USA Today: As tariffs continue, panic beginning to sink in among Wisconsin manufacturers
Delta Children’s Products Corp. has a mattress factory and product design center in Neenah, in Wisconsin’s Fox Valley. The New York-based company says it is the world’s largest maker of baby cribs.
Many of its products and raw materials are imported from China.
The tariffs are making it harder for families to afford a new crib, said Joseph Shamie, Delta Children’s president.
“Now, more moms are going to turn to less safe hand-me-downs,” he said.
To sidestep the tariffs, the company has looked at moving manufacturing from China.
But that would take at least a year, Shamie said, and it would be a costly endeavor to establish another factory and line up suppliers.
“If we invest in the changes, and the tariffs go away, then we have wasted a lot of time and money. But if we don’t, and the tariffs continue, we have a huge problem,” he said.