The Build America, Buy America Act (BABA) establishes U.S. domestic sourcing requirements for all programs that are part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, including BEAD. The Buy America domestic content procurement preference under BABA applies to all iron or steel products, manufactured products, and construction materials used for infrastructure projects receiving federal funding.
PLP has been a strong supporter of U.S. manufacturing and the American worker for nearly eight decades. Our state-of-the-art plants in Arkansas, North Carolina, and Ohio manufacture thousands of class-leading components used in communications and power networks worldwide, including producing the world’s highest-quality fiber optic splice closures, pedestals, and pole line hardware devices. Many of these American-made, BABA-compliant products are needed for critical infrastructure projects in the U.S. and abroad, including projects that receive funding from the U.S. BEAD Program and other infrastructure spending initiatives.
PLP's American-made, BABA-compliant products fall into two main categories, as outlined in the final BEAD BABA Waiver: Enclosures and Iron or Steel Products. To be compliant, these products must meet a minimum percentage threshold for the cost of components manufactured in the U.S., and certain specific manufacturing processes must be conducted entirely within the United States. PLP's long-standing U.S. manufacturing operations enable us to easily meet these requirements for our customers and industry partners.
BEAD
The Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program is part of the U.S. Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The BEAD Program provides $42.5 billion in federal grant funding to U.S. states and territories for the planning, deployment, and adoption of projects and activities that help provide high-speed internet access to unserved and underserved communities.
Manufacturing in the USA since 1947
PLP’s first U.S. manufacturing plant opened in 1947 in Cleveland, Ohio – a city we still proudly call home to our Global Headquarters and Research & Testing Center. Today, our industry-leading plants in Arkansas, North Carolina, and Ohio continue this legacy of U.S. manufacturing by producing critical infrastructure components used by the world’s leading network service providers, electric utilities, and contractors.
Investing in U.S. Manufacturing
Since 2022, PLP has invested over $60 million in new facilities, capacity enhancements, human capital, and equipment upgrades to further expand and support our U.S. manufacturing operations.
- In 2022, we completed a $27 million expansion project at our Rogers, Arkansas manufacturing plant, where we produce many of the fiber optic closures, formed wire products, overhead cable storage systems, and other pole line hardware devices that will support BEAD initiatives, among other critical infrastructure construction programs in the U.S. and abroad.
- In 2023, we expanded our U.S. manufacturing presence with the establishment of our new manufacturing plant in Peninsula, Ohio. This world-class injection molding facility produces many of the plastic components needed to support the BEAD Program’s network expansion efforts.
- Since 2022, we have invested millions of dollars and countless hours studying and enhancing our production processes to ensure our U.S. operations run at peak efficiency, including installing multiple state-of-the-art automation lines at our Albemarle, North Carolina manufacturing plant.
- In 2022, we grew our Global Headquarters campus in Cleveland, Ohio to expand our product development, customer training, and employee workspace areas, including enhancements to the world-class Jon R. Ruhlman Research & Engineering Center, enabling us to continue to provide superior local support to our customers and industry partners.
Ensuring BABA Compliance
As one of the largest U.S. manufacturers of many components that will require Build America, Buy America compliance, we are committed to ensuring that our customers and their infrastructure projects adhere to the IIJA’s BABA mandate - not only because it supports American jobs and the overall economy, but also because it aligns with our long-standing pledge to provide our customers with the highest-quality, American-made products that are backed by unparalleled local support.
Because PLP has been manufacturing BABA-compliant products in the U.S. for decades, it allows us to immediately support the increased demand for American-made products and ensure Buy America compliance for our customers and industry partners. In addition to our recent investments in U.S. manufacturing, we are continually evaluating new opportunities to further expand our U.S. operations, enhance our production capacity and domestic supply chain, and support job creation for American workers.
To learn more, reach out to a PLP representative or visit go.plp.com/baba
PLP protects the world’s most critical connections by creating stronger and more reliable networks. The company’s precision-engineered solutions are trusted by energy and communications providers worldwide to perform better and last longer.
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