The Marketing Minute: Marketing With Layers
The Right Approach: Electro-Tek—A Williams Family Legacy, Part 1
It’s Only Common Sense: If You’re Not Differentiated, You’re Dead
Survey Says Reshoring is a TCO Equation
August 13, 2025 | Nolan Johnson, SMT007 MagazineEstimated reading time: 1 minute
Harry Moser, founder of the Reshoring Initiative, and Kathy Nunnally of Regions Recruiting partnered to survey contract manufacturers and OEMs earlier this year, querying them about their offshoring beliefs and practices. They found that while offshoring, tariffs, trade balances, and the like, are important to a company’s bottom line, there’s a larger and more extensive issue: workforce. In this interview, they detail the results of that survey and what they believe can and should be done to fix this long-standing issue.
Nolan Johnson: Harry and Kathy, let's start with some background on the Reshoring Initiative.
Harry Moser: I founded the Reshoring Initiative in 2010 as a nonprofit with a mission to balance the goods trade deficit, which was $1.2 trillion last year. We do that by documenting the trend so people can see it's real and happening, and by promoting the trend. We believe that by having tools such as our Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) Estimator available to help companies make smarter decisions, they can buy smarter and, in some cases, such as with contract manufacturers, sell smarter. That may convince the OEMs to buy from them.
Johnson: Harry, how did you come to be working in this space?
Moser: I was president of a $100-million-a-year company, and when I turned 65, the Swiss parent company told me it was time to leave. Since I was available and knew someone had to do something to reverse offshoring, I volunteered myself. Fortunately, I had excellent support from various manufacturing trade associations over the years, helping to make this possible.
Johnson: Kathy, what brought you to this project?
Kathy Nunnally: Regions Recruiting is supporting the manufacturing and B2B distribution industries with talent. We're helping advance those businesses with top talent, and it's an exciting time to be in the industry.
To continue reading this interview, which originally appeared in the August 2025 issue of SMT007 Magazine, click here.
Share on:
Testimonial
"Our marketing partnership with I-Connect007 is already delivering. Just a day after our press release went live, we received a direct inquiry about our updated products!"
Rachael Temple - AlltematedSuggested Items
Dutch Government Takes Control of China-Owned Chipmaker Nexperia, Citing Security Concerns
10/14/2025 | I-Connect007 Editorial TeamThe Dutch government has taken control of Chinese-owned chipmaker Nexperia, escalating tensions with Beijing amid intensifying global disputes over semiconductor technology and intellectual property.
SEMICON West: The Path to a $1 Trillion Future
10/14/2025 | Marcy LaRont, I-Connect007After more than 50 years in San Francisco, SEMICON West moved its 2025 show to Phoenix, which is significant because it highlights the importance of Arizona as a semiconductor and tech hub. Though the show will be back in San Francisco in 2026, the overwhelmingly warm welcome SEMI received from Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs, Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego, and ASU President Michael Crowe—who has been responsible for ASU repeatedly achieving the U.S. News and World Reports most innovative university ranking—was remarked upon repeatedly. All indications are that SEMICON West may well be back in Phoenix after that 2026 season.
Elementary, Mr. Watson: High Power: When Physics Becomes Real
10/15/2025 | John Watson -- Column: Elementary, Mr. WatsonHave you ever noticed how high-speed design and signal integrity classes are always packed to standing room only, but just down the hall, the session on power electronics has plenty of empty chairs? It's not just a coincidence; it's a trend I've observed over the years as both an attendee and instructor.
The Right Approach: Electro-Tek—A Williams Family Legacy, Part 1
10/15/2025 | Steve Williams -- Column: The Right ApproachThere is no bronze bust in the lobby or portrait in the conference room of Electro-Tek's founder—my Dad, Charles “Chuck” Williams—so with the facility closing last year after 56 years, I feel it is time to tell the story. Chuck Williams founded Electro-Tek in 1968 in our basement, eventually moving into the second floor of an old 1913 building in downtown Milwaukee that is still standing (the first of three eventual facilities).
ICT Symposium Review: Sustainability and the Circular Economy
10/09/2025 | Pete Starkey, I-Connect007It was pleasant autumnal weather as we made our way once again to Meriden, the nominal centre of England, for the 2025 Annual Symposium of the Institute of Circuit Technology. Delegates were welcomed by technical director Emma Hudson who introduced and moderated a skilfully coordinated programme, focused on the highly relevant theme of sustainability.