When Colleen Shea’s family business was on the brink of being sold and production moved to Mexico, she and her brothers rallied.

Shea, who had been living in Europe as a professional tap dancer, came back to New Jersey to lead sales at Pen Company of America (PCA, asi/76811), a business started in 1928 by her great-grandfather that specialized in USA-made fountain pen tips. When Shea’s grandfather returned home after World War II, it was clear that ballpoint pens were the way of the future.

Shea and her brothers, Matt and Greg Shea, worked at the company – which remained American-made – in high school, and then went into separate, unrelated careers after college. While Shea headed for Europe, her brothers went into law and national defense, respectively. Then, it came time for their grandfather to consider selling.

“There were a couple companies interested in acquiring him, but all with the thought of moving production to Mexico,” says Shea. “We talked about it, and we decided we couldn’t let the family business leave this country. So, we all left our jobs and came back because we believe in U.S. manufacturing and the reputation of my family’s name.”

Shea recently joined the Promo Insiders podcast to talk about the importance of domestic manufacturing during ongoing supply chain uncertainty, the perennial popularity of writing instruments as a promotional product, the recent acquisition of Garland and what’s coming up next for the company.

“We’ve had the determination to keep production here and not let it leave this country,” says Shea. “We’re basically the only ones left making a whole line of pens here in the U.S.”