Detroit Quality Brushes is a company that does just what its name suggests: it makes high-quality brushes in Detroit.
Years ago, the company had 18 competitors in the United States. Today, only three are left, says John Avgoustis, its head of marketing and sales.
"Walmart and others were a fundamental force in getting many companies to go the way of the dodo," he said.
Avgoustis was among some 2,000 executives from US manufacturing companies who journeyed to Wal-Mart Stores headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas, on July 7 to huddle in tiny conference rooms with Walmart buyers and present products made in the US.
Walmart's 2015 US Manufacturing Summit was advertised as a chance for goods producers to pitch American-made products to the retail giant. They would also get advice from Walmart executives on how to take advantage of the company's recent efforts to support more US manufacturing jobs and reverse the trends its buying strategies and demand for low prices have driven.
But the event also highlighted the challenges facing companies trying to bring manufacturing jobs back to the US. Cheaper energy and rising labour costs in China have helped stabilise manufacturing employment in the US, but there are still roughly five million fewer Americans working in factories today than in 1990.
Would-be Walmart vendors attending the summit had to establish that their so-called "Made in America" products are not just assembled domestically, but also made from component parts manufactured in the US.