Ames Companies product showcased at White House in ‘Made in America’ display

And for The Ames Companies Inc., the visit to the White House and President Trump was just its latest turn in the spotlight.

The Ames wheelbarrows were featured Monday in the “Made in America Product Showcase” at the White House, and were the only Pennsylvania product in the display. The event was the first of its kind, Ames company officials said Thursday.

The event featured products from all 50 states that are made and produced in the U.S. according to a statement by the White House.

Leaders from each company showcased their products on the South Lawn and on the State Floor of the White House, officials there said, with products ranging from sandwiches to wool blankets and fire trucks. Only one company per state had products on display.

Mark Traylor, Ames Companies’ president, said in a statement that he was excited at the chance to put Ames products forward at the White House.

He also said he is encouraged by what he called the Trump Administration’s commitment to restoring the U.S. manufacturing base.

Ames is the oldest and largest wheelbarrow manufacturer in the U.S., producing one wheelbarrow every six seconds, company officials said.

Trump had visited Ames’ South Cameron Street plant, which the company said is the largest wheelbarrow plant in the world, before an April 29 rally in Harrisburg. It produces 85 percent of North America’s wheelbarrows, the company said.

Ames has some 2 million square feet of space and nearly 1,000 employees in the midstate region, including locations in Dauphin, Cumberland and Mifflin counties, its officials have said.

Ames has 12 manufacturing facilities across seven states, including woodturning, steel forming, steel forging, metal stamping, tempering, welding, injection molding and assembly sites, spokeswoman Christina Perry said Thursday.