In the wiring and cabling industry “Buy American” is a term often thrown around but not necessarily fully understood.  For example, did you know that “Buy American” can often mean that even though the product is classified as made in America, that not all the components of the product are in fact made here in the USA?   Ensuring that your products are properly certified is the key to purchasing true Made-in-America products.

The guidelines and stipulations set forth in the “Buy American” act are meant to encourage federal contract bids to purchase products that include the following conditions:

• The product is manufactured in the USA.

• The cost of its US components exceeds 50% of the cost of all components of the item.

Additional questions that must be asked for certification include ‘Was the process performed to manufacture the product in the US complex and meaningful?’  ‘Was the process costly?’  ‘Did it require a high skill level?

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), Section 1605 further expands this notion by requiring that domestic manufactured goods that contain materials from another country must be considered substantially transformed in the US into new and different goods that are distinct from the materials from which it was transformed.  This allows for a more broad range of materials to be used in creating products that ultimately gives the customer the best possible end product.

Here at OCC, we continuously examine our processes and vendor relations to provide components and solutions that can be certified “Buy American” or ARRA compliant.  In addition, we take the time to ensure that if you need a “Buy American” and/or an ARRA certified solution, we can provide it with no questions.  Not many manufacturers can say that and if they can, make sure they can prove it.

To learn more about Buy American and ARRA compliant solutions by OCC, contact one of our Inside Sales Reps at 1-800-622-7711 or visit us online at www.occfiber.com