Making The TV American Again One Step At A Time

You'd think the television set of all things would still be all-American. Think again. You'd have to flash back a few decades to find one made in America. But a Canton, Mich.-based company is trying to change the course of TV manufacturing history and bring it back to U.S. shores -- one baby step at a time.

Element Electronics' founder Mike O'Shaghnessy is proud to be part of a movement to reinvigorate American manufacturing. The problem is: it's not so easy to be made in the United States. His company began production of large screen TVs earlier this month. Labor is more expensive than overseas but is offset by less expensive transportation and tariff costs. Still, he take it one assembly line at a time.

Components are still made in China but assembly, customer service and repair are only done by U.S. hands and under a U.S.-owned roof. There again -- baby steps. Eventually, U.S.-made parts will come into the picture.

Said O'Shaghnessy to NBC News recently: "We think the consumer experience will be enhanced by putting everything in one facility."

He also realizes that he can't depend on his company's "Made in America" angle to make it successful. Ultimately, he's got to run a strong business.

"There are certainly more people in line behind us on the diving board than there are people in the pool, but we've done our homework, and we're ready to do this,"he told NBC News.

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