- link Copy Url - [ Share on twitter ](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Aspiring to Be “Made in America” https://www.3blmedia.com/markdownify/node/86726?absolute=1&via=3blnews "link to 3 B L Media's Twitter") - [ Share on linkedin ](https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://www.3blmedia.com/markdownify/node/86726?absolute=1 "link to 3 B L Media's Linkedin") - [ Share on facebook ](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://www.3blmedia.com/markdownify/node/86726?absolute=1 "link to 3 B L Media's Facebook") - [ email Share via email ](mailto:?subject=Aspiring to Be “Made in America”&body=ESG News from Wells Fargo & Company https://www.3blmedia.com/markdownify/node/86726?absolute=1 "Share via email") [Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment](/CSR-News/sustainable-finance-socially-responsible-investment) # Aspiring to Be “Made in America” ##### When Kent International opened a production facility in South Carolina in 2014, it not only brought bicycle manufacturing back to the U.S., it also helped revitalize a community. Jul 14, 2017 10:00 AM ET Campaign: [Wells Fargo's 2020 CSR Goals](/news/campaign/wells-fargos-2020-csr-goals) [Aspiring to be “Made in America”](https://stories.wf.com/aspiring-made-america/?cid=adv_1707_104396/) Editors Note: A priority for Wells Fargo is helping [customers on their journey to better financial health](http://www.wellsfargo.com/financial-health/). And, for many of the bank’s customers that own a business, their focus is on helping improve the physical health of their clients. With our “Healthy Living” series, we continue to showcase how these companies are helping people lead healthier lives. In the close-knit community of just over 4,000 people in Manning, South Carolina, having a job where you work side by side with your neighbors just seems natural. But like in many small towns, the industrial boom from the turn of the 20th century has long since come and gone for Manning, leaving a community in need of fresh energy — and more jobs. So in 2014, when [Kent International](http://www.kent.bike/) — a leading producer of affordable, mass-market bicycles — turned a local, abandoned Sunbeam® plant into a state-of-the-art bicycle assembly factory, it was welcome news to local residents, especially with the creation of more than 130 new jobs. “I’ve been here since the doors opened in 2014,” said Cheryl Brown, who supervises the bike wheel-building process at the factory. “I like the family oriented environment. Everybody cares about one another, and everybody wants to help one another. The people up front care about the employees here on the floor, and that’s very important to us.” For Kent International CEO Arnold Kamler, strengthening an American community is why he brought back 10 percent of the company’s bike production from China to South Carolina three years ago, and why he aspires to change the tags on his company’s bikes from “Assembled in America” to “Made in America.” **An unexpected meeting** In March 2013, Kamler attended the annual meeting of managers and suppliers for Walmart, Kent International’s largest customer. While there, he happened to meet South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley — who is currently the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations — and the two began discussing the possibility of Kent opening a bike factory in South Carolina. “During our first meeting with the governor she said, ‘Arnold, we have an airplane factory in South Carolina, we’ve got a car factory in South Carolina, and Arnold, I want to be able to tell the kids we have a bicycle factory here,’” recalled Kamler. That conversation sparked the idea to move part of the company’s bike production back to the U.S., and just three years later, in 2016, the Manning factory rolled 300,000 bikes out the door of the 200,000-square-foot facility. A big part of Kamler’s ability to ramp up production at the new factory was the installation of a powder-coating paint system, which positions the company to reach its goal of producing 1 million bikes annually at the facility by 2021. To figure out how to finance the paint system, Kamler tapped his twenty-plus-year relationship with his Wells Fargo banker, Thomas Grabosky, and the two discussed the company’s options, ultimately setting up a loan for Kent International with Wells Fargo’s Equipment Finance group. “I visited this facility with Arnold when it was vacant, and to see it come to life and have Kent work with the local population in providing jobs and investing in bringing back manufacturing to the U.S., is very rewarding,” said Grabosky. As the bikes get packaged and shipped to sellers like Walmart, the tags read “Assembled in America.” But with the early success of the Manning facility, Kamler has a vision to change that first word to “Made” as his company discusses how to grow its U.S. production even further. “We always wanted to make bicycles here, but it wasn’t economically feasible. But with labor costs going up in China, we started putting a pencil to it and we came up with a calculation that within three or four years we could be competitive on a dollar-to-dollar basis,” said Kamler. “We’re the first company — we hope the first of many — to bring back bicycle production to the U.S. We’ve got a great labor force and we’re really excited about our future here.” [![](/sites/default/files/Clients/WF_tile.png)](/profiles/wells-fargo) ### More from Wells Fargo & Company ###### [Prosperity Now Receives $1 Million Wells Fargo Foundation Grant to Support VITA Organizations Nationwide](/news/prosperity-now-receives-1-million-wells-fargo-foundation-grant-support-vita-organizations) Mar 31, 2026 10:00 AM ET ###### [ICA Fund Announces $2.25 Million in New Funding From Wells Fargo To Support Growth-Ready Small Businesses in the Bay Area](/news/ica-fund-announces-over-2-million-new-funding-wells-fargo-support-growth-ready-small-businesses) Mar 25, 2026 4:00 PM ET ###### [Wells Fargo Launches National Challenge to Uncover Innovative Housing Solutions ](/news/wells-fargo-launches-national-challenge-uncover-innovative-housing-solutions) Mar 20, 2026 12:35 PM ET ###### [Idaho FFA Foundation Receives $200,000 From Wells Fargo Supporting Grants for Idaho FFA Members](/news/idaho-ffa-foundation-receives-200000-wells-fargo-supporting-grants-idaho-ffa-members) Mar 3, 2026 10:00 AM ET ###### [City of Charleston Launches Financial Empowerment Center, Offering Financial Counseling As Free Public Service](/news/city-charleston-launches-financial-empowerment-center-offering-financial-counseling-free) Feb 24, 2026 4:00 PM ET ###### [ United Way of Greater Nashville Awarded $300,000 Wells Fargo Grant for Financial Empowerment Center ](/news/united-way-greater-nashville-awarded-300000-wells-fargo-grant-financial-empowerment-center) Jan 27, 2026 5:30 PM ET ###### [Transformational Gift Fuels Expanded Elder Fraud Prevention Across Southern California](/news/transformational-gift-fuels-expanded-elder-fraud-prevention-across-southern-california) Jan 16, 2026 9:00 AM ET ###### [Mountain Mediation Receives $100,000 Wells Fargo Grant to Support Eviction Prevention](/news/mountain-mediation-receives-100000-wells-fargo-grant-support-eviction-prevention) Jan 15, 2026 3:00 PM ET