Hi friends of RAMP,

Happy 4th of July!!!!!! At RAMP, we are especially excited about this U.S. holiday, as we spend so much of our resources, time, and effort making products—normally made in Asia and Europe—right here in the U.S.A. We are actively trying to bring ski and snowboard manufacturing back to America. The U.S. was once a major ski and snowboard producing nation. Rossignol had a big factory in Vermont in the 70s-80s. That closed and the production all moved oversees. K2 and Burton had big factories here and both eventually went to China for their production.

RAMP is working hard to expand business and grow the Made in U.S.A. products. We are spearheading the U.S.A. Colab, organizing as many small U.S. producers as we can to help market and raise awareness of this fact—the U.S. is becoming a ski and snowboard producer again. Please support this. How about as a 4th of July gift to RAMP you tell 10 people you know about what we are doing here? Word of mouth is key.

Why do companies move to other places to make their products? Generally it's economics. If a company pays for U.S. labor and has that cost structure, then takes their exact factory footprint, machines, process and goes to China where a ski maker gets $200 per month, you can see the savings. Our workers get at least $13 per hour. However, if you can develop new processes that are less tooling intensive, more flexible, and quicker reacting like we've done at RAMP, we believe U.S. manufacturing can thrive. If you use the same process that have always been around like press molding, then the cheap labor wins.

I think this is an amazing video that shows the importance of making product here. It demonstrates the way the whole chain of producers works. They say if we make cars in Mexico instead of in the U.S., it only has a small effect as people will still buy the cars, which generates consumer spending. This video shows what really happens.

For instance, when K2 and Burton shifted production to China, it's not just the skis and snowboards that went away. Americans used to produce their fiberglass, carbon, Kevlar, resins, bases, inks for the graphics, tools to mold and finish, and CNC machines. It's a much bigger effect. All of those jobs are also gone.

So, we ask and Uncle Sam asks that you seriously support the efforts of Americans who are trying to grow manufacturing and jobs, which reduces the U.S. deficit and grows our economy. If the product is legitimate (RAMP won 7 magazine awards for the new 14-15 product), it's priced normally versus imports, and it's made in the U.S., why would anybody buy something different? Why buy imports when Americans make the best?

Happy 4th! And if you're in Park City, we are building a big float for the annual Park City 4th of July Parade. Say hi to us there, wave, and help us celebrate the United States. #RAMPisUSA #MadeinUSA

Mike Kilchenstein, CESnow