When you buy oyster gear, you should know where it was made and where the materials come from. Most growers never ask. They should.
A lot of the gear in this industry is made outside the US. It gets sold here, but it isn’t made here.
We do it differently. We manufacture in the United States. We mold all our oyster float cages right here. Not designed here and built overseas. Made here.
The wire matters
We use Riverdale Mills Aquamesh, exclusively. It’s made in Massachusetts, the same coated marine wire that’s held up in salt water for decades. We don’t swap it for cheap imported wire to hit a price point.
The wire is the cage. If the wire fails, the cage fails, and you’re the one out on the water dealing with it.
Know where your materials come from. Ours come from here, from a supplier we’ve worked with for decades. Quality and consistency over a low bid.
Ketcham has been at this for 50 years. We started the company in 1975, building traps for the lobster fishery before oyster aquaculture was a market at all. We grew with the industry. Into shellfish gear manufacturing, and developing products alongside the growers who use them.
It means we’re still here. When you need a replacement part three years from now, or you want to scale your farm and need gear that fits what you already run, we’ll pick up the phone. We were here before this round of competitors and we’ll be here after.
Why it’s worth asking
US manufacturing isn’t a slogan for us. It’s how we control quality, honor the prices we quote, and stand behind what we ship. When you buy from a company that actually makes the product, you know who’s accountable. There’s no factory an ocean away to point at.
So ask the question. Where was this made? What’s it made of? Who stands behind it?
We’re glad to answer all three.
