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PAYSON — Steve Allred has fought a 25-year uphill battle to keep his Payson-based business all-American, he says.
But Allred experienced a victory Monday when his safe manufacturing company, Liberty Safe, was chosen to represent Utah at the White House’s annual Made in America event, where one company from each state is invited to come showcase its products — all of which are, well, made in America.
“I was a little skeptical at first,” Allred said, after initially worrying that the event might be overly political. “But when we got there, I thought, ‘Well this is a pretty neat honor to represent Utah and represent the efforts of people that are battling to try to keep manufacturing jobs in the United States.’”
The Made in America event is fairly exclusive since only companies whose products are “all or virtually all” manufactured in the U.S. are considered for the invitation, according to an emailed statement from the White House.
Ninety percent of Liberty Safe’s materials are manufactured domestically, Allred said, and the company uses Utah steel suppliers and other local companies to source the material for its products — which can be used to lock up everything from guns to prescription pills.
It hasn’t been an easy road for Liberty Safe to keep things local. The company has invested $30 million into automation and manufacturing technologies at its Payson facility, and Allred is sure the company lost profit, at least in the beginning, because of its efforts to keep its manufacturers domestic.
But as a former tradesman, Allred says keeping Liberty Safe’s business in the U.S. has been a personal priority as manufacturing jobs disappear.
“We employ 400 employees down here in Payson and, you know, to me, it's a personal responsibility that I have as president and CEO of the company,” Allred said. “We're supporting them, their families and other people. … It just goes beyond business to me, and it becomes probably more personal in respects of how it affects people's lives.”
Allred believes the company has made up for the lost revenue in years since by offering top-notch quality, better customer service and better warranties.
“It’s sad, but there are very few safe companies … left in the United States. Most of them have pretty much just closed their factories and went overseas,” Allred said. “To me, that was very discouraging, even though they were kind of our competitors.”
Yet Allred understands how tough it can be to not follow suit. The Trump administration’s recent tariffs on steel have caused manufacturers in the U.S. to raise their prices, something Allred mentioned to Vice President Mike Pence when he passed Liberty Safe’s showcase in the east wing of the nation’s capital.
'... When we got there, I thought, ‘Well this is a pretty neat honor to represent Utah and represent the efforts of people that are battling to try to keep manufacturing jobs in the United States.'
–Steve Allred, Liberty Safe CEO
Pence explained that the Trump administration hopes the tariffs give U.S. steel manufacturers the capacity to produce more, then lower their prices until they normalize again, Allred said.
“I definitely am excited if we can see that,” Allred said. “(But) I’m not sure I agree with everything. … The more the politicians intervene, sometimes the harder it is for us short-term.”
Yet Allred was delighted to have what he described as an open conversation with Pence who he felt was genuinely interested in his thoughts and ideas.
“It wasn't like a script. He wanted to know about Liberty Safe and our employees and if we feel like the things that they're working so hard at doing are really helping. So that was a nice conversation,” Allred said.
Some White House officials also expressed interest in contracting with Liberty Safe to update all the safes in the White House with new electronics, Allred added, so he left his business card with them.
“We'll see if that comes through or not, but that could be great," he said. "I'd love to have our Liberty brand products all the way through the White House.”
