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American-made has been a core value for Cashion Rods since its inception and is part of its DNA.
The business’s owner, Dr Matt Cashion (right), says that it is interesting to see his company in the spotlight after the tariff announcements. “We have been doing this for over ten years and we have a core customer base that we deeply care about. But recently we have been in contact with numerous manufacturers to discuss potential OEM projects.
“We are confident that between strong sales in the Cashion brand and increased OEM demand we will hit 100% of our factory capacity this year, even after moving into a larger location.”
Cashion believes that there has always been a demand for American-made and that its success is evidence of that. However, he adds: “With the current cultural and political climate here in the US, that segment is growing and the tariffs will only accelerate it.
“Obviously, the tariff situation still has a lot of unknowns, but if the end result allows Cashion and other truly American-made brands to maintain price while imported product retails are adjusted up, it will give our brand an advantage on product specification level as well.”
Cashion accepts that there are downsides to Cashion’s commitment to the made-in-the-US stance, most notably labour costs. “We have more ‘labour’ dollars in our costs than importers and this creates unique challenges and advantages. From our brand identity and values, we also gain the benefits of having better control of our quality and consistency.
“In the longer term we hope to develop innovative materials, manufacturing techniques and other forms of IP that give Cashion a truly competitive advantage over other factories.
“We understand that those true innovations will never be realised by an importer, but only a company that is truly engaged in full process R&D. We are also able to handle product development very quickly and there is no time lost in shipping and no communication challenges that others face working with foreign suppliers.”
Cashion added that being American-made has always been a USP for Cashion Rods, but it also has a strong history of scientifically backed materials and design.
“I have a doctorate in carbon fibre and epoxy sciences and truly understand the material side of fishing rod manufacturing from a deeply scientific level. By being here in the United States we are also able to really know our customers and understand the attributes of the products that they are looking for based on how they want to fish.”
