NEW YORK (BRAIN) — Kent International's Bicycle Corporation of America factory in South Carolina was the subject of a segment on CBS Evening News this week, which emphasized the factory's use of automation to reduce labor costs.
Kent opened the factory in early 2015 and got a boost later that year when U.S. Customs allowed bikes made there to be given a "Made in USA" label.
Arnold Kamler, Kent International's chairman and CEO, told BRAIN then that "As we add higher levels of automation at the factory, we are looking to bring our pricing on par with Chinese-sourced bikes, and maybe even cheaper as we do not have transportation costs to tack on. In the Midwest, the 'Made in USA' label is very persuasive."
Kamler told CBS News that its U.S. factory could only make sense with a significant investment into automation. But the story noted that, while the automation reduced the number of workers needed, the factory still employs about 140 people whose jobs would otherwise have gone to China.
