Buy America Certified

What has MacLean Power Systems done to address the demand for Buy America Certificated products for Department of Transportation projects?

• MacLean Power has developed our Buy America Certified Catalog and dedicated resources to specifically address these types of requests and evaluations for products not listed in our catalog. We only use iron and steel materials and their coatings that are U.S. origin from melt for our Buy America Certified products. We ensure this by partnering only with suppliers of raw material that meet these stringent specifications and having an organized system of documentation.

How is MacLean Power Systems able to accomplish this?

• We carefully source the steel and iron that we use in producing our Buy America Catalog products making sure that we maintain documentation proving that the (iron and/or steel) material and coatings are of US origin from melt.
• Our Buy America products have a unique catalog number so that there is no confusion between products of the same nature or design.
• Our compliance department reviews each and every component of every product and assembly that we offer as Buy America Compliant to ensure we are meeting these stringent standards. This documentation is verified and stored for ease of retrieval.
• We are constantly reviewing our list to expand our offering to serve high demand product lines and meet our customer's needs.

What if the product I am looking for is not listed in our Buy America Catalog? Does that mean the product you have is not compliant to Buy America standards?

• Not necessarily, if you do not see the product you need in our Buy America catalog please inquire with a customer service representative. They will submit a request on your behalf to our internal compliance department to determine if the product you are looking for is currently compliant. For every request, please fill out our Government Procurement Compliance request form and submit to your customer service representative. To reach MPS Customer Service for more information, call: 855-MPS-SHIP.

What is the Government Procurement Compliance Request Form and where can I find one?

• This form expedites processing of compliance requests for regulations like Buy America. By answering some targeted questions this form can help our compliance department provide you with the proper evaluation.
• We recognize that these types of government regulations are confusing. The analysis for these requests is intensive and time consuming. We have found by having customers complete this form we greatly decrease customer's time waiting for a response.
• We have provided a link to this form on our website for your convenience or you can access it below.

Common Misconceptions My other vendor says that Buy American Act and Buy America Act mean the same thing. Is this true?

• No, you need to be careful here. Your vendor could be placing you at risk. The Buy America Act generally speaking relates to items of iron or steel. Buy American Act generally bases evaluation of materials being 51% or more of US origin. That means there could be 49% foreign iron or steel which is not acceptable for Buy America. If your supplier is telling you that you are fine with Buy American and you need Buy America you may be in violation and taking on unnecessary risk.
  • If your project does require Buy American certified products we can provide an evaluation. Please contact MPS customer service at: 855-MPS-SHIP and complete the Government Compliance Request form and our compliance department can evaluate our products for Buy American.

Made in the America is the same as Buy America, right???

• No, Made in the America or Made in the USA is governed by the FTC - The FTC is "charged with preventing deception and unfairness in the marketplace"¹ This means that this regulation is about how your products are advertised.
  • Made in the USA means – "all or virtually all" made in the U.S"²
  • Items labeled as Made in the USA could potentially have components of iron or steel that are foreign. Therefore, this is not safe to assume these products are Buy America Compliant.
  • If you have a question whether or not a specific MPS product complies with the "Made in USA" standard, please complete the Government Compliance Request form and contact our Customer Service department at: 855-MPS-SHIP

¹ https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/complying-made-usa-standard ² https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/complying-made-usa-standard Made in the USA and Assembled in the USA are the same?

• No, Made in the USA requires "all or virtually all" of components to be of US origin. Assembled in the USA can be domestic or foreign components assembled or put together in the USA.