Every community around the country wants to enjoy economic growth that provides opportunity and a better quality of life. To obtain consistent growth, policymakers must work at the local and national levels to help businesses of all sizes succeed.
This theme was explored in depth during the State of American Business 2025. During the program, U.S. Chamber President and CEO Suzanne P. Clark visited All Metals Fabricating, a Dallas-Fort Worth area manufacturer that showcases the role local businesses and policies play in the U.S. economy.
Why it matters: All Metals Fabricating reminds us that economic growth is local. It is driven by businesses of all sizes working together to create opportunity for all Americans. With pro-growth policies, small businesses like this one can flourish across the country.
Owner and CEO Lance Thrailkill shared how his company transforms sheet metal into products used in industries ranging from alternative energy to defense, with ripple effects beyond the North Texas region.
- “You're not only employing people here, but if you think about these parts and where they go, it's crucial to other employment in other businesses around the country,” Clark said. “And so it proves what I always say, that the whole economy is an ecosystem.”
What he said: Thrailkill said his company invests in its workforce and community, partnering with local schools to promote Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education and offering internships and apprenticeships.
- “Manufacturing is a cool space to be,” he said. “You can go straight into manufacturing and work with the coolest equipment in the world and have an opportunity to start making money on day one.”
Thrailkill also stressed the need for further manufacturing innovation, calling for government incentives to support automation, robotics, and AI. “If we want to stay at the top of the world economy, then we have to be at the top of manufacturing,” he said.
Big picture: This is why the Chamber is fighting to extend the 2017 tax cuts. Pro-growth tax policies support businesses like Thraillkill’s and help the communities they reside in thrive. |
