Insiders like to watch how products get made; the public enjoys the value.
Factories are about as glamorous as mud wrestling, but plant tours help fortify the soul of anyone who works in
this industry. You wouldn't necessarily want to take your customers there. They belong in showrooms viewing
the finished products, or seated in their own living rooms listening to your service techs explain the benefits
and features. But I've yet to meet anyone from the trade who doesn't get a kick out of seeing where the wares
begin and how they take shape.
Count me among them. My most recent plant tours took place last July when I accompanied a couple of
dozen contractors from the Plumbing Council of Chicagoland on a visit of Gerber Plumbing Fixtures Corp.'s
brass plant in Delphi, Ind., and its neighboring fixture factory in Kokomo, Ind.