North Dakota-based lighting firm GoodBulb operates the one manufacturing unit in the US that manufactures A19 LED lightbulbs. With the current launch of its Fargo operation, GoodBulb is proving that merchandise like these normal family bulbs, as soon as thought completely offshored, can as soon as once more be made in America. GoodBulb’s first American-made LEDs went on sale on July 4, 2026.
Offshoring the Normal LED Bulb
LED A19 bulbs turned commercially widespread within the 2000s and 2010s. As demand for LED lighting accelerated and LED bulb manufacturing scaled, manufacturing shifted offshore to Asia, particularly China, for decrease prices. By about 2021, nearly all U.S. manufacturing of the usual A19 LED bulbs had ceased, till manufacturing returned in 2026 with the launch of GoodBulb’s new manufacturing unit.
GoodBulb founder Tom Enright was assured the work might be efficiently reshored with the fitting automation investments, operational orchestration and a well-trained workforce. Enright celebrated the trouble because the return of an American trade, proclaiming: “We’re not simply making bulbs, we’re bringing an American trade house.”
Retaining the Lights on
Based in 2015, GoodBulb produces commercial-grade lighting constructed for long-term reliability. As the corporate grew, Enright took on the problem of reshoring the A19 LED bulb to the U.S.—one thing the trade had lengthy thought-about economically unfeasible.
The corporate would spend eight years creating and refining the method. Enright traveled the world to learn the way the bulbs are manufactured, then introduced collectively the multidisciplinary experience wanted to construct a custom-made superior lightbulb manufacturing line.
Enright argues that lightbulbs are a part of the nation’s crucial infrastructure. “A rustic ought to be capable to manufacture one thing as basic as its personal mild,” he has stated. “We should not rely on anybody else to maintain the lights on. Making them right here is not only the fitting factor to do; it’s the smarter solution to run the enterprise.”
Pace is the primary benefit. GoodBulb can produce and ship same-day from Fargo, whereas importers sometimes face three-to-six week ocean freight timelines, port delays and restricted capability amongst manufacturers utilizing the identical abroad factories.
GoodBulb’s second benefit of producing at house is best manufacturing management that permits the corporate to keep away from stockouts and provide customized or smaller batch runs.
Lastly, there may be the entire price. The offshore value doesn’t embrace freight, tariffs, container prices, minimal orders, the carrying price of stock and the prolonged time for guarantee/rework. Add all of that up, and the entire price of possession (TCO) hole is way smaller. Made-in-USA can be a advertising benefit.
The Growth
GoodBulb produced its first U.S.-made bulb on June 10 and deliberate the July 4 launch in honor of the nation’s 250th birthday. Growth included mastering the temperature, humidity and static management that home LED manufacturing requires. The road is engineered to supply 10,000 bulbs per shift and makes use of over 100 ft of automation. As of this writing, Enright estimates the corporate’s sensible most is about 8,000 bulbs per shift.
GoodBulb manufactures its personal LED circuit boards, makes use of automation to construct and bundle the bulbs and robotics to palletize them, all on the Fargo operation. However the digital elements are sourced abroad, a actuality for all U.S. LED producers.
Imported elements are produced in monumental portions for a lot of industries past lighting, at a drastically decrease unit price.
The Line Is Constructed for Range and Flexibility
GoodBulb is launching 60W and 100W equivalents in 4 colour temperatures —2700K, 3000K, 4000K and 5000K—beginning with 90 CRI (colour rendering index) and dimmable. Utilizing a customized mould on the identical line permits GoodBulb so as to add 75W-equivalent and 3-way variations throughout totally different colours. In the event you embrace dimmable vs. non-dimmable and CRI variations, that is a functionality to supply at the least 24 distinct SKUs from one manufacturing line.
Automation Key to Reshoring Effort
Manufacturing facility automation offsets larger U.S. labor prices by dramatically growing manufacturing quantity whereas lowering the price of labor-intensive duties. Automation know-how made home manufacturing viable, purpose-built to allow this American producer to compete on a world scale.
“Abroad factories compete on low-cost labor, constructing and packaging bulbs by hand throughout dozens of staff. We knew we may by no means win that manner, so as a substitute we constructed a extremely automated line, 140 ft of it, that permits a small, extremely expert crew to produce at quantity,” Enright defined.
The Significance of a Properly-Educated U.S. Workforce
Constructing and coaching the workforce was as vital as constructing the manufacturing unit. GoodBulb labored intently with gear and automation companions to coach the crew on the automated techniques.
Cooper Bierscheid, chief working officer at GoodBulb, introduced engineering experience and the imaginative and prescient of a two-time startup founder to the operation. His innovation strategy to operational management, mixed with the extremely expert, agile manufacturing crew, has performed a key position in making the reshoring effort a hit. “You may’t reshore a product like this with out investing within the expertise to run it,” stated Enright.
Extra Reshoring Deliberate
In an effort to reshore as a lot bulb manufacturing as attainable, GoodBulb plans to subsequent put money into an injection molding machine to supply the diffuser in-house. This funding will transfer one other main part onshore, pushing the U.S. content material even larger. “The purpose is to maintain bringing extra of the bulb house, piece by piece,” stated Enright.
US-Made Effectivity vs. Imports
GoodBulb’s greatest benefits vs. imports are its distinctive lifespan and vitality effectivity. It helps to see the market in three tiers. GoodBulb’s U.S.-made product delivers about two to 5 instances the rated lifetime of typical imports. The GoodBulb A19 is rated at 25,000 hours, whereas the overwhelming majority of imported bulbs bought within the U.S. are quick life with poor high quality mild. A smaller share has longer life however nonetheless subpar mild high quality. Solely a small slice of imports provide longer life and high quality mild. In that high tier, GoodBulb is the cheaper choice.
Are You Pondering About Reshoring?
Click on right here [https://reshorenow.org/resources/] to entry the complete listing of Reshoring Sources supplied by the Reshoring Initiative. For assist, contact me at 847-867-1144 or e-mail me at [email protected].
Have you ever reshored a steel part or product? Apply for the Nationwide Metalworking Reshoring Award. The 2026 winner will likely be honored at IMTS 2026.
