AMERICAN FORK, Utah (ABC4) – Senator Mitt Romney is learning more about how Utah businesses are working to thrive during a time that inflation continues to hit Americans’ wallets.
Sen. Romney stopped in American Fork on Tuesday afternoon to visit Built. A Utah-based company that makes protein bars. During his visit, he spoke to ABC4 about the reason for inflation, what he hopes republicans will do to fix it, and what makes Utah companies so successful during an economic crisis.
During the visit, Sen. Romney stopped and met with a handful of employees who were testing new flavors they are working on. Senator Romney gladly sampled three bars they had ready for tasting. He asked questions about sugar levels and protein, saying like many, he monitors his glucose levels.
“You know, entrepreneurship is sometimes inspiration, sometimes perspiration, sometimes and sometimes just good luck,” he told ABC4. He said he believes Built is successful for all those reasons, adding that it represents the best of Utah businesses. He emphasized that most new businesses won’t make it in the long run, but Utah entrepreneurs aren’t afraid to fail, and that spirit helps them become successful.
Built is fairly new. The company is less than four years old. Today, there are 240 employees, and the company ships its products nationwide and to Canada.
“We ship out 100,000 bars a day. From this facility only,” said Vice-President of Human Resources Shannon McQuarrie. She is also one of the original employees. She told ABC4 that inflation hasn’t hit them. She added: “We haven’t felt it, I guess, is probably the best way to describe it. I mean, when the supply chain was struggling, and it was hard to get raw ingredients in, we just opened up our supply chain partners.” Like many businesses, they began shopping around for new vendors when the supply chain was interrupted as a result of the pandemic. Since then, they’ve been doing well.
However, many Americans are feeling the effects of inflation. “I know people are really concerned about how they’re going to make ends meet and this is a good time to talk to your employer, making sure they understand just what’s happening in your life, making sure that you’re getting fairly compensated,” Sen. Romney stated.
Sen. Romney also encourages Utahns to start looking for new jobs if they are not being fairly compensated at their current workplace. He explained that many companies are now offering competitive pay to draw in new employees. He also mentioned the trades, saying much pay extremely well and are stable in that they will always be in demand.
Nationally, inflation is up over eight percent from last year. Sen. Romney stated, “Part of this is that, unfortunately, my democrat friends spent way too much money.”
He told ABC4 that balancing the budget is the first thing that needs to happen. He said he hopes the republicans will be able to come together and do just that. “I’d like to see us also increase the number of visas we give to people who want to come here to work legally and are able to work, particularly in agriculture. That will help hold down the prices of food.”
“That causes the economy to slow,” he said referring to the Federal Reserve raising increase rates. “It will ultimately bring prices down. It’s done so in the past, but it always entails a good deal of pain as the economy slows down.”