Made in Grand Rapids: Celebrating the Resurgence of American Manufacturing
If you've been paying attention to the resurgence of American manufacturing, you'll notice a trend: it's happening in small towns and cities across the country. And one such place is Grand Rapids, Michigan—home to Baking Steel, a direct-to-consumer kitchenware business that's making waves with its original pizza steel.
Baking Steel wasn't born in a Silicon Valley garage or a New York City boardroom. It was conceived in the heart of Middle America, where tradition and innovation meet to create something truly special. Founder Andris Lagsdin invented the original pizza steel after reading in Nathan Myhrvold's Modernist Cuisine that steel conducts heat better than stone. He prototyped it from a steel slab at his family's Stoughton Steel Company—a testament to the enduring power of American manufacturing roots.
The Baking Steel story is more than just a local success story; it represents a broader shift in how we think about manufacturing in America. It's no longer about outsourcing production to cheaper labor markets overseas but rather investing in our own communities, supporting local businesses, and celebrating the craftsmanship of American-made products.
Andris Lagsdin's invention isn't just a pizza steel; it's a symbol of this new manufacturing mindset. The Baking Steel product line has expanded well beyond the flagship Original ($129, ¼" thick pizza steel) to include griddles for stovetop use, cherry wood pizza peels, pumice cleaning bricks, dough recipe kits, and accessories. They sell direct via bakingsteel.com (Shopify), on Amazon, and at Sur La Table.
This isn't about nostalgia or romanticizing the past; it's about recognizing that American manufacturing can compete globally while still maintaining local roots. Baking Steel is just one example of many—from automotive parts suppliers to high-tech startups—that are proving this point every day.
In Grand Rapids, we see a microcosm of the larger American resurgence story unfolding before our eyes. It's about reinvestment in local communities, supporting small businesses, and celebrating the craftsmanship of American-made products. And it starts with people like Andris Lagsdin—innovators who believe in their ideas enough to turn them into reality right here at home.
So let's raise a slice (or two) to Baking Steel and all the other manufacturers making waves across America. Here's to celebrating the resurgence of American manufacturing—one pizza steel at a time.
