. 

Today we must act again to transform our cities. The commercial real estate binge of the past decade and the growth of online shopping as an alternative to brick-and-mortar stores have left more than 200,000 acres of vacant retail, office and industrial space. Residential real estate is a massive problem as well.  Distressed properties are a drag on our communities and the economy, and threaten to topple even more banks that hold mortgages on these “toxic assets.”   We need to move these toxic assets off the banks’ books, reduce the surplus of commercial space and create jobs, all while revitalizing our cities. This brings us back to Olmsted.  

Olmsted designed transformative parks, campuses and greenways; his firm completed an amazing 6,000 commissions and launched a green wave across 19th-century America. The same kind of wave could help resolve the 21st-century real estate mess.  We don’t have the luxury of vacant land that Olmsted often started with, so we must bulldoze underperforming and underused property, put people to work creating parks on some of the land and “bank” the rest until the economy recovers. 

Beginning with Atlanta, Georgia Tech is researching what is needed to accomplish this in 12 major cities. The project is known as Red Fields to Green Fields. Under this plan, some of the abandoned or underutilized property would be acquired by a parks agency or by public-private partnerships, which would then begin demolition, park design and construction, putting people to work immediately. More jobs would come as the improved areas attracted development.

 This would not be the first time that property has been bulldozed for economic gain. The railroads, which had many miles of underused track to maintain, pulled up 55 percent of their tracks in the past 60 years to increase profitability, enabling the creation of 19,000 linear miles of “rails-to-trails” parks. 

Pittsburgh, realizing that the steel industry was never coming back, tore down riverfront steel mills and replaced them with an attractive mix of parks and office space. In Michigan, Flint and Detroit are finding ways to “bank” land as open space.   The banking system and the federal government could play an important role in this effort. Rather than backstop bad real estate paper, the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) and the Treasury Department could help finance the acquisition of excess commercial real estate through a land bank fund. 

Instead of buying mortgage-backed securities, why couldn’t the Fed buy excess developed real estate to be held as green space through “land-backed securities”? Why couldn’t the FDIC give some of the useless properties it obtains through bank closures to land banks or nonprofit organizations?   With the right financing structure, philanthropic entrepreneurs could use leverage to remake America just as some of our bad developers used easy bank financing to help create the excesses.   

Acquisition money could also come from expanding tax incentives that encourage banks and landlords to donate land and encourage wealthy individuals and corporations to buy conservation tax credits. Georgia Tech’s analysis has also shown that the money needed for a nationwide program would be a tiny fraction of current real estate support programs, such as the Fed’s “quantitative easing” or its recent purchase of $1.5 trillion in mortgages. 

The 2009 stimulus package did much to protect jobs but little to stimulate the economy with transformational investments.  Converting underused commercial real estate to green space and “banked” land would be transformational. It would create jobs, strengthen the banking system to encourage lending and stabilize property values so that real estate owners would be ready to spend again. Most important, lush new parks would enhance neighborhoods across the country. 

Michael G. Messner is a Wall Street investment fund manager. He and his wife, Jenny, funded the documentary “The Olmsted Legacy,” which is airing on PBS, and are funding the Red Fields to Green Fields research at Georgia Tech.

Why6Percent.com thinks that Mr Olmstead and Mr. Messner may be on to something here.   We will follow this topic and update you with further developments.