You likely know about Flint's Koegel Meats and Michigan Sugar, but did you know that some of the largest custom wool processing operations in the country are in Frankenmuth?

The process starts in old-fashioned bathtubs. Raw fibers are heated to 180-degrees and washed with a mild detergent.

It's then taken to an extractor to remove excess moisture.

From there, it's on to the carding machine. The fiber goes through a series of rollers removing any foreign substances and making it straight.

The carding machine shapes the wool into roving, which is a tubular shaped for spinning, or batting, which is blanket-size for pillows, comforters, and mattress pads.

While the process could be stream-lined and out-sourced to save money, it's not.

Abby McClellan, General Manager for the Frankenmuth Wollen Mill, says "It's made in Frankenmuth, Michigan, and we're really proud of that."

Proud, because the Frankenmuth Woolen Mill continues the tradition started in 1894.

McClellan says, "I feel like it's a real piece of Frankenmuth history, a piece of Michigan history, even U.S. history because we had government contracts during World War II to knit 66,000 socks for the Doughboys in Europe."

Just down the road, the Zeilinger Wool Company makes wool products from Michigan sheep farmers, using MidMichigan workers, to be sold to everyone in the country.

General Manager Jon Zeilinger says, "We have customers in every state."

Socks are made on site.

Machines make a new sock every 90 seconds. The ends of the socks are sewn up by hand.

It's that dedication, owners say, that'll help pull American out of this recession, focusing on American-made products.

Zeilinger says, "It's going to have to come back to the entrepreneurs that are going to make this country succeed."

They're two operations, with more than 200-years of combined experience, making products in MidMichigan.

Here's a statistic that puts all of this in perspective, according to michigan.gov, if each Michigan family purchases $10 worth of Michigan produce per week, it would keep $36 million in Michigan's economy per week.