To that end, he uses mostly American-made steel and aluminum. But he\u2019s experienced multiple price spikes elsewhere, from President Donald Trump\u2019s new tariffs on imported metals to higher costs for paint and parts. He\u2019s also at a disadvantage with competitors in Mexico. But the real impact to Pottorff is the uncertainty created by whipsawing tariffs and threats, Cockrum said. His business has softened due to slow demand everywhere but from data centers.<\/p>\n
\u201cAmerican ingenuity is phenomenal,\u201d Cockrum told the Fort Worth Report. \u201cIt will outpace and out-compete anyone. We don\u2019t need these props to be successful.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Goss-Tariffs-Pottorff-03-1024x683.jpg\")
Employees work on packing a truck July 9, 2025, at the Pottorff factory in Fort Worth. (Mary Abby Goss | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n
Pottorff, which employs a total 350 people at its north Fort Worth and Southern California plants, isn\u2019t alone in its struggle. Business owners have scrambled to interpret the tariff picture that\u2019s emerged over the last several months with the Trump administration\u2019s reductions, increases, postponements and rate ranges, all varied by product.<\/p>\n
Business owners report slowing import orders or, alternatively, rushing to place orders in an effort to take advantage of potentially fleeting drops in rates. They also note projects that have been put on hold and examinations of the cost of shifting to offshore manufacturing in countries with lower tariffs.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Relocating could be problematic, as the administration has threatened increased tariffs for anyone moving production to Vietnam from another low-cost country such as China.<\/p>\n
Some companies are looking to cut costs and reach greater efficiency down the road by automating more processes. In interviews with the Report, several business owners said they\u2019re battling to avoid raising prices or making layoffs.<\/p>\n
One thing\u2019s clear, the CEOs said: If the administration\u2019s goal is to use tariffs to try and force an American manufacturing renaissance, such an effort would take years \u2014 if successful at all.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Tariff-ModernLantern-1024x502.png\")
Modern Lantern, a Fort Worth designer and wholesaler of rechargeable battery-powered lamps, makes about 85% of its lamps in China. (Courtesy photo | Modern Lantern)<\/p>\n
Trump\u2019s tariff strategy carries risks and rewards<\/p>\n
Steve Cotton, president of Addison-based Cotton Wealth Management Associates, who worked on Capitol Hill for several years, said Trump\u2019s strategy is to force a reduction in the tariffs our trading partners are charging U.S. exports as well as lowering nontariff barriers to U.S. companies in foreign markets.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tariffs have been a part of government policy for years, he said, and Trump is attempting a large-scale shift to open up more markets for U.S. goods.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But it\u2019s not something that will happen overnight and there is some uncertainty built into the process, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not just the tariff story,\u201d he said. \u201cThere are a lot of countries that create regulated regulatory structures, fees restrictions that get in the way of U.S. companies selling our products and services over to those countries freely. They do it to protect their domestic constituencies.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cotton doesn\u2019t believe Trump will be 100% successful, but even some success will be an improvement.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIf he is able to accomplish even 50% or 70% of what he wants to in over 70 countries, that will have a huge beneficial impact on our producers, our agricultural producers, our manufacturing producers,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As these trading agreements are being negotiated, there will be some uncertainty in the markets and in business.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a mixed picture right now,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s not yet clear and that does create some difficulties for American producers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But, he said, if the president can negotiate downward foreign tariffs and foreign barriers to entry, that will ultimately be positive for U.S. businesses.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe the president is going to be more successful than he is unsuccessful,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
U.S. suppliers difficult to find<\/p>\n
Stephen Fitzwater has searched for a U.S. supplier for his Fort Worth company, Modern Lantern<\/a>, which designs and sells rechargeable battery-powered lamps into the commercial and consumer markets. He co-founded the company with his wife, Carrie.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re either really simple, or really high-end installations for large commercial projects. They wouldn\u2019t get back to us,\u201d Fitzwater said of the fruitless search.<\/p>\n Their company\u2019s metal lamps are mostly made in China, which accounts for all but the 10%-15% of sales the couple gets from a ceramic line produced by a manufacturer in Illinois.<\/p>\n Modern Lantern shipped in a container of lamps from China this spring at tariff rates of 3%-4%, before the U.S. started hammering importers like the Fitzwaters with tariffs as high as 145% on Chinese products. Trump has since dropped those tariffs to an average of 30% as talks with China continue.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was spontaneous and lucky,\u201d Fitzwater said of the shipment\u2019s timing.<\/p>\n Demand has been soft since a strong January, but the Fitzwaters are trying to figure out what to do next if Trump settles on high tariffs on products imported from China.\u00a0<\/p>\n Vietnam was an option until the president raised the tariff rate<\/a> on the southeast Asian country.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cVietnam is a slower process,\u201d Fitzwater said. \u201cI\u2019m sure some of the manufacturers get priority. I think the minimums might be a little higher. I don\u2019t think metal is their strongest suit.\u201d<\/p>\n Other possible changes to the business? Putting a pause on some items not selling as fast, Fitzwater said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHopefully, we can keep pricing consistent,\u201d he said. \u201cMaybe it\u2019ll go up some.\u201d<\/p>\n Chris Curtis, another entrepreneur in the region, has been buffeted by swings in tariffs at one of his businesses: GoVision<\/a>, an Argyle-based national provider of LED video displays for rent or purchase. Curtis has staged events ranging from presidential inaugurations to Super Bowls.<\/p>\n Curtis estimates he buys $12 million in new displays from China each year, much of it for new permanent installations. He had $4 million in orders from China on hold as the administration\u2019s tariffs swung back and forth this spring.<\/p>\n \u201cOnce it backed to 20%, we put everything back in the pipeline,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n With trade negotiators facing Trump\u2019s latest deadline of Aug. 1, Curtis is trying to receive his product as quickly as possible.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe killer in the thing is the uncertainty, just jumping around,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Several of Curtis\u2019 LED projects are at high school stadiums in Texas that now face unexpected cost increases, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThey passed the bond two years ago, so they\u2019re already struggling with costs. They don\u2019t have an extra $300,000 to throw in for tariffs,\u201d Curtis said.<\/p>\n Imported European wines impacted Curtis and his wife, Nicole, also are in the wine business, having acquired the former Grand Cru wine bar on West Magnolia Avenue in 2024 and reopened it as the Neighborhood Wine<\/a> shop, bar and restaurant.<\/p>\n Three-quarters of its wines are imported, including an array of European labels, Curtis said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Trump initially imposed a 10% across-the-board tariff on most imported products, including ones from Europe. The president is now threatening a 30% tariff<\/a> on European imports as negotiations with the European Union continue. The new rate could go into effect Aug. 1.<\/p>\n \u201cSo far, we haven\u2019t noticed it,\u201d Curtis said of the 10% tariff\u2019s impact on the prices he\u2019s paying for imported wines. \u201cI think the exporters and importers have eaten that right now.\u201d<\/p>\n Indeed, some representatives of imported wines in Fort Worth report offering pre-tariff prices on customers\u2019 new orders. If Trump significantly raises tariffs on European wines, consumers should expect increases on the prices of U.S. wines, Curtis said.<\/p>\n \u201cIf there was drastic inflation by tariffs, you\u2019re going to see price increases in the U.S.,\u201d said Curtis, whose shop has already proven popular with customers. \u201cThey\u2019re going to have demand. They\u2019re going to raise their price accordingly.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018My No. 1 goal\u2019 Elyse Dickerson and partner Joe Griffin, co-founders in 2015 of the Fort Worth biotech firm Eosera<\/a>, are facing tariff headwinds on the plastic bottles they use in packaging the over-the-counter Ear Wax MD<\/a> eardrops they sell nationally in major retailers such as CVS and Walgreens.<\/p>\n When Dickerson and Griffin started the business, the tariffs on their bottles, caps and related pieces were 2%-3%.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt was just a line item,\u201d Dickerson said. \u201cWe didn\u2019t talk about it, we didn\u2019t think about it.\u201d<\/p>\n The rate rose to 20% under the first Trump administration and was maintained by the Biden administration. That was manageable, Dickerson said, \u201c(but) 50% under the second Trump administration was when things started to get real.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n To find a U.S. supplier, Dickerson and Griffin would have to pay up front for molds for the 10 distinctive plastic containers and other parts.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cEach mold is $200,000, $300,000, just to buy the molds,\u201d Dickerson said.<\/p>\n U.S. suppliers also have high minimum orders.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe order amounts in the U.S. were in the millions,\u201d she said. \u201cI might order 500,000 at a time. Even now (several years into the business), I don\u2019t order a million lots at a time.\u201d<\/p>\n Each bottle costs pennies, but the high tariffs are starting to add up, she said.<\/p>\n Eosera has had a Chinese partner manufacture the bottles, caps and other plastics since Dickerson and Griffin founded Eosera.\u00a0<\/p>\n Their partner folded the costs of molds into the costs of future orders, Dickerson said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t have to pay up front, which is huge for small businesses,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Eosera is now paying a 50% tariff from China, she said. They\u2019ve talked to their Chinese partner about severing that relationship, but don\u2019t want to.<\/p>\n Even if they found a suitable U.S. manufacturer, Dickerson said Eosera would have to move away from its bottle design and replace all the company\u2019s manufacturing equipment to accommodate the new containers and other pieces.<\/p>\n It\u2019s possible Eosera, which employs 41 people, could automate more of its processes. But that\u2019s down the road, if at all.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cMy No. 1 goal is I don\u2019t want to raise prices. We are working with our Chinese supplier,\u201d Dickerson said.<\/p>\n Back at Pottorff, which employs 285 people in Fort Worth, Cockrum said tariffs have triggered a broad market slowdown. The apartment market peaked 18 months ago, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s down well over 50% from that,\u201d Cockrum said.<\/p>\n The commercial markets are soft, and universities have put projects on hold, he said. But data center construction remains strong.<\/p>\n \u201cIf it wasn\u2019t for data centers, I think our commercial market would be in a world of hurt,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n He has not passed price increases on to customers, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Pottorff has also made no changes to employee head count or production schedules.<\/p>\n Cockrum\u2019s company does all of its business to-order, almost entirely by American clients, and has thrived without going offshore for much of its materials, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re here to build our business and keep building,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Scott Nishimura is a senior editor for the Documenters program at the Fort Worth Report. Reach him at scott.nishimura@fortworthreport.org<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Business editor Bob Francis contributed to this story.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Tariff-GoVision-Tiger-18-Green-PGA-Champ-24-1024x683.jpg\")
GoVision, an Argyle seller of LED video screens for rental or purchase, has served numerous major events, including PGA Golf tournaments. (Courtesy photo | GoVision LLC)
\n\u2018The killer in the thing is the uncertainty\u2019<\/p>\n
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Tariff-NeighborhoodWine-rotated.jpeg\")
Neighborhood Wine, which opened on Fort Worth\u2019s West Magnolia Avenue in 2024, hasn\u2019t experienced pressure from tariffs yet. A tariff of 10% on nearly all imports into the U.S. is in place, but it could rise starting Aug. 1, 2025. (Courtesy photo | Neighborhood Wine)<\/p>\n
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Goss-TariffsEosera-01-1024x683.jpg\")
Elyse Dickerson, Eosera CEO and co-founder, poses July 8, 2025, at the Eosera corporate headquarters in Fort Worth. (Mary Abby Goss | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Goss-TariffsEosera-06-1024x683.jpg\")
An Eosera employee separates droppers July 8, 2025, at the Eosera corporate headquarters in Fort Worth. (Mary Abby Goss | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Goss-TariffsEosera-02-1024x683.jpg\")
Eosera employees clean the laboratory before leaving for the day July 8, 2025, at the Eosera corporate headquarters in Fort Worth. (Mary Abby Goss | Fort Worth Report)
\nNot passing the buck to customers\u00a0<\/p>\n