WACO, Texas – Texas State Technical College students were given a tour of the Merrick Engineering Headquarters and Warehouse Friday in celebration of Manufacturing Day.

Merrick teamed up with Walmart as their supplier of hangers and cups to put on the tour.

The companies both wanted to stress the importance of buying American-made products, especially to a group of students about to embark on the manufacturing business.

“Buying American is very important to our company when you consider 80 percent of Americans. When they shop and they see that ‘Made in America’ logo, they typically tend to buy that direction rather than the other,” says Walmart manager Rudy Garcia.

Both Merrick and Walmart representatives also explained the importance of these students seeing a manufacturing plant doing business in Waco rather than bigger cities like Dallas or Austin.

Merrick’s Manufacturing Day is in partnership with Manufacturing Month, which is happening all over the U.S. this October, in order to encourage Americans to buy products made in America.